BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK NINE

We just started our last month with this group. So far the results have been the best ever. While we’ve lost over half of the original 57 that started, the ones who are left seem to be doing really well.

Many of the remaining contestants have asked me about doing another group, so I guess we’ll do one more (Biggest Loser 4) starting Friday, April 11th. The 57 we started with was a little much to handle, so I’m going to limit this group to the 1st 40 that come in and sign up as soon as possible.

We’ll have the same deal. You can work out anywhere: at the Y, Curves, Tom’s, or even at home. $25.00 entry fee and a $500 prize for the Biggest Loser based on greatest percentage of weight loss. This will be the last one we do until next fall, so if you’re interested, you better get in and sign up!

During the Friday night workout, we talked about interval training in the weight room and divided up into three groups. Group One started on the exercise ball with the DB Chest Press with dumbbells. While they were doing this, Group Two performed “Burpees” an evil exercise where you squat down, thrust your legs out behind you, and then do a pushup before quickly getting back to your feet and jumping in the air.

At the same time, Group Three performed “Woodchoppers” with a medicine ball, a weighted ball that looks like the basketball but is heavier (8-25 lbs). For this exercise, they bent over with legs shoulder-width apart, holding the ball on the floor between their legs with two hands. They then straighten up their body, lifting the ball over their shoulder to one side, before bending back over and touching the ball to the floor again. Then they straighten up and lift the ball over their shoulder to the other side.

Once they were finished, they each rotated until each group had performed all the exercises. After several sets of each, we switched up the exercises on the ball for Group One to DB Pullovers, DB Squat Thrusters, and DB Curls. We also kept switching up the core exercises for Groups Two & Three with “Mountain Climbers”, a variety of “Planks”, and other Ball Twisting exercises.

In this fashion, they went through their workout with very little breaks for an hour. The goal was to keep them moving in a more intense fashion, without taking any rest time. I call it active rest. While one muscle group is resting, you’re hitting another. This type of workout is tough, but it burns the greatest amount of calories.

Their goal is to start putting those core exercises in between sets of their primary free weight exercises in their workouts during the week. If they do, they’ll keep things moving and burn more calories. This will help them stay on track to their goal.

This week, we recognized two winners: One for the gals, and one for the guys. Both received a $20 cash prize from Dimond Brothers Insurance. Once again Cheryl Redmon took top honors for the women with a percentage weight loss of 1.81% and 3.6 lbs lost. Cheryl has lost 29.2 lbs in nine weeks!

When I asked her how she did it, she said she just kept doing what she’d been doing. Previously, she’d been adding jogging to her cardio workouts, but this week, she wasn’t able to run, having pulled a muscle the previous week. She said she just focused on doing the elliptical instead, with more intensity than before. It goes to show you that sometimes you just have to work around things.

For the guys, and Biggest Loser overall, Bill Lewis took top honors with a percentage weight loss of an incredible 3.05%, which works out to a weight loss of 7.4 lbs. He’s lost 40.2 lbs overall in just nine weeks. He says he stepped it up this week. I guess he did.

He also pulled into 1st place in the contest with a total weight loss of 14.586%, just ahead of Joe Stidham, who has a total percentage weight loss of 14.531% with the Redmon family right on their heels. Folks, this might go down to the wire. Stay tuned!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK EIGHT

We’ve just finished 8 of the 12 weeks so it’s time for our monthly summary. We started out with 57 people. There are about 30 left, and 23 made the last weigh-in. Of those 23, all have lost at least a half a pound a week.

Remember, if you can lose a pound a week, that’s great. A half a pound a week still works—it just takes you a little longer to get there. Two pounds a week is fantastic, and anything over that is just amazing.

The other thing to remember is that it’s the long haul that matters. Some of the folks who lost a lot of weight early have slowed down a bit. Some of the others who struggled early on have found their stride, and are doing better now.

Most everyone’s eating pretty well. At this point, it’s going to be about turning it up in the gym, at home, or wherever.

A great example is Janet, who lost 3.0 lbs this week. When I asked her what she did differently, she said she realized she needed to turn it up, so she dusted off some old Richard Simmons tapes. You’ve got to do different things, and that sure was different!

The main thing I’m seeing is that those who lose the most weight are doing two workouts a day (most days). That gives them a calorie burning edge—in the end, it’s just math. Add up enough calories burned and your end gets smaller.

The other thing is that most of the Biggest Losers are running. You don’t have to be like Joe, who’s running several miles a day. It can be as simple as jogging a minute and walking two, then jogging another minute and walking two more, and so on. As you get stronger, jog a little longer and walk a little less.

I still walk when I run. Today I ran 9 miles, but walked a minute at the end of each mile. I couldn’t do those longer distances without that little walk break. It gives me a chance to get a drink, towel off, and mentally gear up for another 9-10 minutes of running. And knowing that break is coming up helps me keep going a little longer when it’s getting hard.

We also had another visit from our resident nutritionist, Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD from Terre Haute Regional. Camilla talked about the differences between good and bad choices when eating out at fast food restaurants.

One thing we learned was to watch out for the high sodium content in many fast foods—even the healthier ones. Each of the main fast food places had a couple choices that were O.K., although they all had a bunch of things to avoid. Check the menus and product facts to be sure you know what you’re getting.
Here’s the monthly summary of where everyone is (of those who weighed in).
Name % Loss Lbs
1. Joe Stidham 14.015 32.6
2. Bill Lewis 11.901 32.8
3. Chris Redmon 11.458 37.4
4. Cheryl Redmon 11.418 25.6
5. Tony Haupt 9.008 23.6
6. Cody Redmon 8.862 29.6
7. Donnie Bartos 8.235 16.7
8. Penny Spinner 8.021 13.9
9. Stacey Reed 7.636 16.8
10. Tiffany Gann 6.868 15.0
11. Janet Tyler 6.559 13.0
12. Robert Sanders 6.470 18.0
13. Jasmine Camp 6.443 15.0
14. Mike Slaven 5.990 16.4
15. Becky Slaven 5.978 9.6
16. Rita Haupt 5.327 8.8
17. Angel Lumpp 4.163 6.5
18. Denise Cravens 3.979 6.2
19. Shirley Fiscus 3.526 7.2
20. Carrie Witmer 3.365 7.0
21. Pam Kelly 2.842 7.9
22. Mary McFatridge 2.475 5.0
23. Dawn Hopper 2.222 4.0

