The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser has been one of the best television shows for close to five years now. I have to admit that I am a fan of the show. I have watched it from the beginning. To see people lose literally hundreds of pounds in the few months they have can be inspiring. However, it is important to know a few behind the scene items about the show. Number one keep in mind that the contestants don’t have to get up and go to work. They are able to spend as much as 6 hours a day working out. I don’t know about you but that isn’t possible in my day to day life. Many of the contestants have put some weight on after they have left the show simply because they cannot keep up that workout pace. I have a lot of respect for the trainers on the show. I follow Bob Harper and Jillian on Twitter. I like both of their individual styles. However, if I had access to my clients for six hours at time I could get a lot done as well.
The second thing about the show is the unrealistic diet restrictions. On one of the episodes a few weeks ago they had a dry erase board with the contestants menu for the day written on it. It listed them as consuming 1300 calories for the day. This is an extremely low amount. My belief is that a person who is moderately active can lose weight with taking in as much 2000 calories a day. While this method may not bring about 15 pound weight loss weeks it is a more possible long term solution. I just feel like at 1300 calories eventually this will lead to a major breakdown. The body needs food to help the metabolism stay active. Smaller and more frequent meals will help achieve this goal. A general rule of thumb is two pounds per week is a good pace except for extreme cases. Keep track of your diet on a web site like www.fatsecret.com.
One of the most important things you can do if you are just getting started on the weight loss path is find a local trainer. Yes The “celebrity” trainers who charge upwards of 500 dollars an hour sounds great and they have impressive resumes. However, at the end of the day most trainer’s have the same set of tools at their disposal. Just make sure that they have up to date certifications and you can get a reference. Any good trainer will be able get you going in the right direction. If you have never stepped foot in a gym and just need a little guidance I would highly recommend that you find a trainer. After a few months you can cut down on your sessions with the trainer and use your new found knowledge on your own. A good trainer should not only take you through a workout but give you the tools to eventually succeed on your own. Hopefully one day you can become the Biggest Loser.

TRX product review

At trainer’s edge in Denville we have had a TRX strap for close to four years. I remember when we got it. The owner brought it in and showed us this new thing invented by a Navy Seal. It looked like just a body weight strap that we hooked to a squat rack. I tried to do some pushups and some rows on it but after that initial training I pretty much forgot about it. I used every once in a while to add something different. Mostly it was pushups and rows. A few months ago I was in the gym and was having a mental block in creating a workout. I looked at the TRX and immediately went to the computer and looked up the TRX at TRXtraining.com. They had a website with videos. WOW! They were doing things I never even thought of. Lots of core strengthening exercise. Explosive lunges right into an ab workout all with one device. I was obsessed. I immediately started just “playing around” to see what else I could do on it. I could stretch and create a warm up. I could do an inverted hand stand into a upside down pushup. The best thing was the rotator cuff exercises that I always had trouble with in other ways. My entire shoulder girdle feels so much stronger and well put together that it ever has. I can work on scapular mobility which is something I have always struggled with.
I even bought one for myself. As a baseball coach I have always struggled to find a line between building athletes and building baseball skills. With one portable weight room in a bag I can hook it onto a fence anywhere we go. I use it for my pitchers to strengthen their arms and I use it for my position players to build explosive rotational power in their hips and their core. In just today’s practice I grouped the kids by position and in between a bunting station and a soft toss station I had the TRX strap hooked up to a pullup bar and had a position specific workout going on throughout the practice. I could work on hitting offspeed pitches and developing speed with footwork drills. Can you tell I am obsessed with the TRX?
Being a runner myself I often workout outdoors especially as the weather starts to get better I know I will be using my TRX all the time outdoors. It will be in the trunk of my car all summer long.