The Worst Training Advice That I Have Ever Received

I’ve spent the past 18 years of my life exercising in gym environments and received lots of great advice. However looking back I was also given a fair amount of shockingly bad advice which now makes me cringe when I think back.

Don’t be afraid to do your own research into any health and fitness advice you’re given as there’s so many great resources on the internet. Any modern fitness professional should also be well equipped to answer any ambiguous facts and if not have the ability to research the answer for you!

So..without any further delay here are a few examples of some shocking advice I was given prior to completing my Personal Training qualifications.

“To lose weight you need to cut out carbs completely”

“Really…wow..cool yeah I’ll get right on it!”

The no carb approach to dieting didn’t last very long for me as I felt lethargic, week and irritable. When discussing food with a lot of individuals at the gym, the general consensus is that carbs are bad for us and are cause for weight management problems. The truth is is that we need a healthy balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats in our lifestyle no matter what our goal. ultimately if you’re consuming more calories than your body requires you will gain weight.

“Protein shakes will give you bigger muscles”

“Great ..I’ll buy some of that!”

Unfortunately my muscles didn’t get any bigger. The addition of protein shakes didn’t address by underlying issue that I wasn’t eating enough and training efficiently. If your lifestyle regime isn’t correct for your goal no amount of protein powder will sort that, it will only burn a hole in your pocket!

“You only want to feel deadlifts in your back”

“Wickid.. cheers for that…ahh yeh now I can really feel the lower back pump”

Oh dear or dear my poor spine! Thankfully my PT course instructor was a fantastic teacher and sorted out my technique. The Deadlift is a fantastic move, IF performed correctly!

Mark Riptoe best explains the deadlift.

“The deadlift is the most basic, obvious movement in barbell training, the one with the most carryover to everyday tasks and the easiest to learn of all the basic exercises. I can teach you how to perform a perfect deadlift in one (admittedly long) sentence:

You just step up to the bar with a vertical-jump stance width, with toes out and your shins about an inch from the bar, grab it just outside your stance with your knees still straight, then bend your knees forward and out a little bit until your shins touch the bar, squeeze your chest up until your back is flat, take a big breath, and drag the bar up your legs until you’re standing up straight”

To finish off my point I only used to feel the deadlift in my lower back and suffer next day with it which meant my technique was awful! Since learning the lift correctly I no longer get that swollen feeling in my lower back! Deadlift is a great exercise that can be used as a whole body workout, as well as part of your leg or back day.

Just make sure you do it correctly!

Sources: T Nation.com