Our weekly winner for week eight was Angel Lumpp, who lost 2.29% of her body weight, and 3.5 lbs. Angel won a Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

Angel had struggled a little bit early on, but she’s been very determined to continue, and very consistent in getting to the gym. I think she’s figured out what works for her, and she’ll continue to see pretty good results from here on out. See you next week!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK SEVEN

Week seven left another group of people who dropped out for one reason or another. Most of them simply just stopped coming and I never heard from them. I think they’re embarrassed and just want to avoid an awkward moment.

But it isn’t me that makes it awkward. I mean, I’m not accusing or confrontational. Actually, I just smile and ask how things are going—normal behavior. But in reality, I’m like a mirror.

When they see me, they’re forced to remember that they quit. At least in that moment, they have to face it. And most people feel bad about that.

I’ve even had people move to the other side of the street, go down the next aisle, or just pretend they don’t see me. It’s a little comical, but it’s also quite sad. I was never against them, and only wish them well.

Once in awhile, folks will go to the other extreme, and when they see me, they’ll start complaining about one thing or another. The best one I’ve heard is that “I’m not sensitive to women’s needs.”

That might be true to some extent, but you’d have to talk to my wife to get the real scoop on that one, and we have had plenty of women do really well. In the end, I think it’s another good example of how we fall victim to self-deception.

It’s in our nature to make excuses. It’s been happening since the very beginning when Adam tried to cover things up. “It was Eve over there who made me eat that apple. I didn’t want to do it…” And they both covered themselves when they felt naked and ashamed.

I’ve done it myself at times. It’s tough facing the truth. And the truth is that sometimes we don’t want to do what it takes to fix things. We’d rather cover things up. We’d rather drape a sheet over that gigantic elephant in the room instead of trying to make it leave.

This program is difficult. It’s tough working out twice a day. But if you want to make the biggest changes in the shortest period of time, that’s what you do.

But it’s O.K. to take it slower. You can still lose a half a pound or even a pound a week. That’s fine by any standards, and certainly fine by me.

The problem is that people want it quicker than that. But it’s tough stuff making it happen that way. Like my long-time martial arts master always tells me, “people want to be champions but they don’t want to train like a champion.”

Myself, I never really cared about being a champion. I never thought I could be one anyway, but figured that I could at least train like a champion. So, that makes me feel like a champion anyway, and that’s always been good enough for me.

Another good friend of mine calls it BS 101. How you talk to yourself and others. Perhaps that’s what I do. I’ve learned that how you talk to yourself has a lot to do with how successful you’ll be—especially with new challenges.

When it doesn’t go your way next time, you might try this. “It’s alright if I fail this time, because I’m going to keep trying. One of these times, I’m going to get it.”

Or, “I didn’t make it this time. I dropped the ball. That’s O.K., because I’m not giving up. I just have to try harder.”

You’ve got to take your head out of the sand or you’ll never even see it coming. If you’re feeling a mass inside your abdomen, ignoring it won’t make it go away. You need to get it checked out by an expert.

Likewise, if you tend to quit things—never finishing what you started, ignoring it won’t get you anywhere. Instead, it will keep you exactly where you are, and that’s no good either, right?

Find someone who won’t let you quit. Or learn how to talk yourself into starting again. Get back on the wagon. Get back with the program. Or try something different—but keep trying.

Don’t worry about being embarrassed. Remember, we’ve all been quitters at something. We’ll understand. Heck, we’ll just be happy to see you again.

This week’s winner was Jane Graham, who lost -2.85% of her body weight and -4.4 lbs. Another good week for her, and she won a $25 gift Casey’s gift certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

She was followed by Tony Haupt in 2nd Place who lost -2.04% of his body weight and 5.0 lbs. Tony picked up the pace this week by adding some running to his cardio work. Great job guys. Next week, we’ll give you the 2nd month totals—I think you’ll be pretty impressed. See you then.

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK SIX

Well here we are, halfway through the 12 weeks. We’ve lost a few more people this week. Some are probably too busy, and others are hurt in some way or another. Others are finding it hard to stick with the program.

The bottom line is that change is difficult. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable—painful even. For some people, it’s just not worth it.

Say you’ve been given a special anniversary present—a week away on your own small island somewhere in the Pacific. White sandy beaches, beautiful palm trees. There’s no one around except you, your spouse, and a servant that takes care of your every need. You’ll have incredible meals, sunsets—just the perfect getaway.

The problem is getting there. You’ve got to catch a four hour flight to Miami, with a 12-hour layover before catching a smaller jet and 8 hour flight to Guam. Then it’s another 12-hour layover before you take a puddle jumper to another larger island.

After another 12-hour layover, you finally get in a boat and ride on a choppy sea for 4 hours before getting to the island. It’s taken you more than two days to get there and you’re exhausted. You also had to pay for the flights. Is it worth it? How many people would say forget it—it’s too much trouble?

Let’s say you were coming home from Iraq after serving there for a year. Sure, the flights would be free, but it’s still a hassle. No question it’s worth it, though? You couldn’t wait to go.

It’s all about your perspective. You have to want the destination badly enough to put up with the hassles along the way. And when you can learn to enjoy the journey, it gets even better.

We’ve got about 45 people left out of the original 57 who started six weeks ago. For the remaining contestants, it’s becoming as much about the journey as it is the destination, and that’s a wonderful thing to see.

SPECIAL GUEST NUTRITIONIST:
This week we had our guest nutritionist back for another session. Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD, from Terre Haute Regional spoke to the group about how to make better choices when looking at calories in their meals and snacks.

