Adriel Francois is currently a Chemical engineer student at Taipei Tech. He is also a Youtube star and a fitness instructor. Originally from San Vincent in the Caribbean he now lives in Taiwan and has been living here for five years. A couple of years after he moved to Taiwan he started his own fitness programme called Cobra Camp which now has over 100k followers just on Youtube.
Looking at Adriel one would easily assume that he has been into fitness all his life. However, back in his high school days Adriel was more focused on his academic studies. For many years he was the head boy and his grades were outstanding. Nevertheless, he always thought that athletes were cool and that he wanted to be one or, in his own words “look like one.” Many people told him that he had to choose one or the other. Either to be very smart or to be very athletic. “My parents always told me I could be whatever I wanted to be, so I went for both.”
Once his fitness journey began he wanted to be as efficient as possible, so he went to the people he admired in different fields and asked them to be his mentors. “Without a mentor you waste a lot of time. Mentors can teach you because they have been there before.” Adriel does advise people to keep learning and to recognise when you have reached your learning limit with one mentor so you can move to the next one where you can learn more. “Keep your own style as well, otherwise you will just copying others.”
Years after starting his own journey, he can see some of the typical mistakes that people do when starting out of their own fitness journey. He explains that they are not in any particular order but these mistakes could stop your journey rather soon if you don’t pay close attention to them:
1) Not having patience: “Everybody wants to lose weight super fast, guys want big muscles in weeks, others want to do as many sets as possible in a week.” The problem is that good results take time. You need to be patient to reach your goals, strength takes time, muscle growth takes time as well. The only thing you will achieve fast is an injury because you skip most of the basics and nobody wants that.
2) Not having a real plan: “Most people wake up one day and they say: I want to lose weight or be stronger but it all ends there.” You need more details in your plan and go step by step.
3) Thinking there is only one way to get the job done: “Beware of instructors who tell you that their way is the best and the only way to achieve your fitness goals.” We can get 6 by adding (3+3), but we can also get 6 by these methods: (4+2) or (1+1+1+1+1+1) or (2x3).
Adriel also advises that to avoid those mistakes the best way is to work with what you have available and with what works best for you. “In my case I do not go to the gym, not because I hate it, but because it is far and inconvenient when travelling.” It is better to always focus on what you have available, a park, your living room or even your room. “If you can work with nothing, then imagine what you can do when you have more things.”
It is important to mention that to start your fitness journey you do not need a lot of time. Adriel himself works out for one hour five times a week and in his experience a beginner needs only 30 minutes a day for the same amount of days.
If you would like to know more about Adriel or start your own fitness experience then go and check out his Youtube Channel or his Facebook page: CobraCamp
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Thank you and until next time,
Randall Vargas B.