This season I tried to watch The Biggest Loser with an open mind, but I can’t help but get defensive. Just recently I saw Jillian have one of the women stand on a bosu ball (that is the “half a ball” they stand on) and do a dumbbell row. That is worthless and you shouldn’t do it. I don’t care if she says “it works your core.” That is crap. If you want to “work your core,” do a plank.
Those type of exercises just look cool because they are different. Here’s the kicker: you have to use very light weight to perform that exercise because you can’t use maximal weight while you’re on an unstable surface. If you want maximal results, you should pick exercises that allow you to use a heavy load. Lesson 1: stay off the damn bosu ball.
This is just random, but this week I saw Jillian tell one of the women to kiss the ground during a pushup. That is stupid. Real trainers would not ask you to do that. Once again, that was just for dramatics. Lesson 2: some trainers are just ignorant.
A couple of weeks ago there was finally an injury on The Biggest Loser. One of the contestants developed a stress fracture. Really? I’m surprised it took that long. The trainers have these overweight people do copious amounts of high impact activities for long duration. That is the perfect recipe for a stress fracture. Lesson 3: lots of cardio is not the best way to lose fat.
That show is just like most shows on TV: they are meant to make things “look larger than life.” That is why they use fancy equipment and crazy exercises. They want people to watch the show! Think about it: would it be as entertaining to watch people do squats, chin-ups, push-ups (without kissing the ground), lunges, deadlifts, dips, and bodyweight intervals? No! But, that is by far the safest and most effective way to get fast fat loss.
I’ll admit, the contestants on the show do lose a lot of fat, but, here’s Lesson 4: you can lose fat with as little as 4 hours of training per week in a much safer way.
So, if you watch The Biggest Loser, please keep those facts in mind. Just because those trainers are on TV does not mean they are the most qualified and intelligent.
8 comments:
Nia, thank goodness for your post about Biggest Loser. I stopped watching it a season or two ago because I was so bummed that they spent all their time on the dramatics and flashes of yelling in people's faces while they were working them to death. They have such a huge audience it's a shame they are not using that time to actually teach people something they can use. Guess that wouldn't have too many viewers. Thanks for spreading the real message about fat loss.
Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm glad you realize that's not the proper way to train; I only wish more women did.
Keep up the good work!
Wow, you sound ignorant. Balancing on a bosu ball works your core muscles in a different way then the plank. Planks don't improve your balance.
You should pick exercises that let you lift a heavier load? These are weight loosers, not weight lifters.
So, a trainer pushing you harder by telling you to do something silly like kiss the ground makes them ignorant? Yeah, right.
Is lesson 3... A joke?
Cardio is the best way to loose fat, not weight lifting and lunges and all that crap. I can do all the weight lifting and strength training I want, and I'll still have a belly on me. I have to jog everyday to keep my belly fat gone.
Planks obviously do improve your balance, what I meant was they don't improve your active balancing skills. Planks only improve your ability to balance well(as will all ab exercises), they do not give you any skill at balancing.
They weren't using the bosu ball for balance. People are being tricked into believing those things and others represent "core" training. The truth is you will work your core more by doing barbell and dumbell exercises in a standing position, and bodyweight exercises that are challenging, but that doesn't appeal as much to newbies.
It is not about heavy loads, it is about an appropiate load. Many women are convinced to lift a 3 pound weight until they tire, and since this won't make them bodybuilders the it must "tone" them up. To get big it takes a hollistic approach of high volume training and food. Think about it, very few people get big doing 3 sets of 3 reps with a heavy weight. how do you think athletes like wresters, mix martial artists, gymnists and others get strong when they need to while staying in a weight class and keeping mass down? They don't do 2 sets of 20 and Mauri Windsor pilates 3 times a week. To get big you have to try. some people in certain bodyparts can gain quite a bit of muscle on high reps.
I saw an episode in which Bob got his flock together for breakfast, they were in no hurry and they made..... oatmeal. I like oatmeal plenty but a collection of carbs does NOT MAKE A MEAL. You would not do this for dinner. No wonder why people who try to get into exercise can't recover, get frusterated and quit. Jillians fake toughness is funny and irritating. America is so clueless about fitness that they think she is tough. Toughness is if you can get them to bench or squat their bodyweight, or a lady to do pullups or 1 arm pushups. With all that time they have (4-6 hours a day) that isn't unreasonable. Take that show and make FATLOSS an equal part of the weekly weight checks and cut back the amount of exercise in half and that would give you a better guage as to what Bob and Jllian know
I read this after watching a special on the Biggest Loser on T.V. tonight, and i agree 100% with you! I feel that 95% of what they tecah / command on that show is total bull. As a personal trainer and Semi-Pro bodybuilder, I like to think that I know alot about lifting and exercise, diets and nutrition. All I see on that show are people doing terrible and worthless exercises (with less than desierable form I might add). How did Jillian and Bob come to these positions? They get paid millions a year to feed people crap information (Bro-Science as it is known in the bodybuilding community). I know hundreds of people in MUCH better shape than Overhyped-Jillian or Superskinny-Bob that way more deserve to be making money helping out people. I am glad to see that there are others who share this view with me! As a trainer / bodybuilder who has dedicated his life to fitness, this is just plain disgusting =(
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