She had some powerful visual aids that helped her make the point that “some foods marketed as “diet” foods may actually be poor choices because of unhealthy additives and/or being overly processed.”

Camilla went on to compare an actual 1 oz baggy of baked potato chips (120 calories) with a 1 oz baggy of regular potato chips (150 calories). The 30 calories savings “is hardly enough to bother with.”

She also pointed out that the potato chips had just three ingredients: potatoes, salt, and oil. In contrast, the baked chips had around 15 ingredients, most of which are chemical compounds that are hard to pronounce, and had to determine exactly what they are!

She goes on to say, “It certainly doesn’t justify eating more baked chips than regular chips, especially considering that the baked chips are higher in sodium and loaded with additives to artificially enhance flavor and texture.”

Another great example Camilla gave was with a popular name brand protein bar marketed as a diet bar as a “meal-on-the-go.” “It weighs a measly 2 ounces and provides 220 calories.” Not very filling.

She continues, “First of all, 220 calories should be considered a snack, not a meal. Even when you’re trying to lose weight, a balanced meal should provide 400-500 calories to provide enough energy to get through your day, provide fuel for exercise, and allow you to burn fat instead of muscle.” That’s exactly why I wanted them to hear what she had to say.

Camilla said that the bars might work fine in a pinch, but that there were far better choices, as she held up a baggie with a cup of strawberries and blueberries, an 8 oz cup of light yogurt, and yet another baggie with Kashi granola—grand total, 220 calories!

In one hand she had the diet bar—in the other, all that fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. Which one do you think would fill you up more? Which would have more vitamins and minerals? And which would have a bunch of ingredients you couldn’t pronounce—which to me can’t be as good?

It was a pretty powerful demonstration that you “have to look beyond the numbers when trying to make life-long improvements in your eating habits.” Camilla ended with “Lean more towards whole foods or food with minimal processing such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain breads and cereals, balanced with lean sources of protein and lowfat or nonfat dairy.”

THIS WEEK’S WINNERS:
This week we had two $20 Walmart gift cards provided by Dimond Brothers Insurance for the top two losers. First place went to our oldest contestant, Bill Lewis, who lost the largest percentage of body weight (-1.97%) and a weight loss of 5.0 lbs. Bill is 67, and has lost an amazing 27.2 pounds in just six weeks! Bill said his secret is working out twice a day. He’s also pretty careful about what he’s eating.

Second place went to Jane Graham, who lost the 2nd largest percentage of body weight (-1.65%), and a weight loss of 2.6 lbs. This is pretty impressive since Jane’s one of the smallest people here. Whenever I see her, though, she’s busting it pretty hard, whether it’s on the treadmill, in the weight room, or in kickboxing class.

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING:
I also gave them a group training session on the cardio equipment, where they learned how to do high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. After a warmup, they learned how to evaluate their effort on a scale from 1 (Couch Potato) to 10 (Have to Quit).

Couch Potato Very Easy Light Work Moderate Tougher Very Hard Have to Quit!

The secret to HIIT workouts is to get a good warmup by starting at a 5 or a 6. After about 5 minutes, crank the intensity up to a 7 by increasing the speed or grade (hills) on the treadmill, or the speed or resistance on the elliptical or bike.

After another few minutes, crank it up to what feels like an 8 for a minute. Then back it down to a 6 or 7 for a minute to recover. Take it back up to an 8 for another minute before lowering it to what feels like a 7. After a few of those intervals, crank it up to what feels like a 9 for a minute before going back down to a 6 or 7 to recover.

Do a couple of those intervals! If you really want to drive a stack through it’s heart and call it dead, do your last interval for twice as long (2 minutes)! Or, shoot for a 10 and see if you can make it for a full minute.

If you don’t have much time, doing HIIT for 20 minutes will burn more calories than regular cardio for twice as long. Plus, it has a much longer after burn—giving you a calorie burning bonus over the next couple hours. Give it a try. Make sure you get have a recovery day in between HIIT workouts—you’ll need them. See you next week!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK FIVE

If people make it into the second month of a fitness program, I’ve found that they’ll usually be successful. But getting past that first month can be a problem for some people. This week, I’ve had several of the 57 let me know they were stopping, and there are several others who haven’t been coming, so I figure they’re done too.

There are lots of reasons why. The best reason I heard is that one of the gals was pregnant, and couldn’t continue to workout at that pace. I totally agree with that. She’ll still be exercising for another few months, but not at the frenzied pace these guys are doing.

Remember, you can lose weight slowly if you like. There is nothing wrong with that, and I recommend it. It might even be more permanent. Simply start walking everyday, and increase your speed and distance over time, and you’ll see results.

Start watching your portions and eating more fruits and vegetables, and you’ll see even better results. Most people want quicker changes though, especially when they see those huge transformations on TV.

Some of the other reasons were pretty good, too. Sometimes your body isn’t ready for such a dynamic and total change, and running and jumping. That’s O.K. Just start easy and do what you can. Work up to it, but do something.

The real concerns I have are for the people that start and stop altogether. Something clicks and they want to do it, but then they somehow lose momentum. Life starts to intrude. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Here’s what you have to do.

You have to be deliberate about things. Each day you deliberately choose to do certain things and to not do other things. In this case, you have to deliberately set aside time each day to get in your workout—for best results, twice a day. Walk a mile in the morning and then get your workout in that night.

But if you let each day determine whether you’ll get your workout in, you’ll never really get started. Things will come up. You’ll miss one workout, then another. Finally you’re missing more than you get. Then you surrender. You have to be deliberate about it.

You have to be deliberate about what you eat, too. Each day, on purpose, with a plan, you’re eating better. I mean come on; those Twinkies don’t just jump in your mouth. Fruits and Greens aren’t going to jump off the shelf into your shopping cart! You have to be deliberate about it.

Next, and it’s a subtle difference, you have to be consistent. Doing things the same way each day gives you power. You do it today because you have to. You do it the same way tomorrow because you have to. It gives you momentum, and then you start to see changes.

