In a new video on YouTube, Australian personal trainer Eugene Teo revealed the two main errors he made when he first started training
In a new video on YouTube, Australian personal trainer Eugene Teo revealed the two main errors he made when he first started training that he said he should have spared him "a lot of needless joint pain and pressure, uncertainty about my diet, and a lot more improvement in and out of the gym."
Mistake # 1: Barbells are an extremely useful device for exercise but they are not necessarily the best choice.
"If there is one thing I wish I could do better in my early years of training," Teo says, "it is too heavily relying on straight barbell movements."
Teo added that he was working with bodybuilders, trainers, and coaches who enjoyed barbells at the time and his lack of experience prompted him not to challenge their methods of training.
"I could have spared my elbows, wrists, and shoulders from a lot of needless wear and tear at the time, and got even more out of my preparation," he said. "If there is a better alternative which will give the muscles with less joint wear just as much, if not more, target stimulation, then wouldn't you want to use that?"
His View: The barbell may not be an effective option, especially when it comes to your joints. "They force you to move in this fixed motion plane, which is not about being more or less 'functional,' but rather about exposing your joints too much more shearing forces that could easily have been avoided by choosing instead a dumbbell, cable, or even a machine-based variation."
Teo is careful to point out that he still uses barbells but only for deadlifts where the motion does not involve his upper extremities.
Mistake # 2: Meal Plans Are a Waste.
"The meal plan would be eggs and oatmeal for meal one, and meal 2 through 5 would be chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli, and meal 5 would maybe be beef or slam on for extra fats," he says.
Teo says he will faithfully follow the plans but would depend on the coach to have the meal plan and tell him what he should do. "The problem with meal plans is they're not actually teaching you anything," he says. "They are seen as a means of hiding behind the smoke and mirrors of secrecy, as if there is something so special about the different foods or variations and specifics in the meal plan, rather than showing you how to take care of yourself."
Instead of following along blindly, he advises beginners to learn about eating (calories and macros) and think of it like you do finances: "Going overboard with your food expenditure is equivalent to going overboard with your expenditures. You may be able to get away with a few cheeky changes here and there, but it'll inevitably come back to bite you in the ass soon enough."
From there he thinks you can build your own nutrition plan with enough information. "If you give yourself the freedom to choose anything you want, you'll soon find out what's working and what's not working for you," he says. "Sadly, we 're so puzzled about the appeal of these personalized eating plans and meal schedules, assuming it's the new Hollywood underground technique to produce results.
What Is The Best Alternative, Then?
"It's about taking care of your health and wellbeing and learning how to deal with macronutrients and calories. A good coach should give it to you and help guide you in making healthier decisions about bringing in various foods and structuring around your macronutrients, but they shouldn't give you blanketed, static meal plans without any context at all."
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