Friday, January 25, 2013
Don't Be A Loser
By that I mean don't let NBC's "The Biggest Loser" scare you off from exercise.
What?! You mean Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper,etc. aren't helping? If you read my blog on a regular basis you probably know my opinion of these " get in shape " reality shows. These shows give a wrong example of working out, often with unrealistic ideas and goals ( "I want to lose 100 lbs in 3 months"). And the worst offender is "The Biggest Loser".
In the show, Michaels and co. scream, threaten, spit, and bully obese people with often dangerous, poorly planned and poorly executed exercises. Such actions are praised by some "experts" as motivating people to exercise. Well guess what? This Canadian study proved otherwise. Read it.
Basically students at the University of Alberta were shown a 7:00 clip from "The Biggest Loser". Those who saw that were turned off to working out. And get this, they were also shown a clip from "American Idol". They had a better impression of that!
I remember the first Loser I saw. Michaels went to Cambridge, Ma. to "help" an obese family. Their father had in fact died from heart disease, etc. The mother and 2 or 3 kids were also obese. Michaels really went after the family, especially the mother. At one point she had the mother on a treadmill , going too fast. The mother couldn't keep up. Michaels ripped into her, calling her pathetic, disgraceful, etc. almost spitting in her face. The lady started to cry. Michaels calmed down a little, and claimed she was just trying to "help". "Help"?! Help like a hazing!
In another episode the contestants were taken to the Marine boot camp in Camp Pendelton, Calif. The contestants were put through a boot camp style routine , including using heavy ruck sacks, going up steep hills,etc. Remember, these are deconditioned, obese people. These aren't Marine recruits or competitive athletes. Yet this is viewed as helpful ?!
This is disgraceful. No ethical trainer would do this. I look at each individual as an individual. I look at their current health, previous athletic experience, as well as their goals. Obviously there's a difference between a totally obese person who needs to get in shape for general health versus a future Olympic athlete or a future SEAL. Their training will be radically different. But even these warriors don't need to be beaten up. They should be encouraged and motivated to work harder than others, even pushed to a point once in a while. But not torn apart. When you think about it, one of a fitness trainer's main jobs isn't so much to show how to exercise, although that's an important component, but rather to motivate a client to strive to reach new heights.
So don't be a loser and instead think and train like a winner.
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