People often complain they’re not getting the results they’d like. When I ask them “have you been getting in all your workouts?” “Both workouts?” “Well, no. Not both of them, but I did really well Tuesday.” “Are you hitting your minimum—getting enough calories in?” “Uhm… yeah, most days, but yesterday, I was really busy and missed breakfast and lunch too.”

This is not being consistent. Consistent means you do the same things every day. Here, in town, when you travel. Whether you’re at home or eating out. You have a plan and you stick with it.

Finally, sometimes it just takes time. Some medicines can make it harder for you to lose weight. That’s unfortunate, but it’s the way it is. Roll with it. Keep trying and get over the fact that it’s going to take you longer. That’s no reason to quit. You can still get what you want if you’ll just stick it out. I call it “winning through stamina.” You just outlast em.

You also keep changing the program—building intensity—using your body in different ways. That’s why I taught them another workout routine this week. Here’s the second routine they’ll be doing.

Make sure you know how to do each movement correctly. Perform 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions (gals) and 10-12 reps (guys). If you are doing some jogging or running now, you can omit the Calve Raises.

FREE WEIGHT ROUTINE #2:
1. Walking Lunge (with or w/o weights—Hips, Buns & Thighs
2. DB Pec Fly’s on the Exercise Ball—Chest & Shoulders
3. DB Dead lift (with slightly bent knees)—Hips, Buns & Thighs
4. DB Pullovers—Upper Back & Biceps
5. Calve Raises (on a step with or without DB)--Calves
6. DB Shoulder Press—Shoulders & Triceps
7. Standing DB Curls (together)--Biceps
8. DB Tricep Kickbacks—Triceps
9. Ab Crunches (knees bent, feet flat on floor)
10. Ab Crunches (legs straight and pointed up in the air)
11. Ab Crunches (knee bent, other leg crossed, both sides)
12. Leg Raises (on back with shoulders up, alternate raising straight legs 12” off floor)

This week’s winner was Cheryl Redmon. You may recall last week she won 1st place for the ladies. This week she led both the gals and the guys with a percentage weight loss of -2.10%, and 4.4 lbs lost, with 19.4 lbs lost to date. She won $20 cash from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

I think her husband Chris was just a little frustrated, as he’s lost the most weight so far (-29.4 lbs), and the most weight this week (-6.0 lbs). He realized that he could lose the most weight, but still lose the contest and he wasn’t happy. I mean he’s been running on the treadmill—just busting it, and it shows. Six pounds is awesome.

I explained it’s based on size. It’s harder for someone 200 lbs to lose 4.5 lbs than it is for someone 300 lbs to lose 6.0 lbs. That’s why percentage of weight loss levels the playing field. Now, it’s “game on!” And Cody’s right in the thick of things too (-5.2 lbs this week, and -23.2 lbs overall).

This one family has lost 72 lbs in 5 weeks! Any way you slice it, they’re all going to be big winners, even if they’re not the biggest loser.

Think about it. What if other families started competing to see who could lose the most weight? Maybe they take a vacation to that person’s favorite destination. Or that person gets the new thing they’ve been wanting and the others have to pay for it. What if your house could lose…?

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK FOUR

Well it’s been a month already and January’s come and gone. We’ve had this group working out four weeks and they’ve done some pretty amazing things.

Many of them are jogging on the treadmills now, and they sure are working harder in the Friday night group workouts. A lot of the things that they found difficult early on are getting easier, so I have to turn it up on them, and that’s a good thing.

This week, we had a special guest from Terre Haute Regional Hospital. Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD came and talked to them about nutrition. It was great. She confirmed the fact that the women needed to make sure they ate enough—which is always a problem.

Remember, I told you 9 out of 10 women aren’t eating enough? Her recommendation was that women never go below 1,500 calories and that men get at least 1,800 calories daily. Camilla gave them a great checklist of the things that go wrong on starvation diets, and another handout on the basics of eating a well-balanced diet.

Then we went in the “house of pain” and hit it pretty hard. The contestants jogged 6 laps in one direction and 6 in the other. It was only supposed to be 5, but they forgot to count and ended up doing one more!

Then it was three rounds of 20 body squats, 20 pushups, and 20 crunches. Sixty total. It was tough, but I reminded them they had trouble doing them in sets of 10, just 3 weeks ago.

After the rounds, it was 12 more laps, jogging 6 in each direction. They never quit moving for almost 25 minutes. It was great. The main point I wanted them to get was that if this was their toughest workout, they weren’t hitting it hard enough during the week.

Then we went into the free weight room and I taught them what I call Level Two training. Remember, Level One is your basic strength circuit on the machines—which are guided, with cables, levers, and total body support.

On Level Two, you use dumbbells (DB) instead of machines. You get no advantage from leverage. Instead, you’re doing all the work. The dumbbells aren’t guided—you have to guide them, which means you’re using more stabilizer muscles. Finally, there are no pads for front or back support, so your core has to work harder too.

As they’ll see, replacing machines with dumbbells will result in more muscles being used, driving up the number of calories burned—helping them get what they want—to burn more fat!

Basically, each machine was replaced with an equivalent free weight exercise with dumbbells. The weights were quite a bit lighter than what they’d done on the machines, since it’s harder.

Here’s the first routine they’ll be starting with. Make sure you know how to do each movement correctly. Find a trainer, read a book, or go online. It’s important for safety, but also so you’ll get the most out of the workout.

Perform 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions (gals) and 10-12 reps (guys). Do each movement very slowly and with complete control. If you don’t know how to do the movements, find someone who does. Start with a lighter weight at first. Once you know you can control it, then you can increase the weights a bit.

FREE WEIGHT ROUTINE #1:
1. Body Squat (with or without DB on shoulders)—Hips, Buns & Thighs
2. DB Chest Press on the Exercise Ball—Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
3. DB Dead lift (with slightly bent knees)—Hips, Buns & Thighs
4. DB Single Arm Rows—Upper Back & Biceps
5. Calve Raises (on a step with or without DB)--Calves
6. DB Lateral Raises--Shoulders
7. DB Single Arm Curls (one at a time)--Biceps
8. DB Overhead Press—Triceps
9. AB Crunches on the Exercise Ball
10. Side Twists with a Medicine Ball

The trick is to use the right weight—not too low a weight, but not too high either. Women will want to use a weight that is challenging but doable. All too often, women will use tiny dumbbells in the exercises and that’s just not enough resistance.

Normally, gals will need #5, #8, #10, #12, #15 and #20 dumbbells. Guys need to make sure they’re lifting enough too. They’ll usually start out with #10, #15, #20, #25, #30 and #35 dumbbells.

Don’t be afraid to increase the weights. If it’s easy to get your reps in, it’s time to increase the weights. It’s the resistance that causes the changes. Just like life.

We never change things when it’s going well and everything’s easy. It’s the bumps and valleys—the tough times—that cause us to reflect and make the most changes. The same thing happens with your body.

To add intensity to the workout, avoid stopping and resting between sets. Run right through it in a circuit and then hit it again, then again.

Another strategy is to do supersets. Do #1 and #2 back to back, alternating the Squat and Chest Press. I call this active rest. This way, one muscle group is resting while another is working—and you’re never stopping. You’ll burn way more calories this way.

Yet another strategy is to hit your core in between sets by doing AB Crunches on the ball or Side Twists in between sets of the other exercises. This is also a good way to go. Change it up. Don’t get locked into the same exact thing every time. It’s good for your body and it’s good for your mind.

We discovered that last week’s winner had actually missed the previous weigh-in due to a sickness. As a result Jasmine Camp moved up from #2 to #1 for last week, and got the prize, and she’d been busting it too.

This week we had two winners. For the gals, Cheryl Redmon lost the largest percentage of body weight (-1.32%) and -2.8 lbs. She was followed by Shirley Fiscus (-1.29%) and -2.6 lbs in second place, and Janet Tyler (-1.25%) and -2.4 lbs in third place.

Cheryl won a $20 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. Her husband Chris was slightly miffed, cause he keeps coming in second, but is losing a ton of weight! More on that later.

For the guys, the winner was Cody Redmon (again putting the screws to his dad Chris) who lost the largest percentage of body weight (-1.74%) and -5.6 lbs. He also received a $20 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. At that point, his dad said they would both be sharing!

Chris Redmon ended up in 2nd place with a percentage loss of -1.50% and weight loss of -4.6 lbs. In third place for the guys, Sean Pruiett lost -1.43% and -4.4 lbs.

Since it’s the end of the first month, I thought it would be interesting to look at total numbers, and they’re pretty impressive. Of the contestants that weighed in Friday, I’ve listed the top 28 (just about half the group).

Each has lost almost four pounds in four weeks. Remember, losing a pound a week is great (and normal). Two pounds a week is outstanding. Anything over three pounds a week is amazing! Keep in mind that the final winner will be determined by total percentage of weight loss—not pounds.

Name % lbs
1. Joe Stidham 8.34 19.4
2. Bill Lewis 7.33 20.2
3. Chris Redmon 7.13 23.4
4. Cheryl Redmon 6.69 15.0
5. Donnie Bartos 6.41 13.0
6. Tony Haupt 6.03 15.8
7. Tiffany Gann 5.68 12.4
8. Cody Redmon 5.39 18.0
9. Mike Slaven 4.97 13.6
10. Sherree Hutchings 4.84 9.0
11. Penny Spinner 4.84 7.5
12. Janet Tyler 4.24 8.4
13. Becky Slaven 4.23 6.8
14. Carla Sinclair 4.06 7.2
15. Jasmine Camp 4.04 9.4
16. Stacey Reed 3.82 8.4
17. Dawn Hopper 3.67 6.6
18. Jane Graham 3.44 5.6
19. James Motley 3.33 6.6
20. Robert Sanders 3.09 8.6
21. Sean Pruiett 3.01 9.4
22. Rita Haupt 2.91 4.8
23. Shirley Fiscus 2.45 5.0
24. Penny Ogle 2.24 5.0
25. Angel Lumpp 2.04 3.2
26. Pam Kelly 2.01 5.6
27. Dawn Stewart 1.90 4.0
28. Pam Waller 1.73 4.6

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK THREE

Here we are at the end of Week 3, and it’s hard to believe we’re already almost a month into this thing—wow this is a big group (57). It’s sure made the Friday night workouts interesting.

I’ve noticed a couple things. This is a pretty motivated group. The weight loss numbers are better than they’ve ever been. They’re handling the workouts pretty well, and most are starting to make changes in their eating habits. Still, the group seems to be dividing into three smaller groups in terms of weight loss:
1. “overachievers” (losing 3 or more lbs a week)
2. normal (losing the normal 1-2 lbs a week)
3. struggling a little bit.

It’s easy to explain the overachievers. They are simply doing more—pushing themselves twice a day, and turning it up each week. They’re also really doing well with their eating.
The normal group is also easy to explain. It’s very typical to see people lose 1-2 lbs a week once they start exercising and eating right.

It’s the third group that’s a little perplexing, especially since some of them are getting it right with the two workouts each day and their diet. But most of them, when I ask if they’ve been getting both workouts in, have told me they’ve missed some. A few have been pretty sick and haven’t been able to do much at all.

Many of them still aren’t hitting their minimum calories either. That’s a killer. It’ll do it every time. Hopefully, they’ll start eating a little more, so their metabolisms will improve, allowing them to start burning fat for fuel.

If you’re not getting the results you want, you need to ask a couple questions. Are the results doable—is it reasonable? In this case, yes, because plenty of other people are getting it done.
Are there things you aren’t doing that the others are? We’ve already covered that. Some are missing some workouts. Some aren’t hitting their minimum.

Is there anything else you can be doing to try to get the weight loss going? Here’s where we are with this group. For some, especially those that have already been active, the key is becoming even more active.

Look at it this way. If you can already do it, does your body have any reason to change? Does it even need to change? Nope. It can already do it. It’s the overload principle you have to utilize. Ask more of it than you can do comfortably, and it will respond by making it easier. That causes changes in your body. That will cause you to burn fat.

This means if you’ve already been walking, start jogging. If you’ve already been jogging, start running. If you’ve already been running, start sprinting. Have you ever seen a fat sprinter? Ever?

If you’ve been hitting the weights, hit it harder. Don’t rest. Never take a break. Do stuff in between sets to keep your heart rate up. Find ways to up the intensity level. Lift more weight. Do it more times. Use free weights instead of machines (this is what the group will be doing next week). Get the idea?

Then of course, there’s the eating. Like I mentioned earlier, if you’re struggling to lose weight, you have to make sure you’re hitting your minimum. Sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight.

You might also have to be stricter with your diet than the others. Some people need to be a little more careful with carbs. Or salt. Never salt your foods, and avoid anything with over 400-500 mg of sodium. Never miss breakfast either. In the end, though, it really comes down to activity level and raising your intensity level. Keep trying, and it will eventually work for you.

This week, our top three losers were all women! You see? If they can do it—you can do it too. First place went to an unsuspecting Jane Graham, who’d lost 4.2 lbs and a whopping 2.59% of her body weight. Jane had been flying under the radar, and was totally surprised. She won a $30 Krogers gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

Second place went to Jasmine Camp, who lost 5.6 lbs and 2.44% of her body weight. Third place went again to Tiffany Gann, a repeat from last week. Tiffany lost another 4.6 lbs and 2.18% of body weight.

Honorable mention goes to Chris Redman who lost 6.0 lbs and 1.91% of body weight. You’ll recall Chris had that great week with his whole family back in week one.

Next week I’ll give you the 1st month results and talk to you about using free weights. Until then, I’ll see you in the gym!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK TWO

It was another interesting week for our Biggest Losers (Season 3). We had some great numbers at the Friday night weigh-in, and almost everyone was there for the workout. The fact that most people came back after last week’s boot camp reflects their desire to make some changes.

I deliberately made the first one tough to weed out anyone who’s not committed. Last group, I took the group running down Main St. on the first night. You should have heard the comments behind me.

“He’s going to do what???” “You’ve GOT to be kidding.” And some other choice ones! But I figure that if you’re worried about what other people are going to think, you’re really not ready. Let’s get past that right away. It’s about you. What you need. How your life is going to change.

Sadly, it’s too cold to take them outside right now, but wait until March J. So, we started with 50 body squats, 50 pushups, and 50 crunches (5 sets of 10), all in a row, without stopping. I thought it set the tone nicely.

Then we moved on to walking lunges, hops, sprints, pilates crunches, banana rolls and finished them off with wheelbarrow walks. Those are where you hold someone’s feet up and walk behind them while they are walking in pushup position on their hands!

I was so proud of them—they kept pushing, even when it got tough. My goal is to teach them how to put intensity into their exercise and know how it feels. Then, when they’re on their own, they’ll know if they’re taking it too easy.

If they can get to where my workouts aren’t any harder than the ones they do, they’ll be just fine. They’ll continue to progress and get what they want.

Sure, they’re going to be sore for awhile, but it’s worth it. Remember, they’re changing their bodies. Things don’t change when you’re comfortable. Why would they?

Before the workout, I had a chance to talk to them about food, and how to prepare a balanced diet and what each plate should look like. We also talked about how important it was for them (especially the women) to hit what I call their minimum—which is the minimum amount of calories they need to survive.

I always go by American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) standards, and according to them, women should never get less than 1,200 calories, and men should never go below 1,800 calories a day.

In my experience, 9 out of 10 women don’t hit their minimum. Many diets are under 1,200 calories. This will cause your metabolism to slow down making it very difficult to burn fat for fuel.

Once we know someone’s minimum we want to give them a little extra to cover the activity they’re engaging in. This means most women end up around 1,650 calories.

Just this morning, I was on the phone with a nutritionist with one of the hospitals in Terre Haute. She makes sure that the women she counsels never go below 1,500 calories. Sometimes, you’ve got to eat more to lose.

On the other hand, guys are usually over-eaters. We need a visit from the portion control police. “STEP AWAY FROM THE TABLE...!”

Once you know how much you should eat, you need to look at the quality of what you’re eating. Every meal should have a source of Protein, Starch, and Fruits & Greens. If you’re doing fats correctly, you don’t even need to think about it, so let’s spend a moment on fats.

FATS
· Eat low fat dairy—it has the same protein without all the extra calories from fat.
· Eat more fish—it’s the best source of Omega-3, a fatty acid that actually helps you burn fat.
· Eat more olives and cook with Olive Oil—never use vegetable oils.
· Eat more nuts—they’re very high in Omega-3, especially walnuts and almonds. Even peanut butter is good for you (just don’t eat the whole can).
· Eat more avacados—they’ll help you burn more fat.
· Eat dark chocolate—I’m serious—it’s another one of those fat foods that helps you burn fat. Just don’t go crazy with it.
· Avoid fatty cuts of meat—eat lean cuts and trim the fat.
· Take an Omega-3 (fish oil) supplement.
If you’re doing all those things, then your fats are taking care of themselves, and you can focus on Protein, Starch, and Fruits & Greens. Basically you’re dividing the plate up into three equal sections, each containing one of those three food sources:

PROTEIN
(For Building Muscle & Bone)
· Fish
· Poultry (chicken or turkey)
· Lean cuts of Beef
· Nuts
· Lo-fat Dairy Products (cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, milk, eggs)
· Pork
· 3-4 oz portions for women, 5-6 oz portions for men (about the size of your palm)

STARCH
(For Long Fuel & some Vitamins & Minerals)
· Whole Wheat or Whole Grain Cereal
· Whole Wheat or Whole Grain Breads, Bagels, etc…
· Oats or Oatmeal
· Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes
· Corn
· Whole Grain Pasta
· Long Grain Wild Rice
· Some Beans

FRUITS & GREENS
(For lots of Vitamins & Minerals, Fiber, & Quick Energy)
· These are pretty obvious. Choose fresh or frozen if possible, then canned.
· Try to get as much color on your plate

At the weigh-in, the winner of Week 2 was Tony Haupt, who has been working out at home. While that may not be as good for business, it clearly demonstrates that you can do this even if you can’t get to the gym. He’s getting it done at home!

Tony won with a weight loss of 7.6 lbs and -2.94% of his body weight, just ahead of the 2nd Place finisher. He received a $25 Casey’s Gas Card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, but it was so close that we had to go to the hundredth percent to eliminate a tie this week.

2nd Place went to Kathy Hurst, who lost 6.0 lbs and -2.93% of her body weight. 3rd Place went to Tiffany Gann, who also lost 6.0 lbs and -2.76% of her body weight. That’s two gals in the top three!

4th Place went to Bill Lewis, our oldest in the group (age 67) who lost 7.0 lbs and -2.61% of his body weight. I like Bill. He lets you know that anyone can do this, regardless of age.

Next week, we’re turning up the heat. Their assignments were to do extremely slow reps on the weight machines (much harder—they’ll feel the burn), doing a 15 count going up and 15 count going down. Then, doing the rest of the reps with a 5 count up and down.

They’re also supposed to continue improving their cardio, and recording what they eat in 3 healthy meals and 3 healthy snacks. By writing it down, they will be educating themselves about the caloric value of different foods. If you don’t know, you’re guessing, and guessing makes you fat!

It will also hold them accountable, and that’s another thing we need—accountability! More on this next week. Until then, I’ll see you in the gym!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK ONE

Well, our Biggest Loser “3” is fully underway, and wow, what a group! We now have 57 people registered and participating in what has become a community wide event. People are working out at the Y, Curves, Tom’s, at work, and at home. I’ve even heard from others that are following along on their own!

All the contestants came together for the Friday night weigh-in and boot camp ready for action, and I knew they’d be putting up some good numbers. Their assignments were to walk at least a mile every morning (20 minutes), and then do another more intense cardio or strength workout later that day.

This is certainly the time of year when people are the most resolute, and it sure showed in the gym. All week I watched them sweating, smiling (mostly), and getting it done each day, and I could barely keep up with towels!

This time around, we’re going to do the weekly winners and the grand prize like the show, based on percentage of weight lost. We also picked up a special sponsor, Dimond Brothers Insurance, who will be providing weekly prizes along the way!

One other change is that we’re not publishing the weights each week. I think it might help keep people motivated, but many of the contestants didn’t want it. We’ll see how they do this time around. And so far, it doesn’t seem to have been a factor!

As they started stepping on the scale, I knew we were in for something special. Weight loss of 1 to 1 ½ lbs a week is normal, 2 lbs is excellent, and anything over that is extraordinary.

Of the 57 contestants, 41 people lost at least a pound. Of those 41 people, 33 lost at least 2 pounds; and 22 of them lost at least 3 pounds. As a group, they lost a combined total of 150.5 pounds, and that’s just in Week One!

The Biggest Loser male this week was Joe Stidham, who works out at the YMCA and our place. That should tell you something. He’s working out at two gyms! Joe lost the most amount of weight (-9.6 lbs), and had the highest percent of weight loss by far (-4.1%).

The Biggest Loser female this week was a very surprised Sherree Hutchings (-5.2 lbs) who just squeezed by Penny Spinner (-4.9 lbs). Both Sherree and Penny had a higher percent of weight loss than anyone else (-2.8) except Joe.

Joe and Sherree both received a special $20 Walmart Gift Card from Dimond Brothers. I gave Penny a copy of my latest Nashville CD “Leaving Egypt”. I’m pretty sure Joe and Sherree got the better deal—they can use their gift cards to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables!

I was also amazed by the Redmon family who put up some awesome numbers. The Dad (Chris) lost 9.2 lbs, while Mom (Cheryl) lost 4.6 lbs, and their son Cody lost 8.0 lbs. That’s a total of 21.8 lbs in one week for one family. This family is serious, and they showed it in the gym. I’m gonna give em CD’s too. If nothing else, they make good coffee coasters.

There were many other great losers too, like Donnie Bartos and Bill Lewis (-7.8 lbs), and Steve Johnson and Mike Slaven (-6.8 lbs). Jim York (-6.2 lbs), Robert Sanders (-5.6 lbs) and Becky Slaven and James Motley (-4.2 lbs). Rick Akerman, Tony Haupt and Carrie Whitmer (-4.0 lbs) and Jeff Archibald and Lauwana Wallace (-3.0 lbs).

Like I mentioned earlier, quite a few others lost more between 2 and 3 lbs, and many more lost at least a pound. For those that lost less than a pound, many of them had difficulty getting their morning walk in, due to scheduling problems and the like. They’ll have to figure that out, because the best results always come from working out twice a day.

After the weigh-in we had a pretty grueling boot camp workout (if I do say so myself). It would have been tougher, but I was nursing a slight neck sprain from my own workout that morning and had to tone it down.

Still, they did quite a few sets of pushups, planks, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, crunches galore, running the dots, crab walks and an introduction to kick boxing before cooling down with some stretching at the end. It was pretty crazy with over 50 people in the room doing it all at the same time!

For many of them, it was the hardest workout they’ve done in years. It will quickly get easier though. In 4 weeks, they’ll look back and wonder what the big deal was. I’ll have to push them harder. In 12 weeks, they’ll laugh about it.

You see people often think that just because things are the way they are now, that they always have to be that way. This just isn’t true.

As our contestants are already learning, things can change. They can get stronger. They can start to lose inches, pounds, and fat. They’ll also gain confidence in their ability to accomplish new things—and that’s where the real power is.

Next week the contestants are supposed to step it up. They’re supposed to take 15 seconds off their one mile time (each week), and do at least one more pushup in a minute. They’re supposed to do two circuits on the weight machines instead of just one, and increase the weights when they can.

They’re also supposed to start looking at how much food they’re eating by starting to keep a daily food diary. Most of the guys will find out they’re overeating. Nine out of ten of the women will learn they’re not eating enough. We’ll be looking at that next week. After that, we’ll start talking about the quality of what they’re eating. For now, what about your New Year’s Resolution?

BIGGEST LOSER 3--INTRODUCTION

It was a crazy ride the last 12 weeks with the guys and gals from Biggest Loser “2” and we’re about to do it all again! Biggest Loser “3” started last Friday night and we were all a little shocked with the response.

After opening it up to anyone regardless of gym membership, and putting a limit on it, we had 50 people register and show up to the first weigh-in and workout. By the end of the weekend, we had 2 more for a total of 52 contestants this time! Over the next couple days it grew to 57 total!

Several were participants a year ago in Biggest Loser “1” and wanted to get back on track. Another 5 or 6 were with us in Biggest Loser “2”, including Steve (38 lbs) and Shirley (30 lbs). The rest were an extremely diverse group of men and women ranging in age from 19 to 67.

We took a few minutes and talked about Steve and Shirley and their accomplishments last time, and then they shared how they did it. It says a lot that both of them are doing it again. They see it now and know it’s just a matter of time for them.

It was also a great example for the rest of them because they saw that Steve and Shirley were ordinary people just like them. What made them extraordinary is their commitment to getting it done—to making the changes.

We also talked about how to be successful. Here are the things I think you need to do, if you want to get your health and body back (it works for other things, too).

(1) You’ve got to recognize your need to change.
(2) You’ve got to make a decision to do something about it.
(3) You’ve got to find someone who’s doing it or helping people do it, and copy their success—don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
(4) You’ve got to actually start—too many people just think or talk about it. These 52 people have definitely started.
(5) You’ve got to set a goal. Have a definite end in mind, based on what you think is reasonable. Steve and Shirley lost over 30 lbs in 12 weeks. That’s a lot. The average was around 15-20 lbs. Maybe that’s more reasonable.
(6) You’ve got to be deliberate about it, doing certain things—on purpose—every day that will help you get to your goal.
(7) Finally, you’ve got to be consistent with it. Too many people start and stop when life intrudes. Last time, 16 out of 21 really stuck with it to the end. How many of these 52 will stick? Those are the ones who’ll get what they want.

Then we started the fitness tests and let them get familiar with the machines. If you want to follow along with the Losers and work out on your own, give yourself these tests:

• Walk or jog a mile as quickly as possible (4 laps around the track), and record your time.
• Do as many pushups as you can in 1 minute. (Your chest must touch the floor and you must go all the way up and all the way down. Ladies may do them with their knees on the floor.)
• Do as many setups as you can in 1 minute. (Your knees should be bent, and someone can hold your feet down. With your arms crossed in front of you, don’t count them unless your elbows touch your knees.)

The tests are really a wakeup call. Quite a few of the participants came up to me and told me they knew they were out of shape, but didn’t realize it was that bad.

What they’re going to find out, is that once they get back to an active lifestyle, it’s not uncommon for them to take 3 minutes off their 1 mile time, and double the number of pushups and setups in just 12 weeks.

Finally, everyone left for the week with their assignments. The primary goals this week are to get them moving again and to start making daily exercise a habit.

To that end, they’ll be doing two exercise sessions a day: an easy one in the morning to get their metabolism going and get a jump on calories, and another more significant workout later in the day.

M-W-F: Strength circuit on the machines (30-45 min)
T-TH-SA: Cardio exercise on a treadmill, bike, elliptical, etc… (30-45 min).
M-T-W-TH-F-SA: Walk a minimum of 1 mile each morning (20 min).
SU: Rest Day

In the past, I used to try to ease people into the exercise, and to a point I still do—especially with the older population, or with someone who is coming back from a serious illness or injury.

On the other hand, I’ve also learned that many people will quit no matter what I do, and at some point, they just need to jump in. Look, if you have a big goal, you have to take big action.

That’s the only way to really get what you want. Sure it’s going to hurt a little bit afterward. Yes, you will be sore, but you can do things about that, like stretch, and drink lots of water, and getting up and moving.

The good news is that it will never be that bad again. Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made—it will adapt and get stronger, faster than you can even imagine.

Next week, we’ll introduce a daily calorie journal, and get them thinking about the things they’re eating. Until then, I’m hoping that you will get out there and start doing something too!

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 12

This was the 12th and final week of the contest and our top two competitors ran neck and neck, ending the week with a tie at 2.6 lbs. Shirley kept Steve honest up to the very end, with a very strong 2nd place finish (30.4 lbs). That was 10 lbs more than her closest competitors, and the most a woman’s lost in 12 weeks.

Steve ended the 12 weeks 38.8 lbs lighter, and $500.00 richer. He said it was just in time for Christmas shopping for the kids! Steve lost over 40 lbs the first time, and in the last year has lost over 100 pounds total. Talk about changing your life!

Karl finished 3rd (23.4), Dawn Stewart was 4th (19.8), and Marvin and Carol tied for 5th (19.2). Tony was 6th (18.8), Dawn Hopper was 7th (18.0), just edging out her husband Roger (17.0).

Many of the contestants would have finished even stronger, but we’re moving into the holiday season. With parties at work, and fewer workouts in the gym, several of them actually gained a few pounds this week, otherwise we’d have seen several more people over 20 lbs for the 12 weeks.

Of the 21 people that started the contest, 16 made the final weigh-in, and 19 were still working out regularly. Nine of the contestants lost around 20 lbs. Twelve of the 21 lost 10 or more lbs.

While not everyone had a chance to do the fitness post-test, those who did showed great improvements. Most took 2-3 minutes off of their 1 mile walk/run time. Those that improved the least still took off 1 ½ min of their time.

Everyone improved in the situps and pushups too. There were several who couldn’t do a single situp when they began. Just 12 weeks later, they were able to do 12-15.

Now they’re all at a crossroad. This is probably the most important time for them. Hopefully, they’ll keep the gains they’ve made, and continue to progress. And it’s a perfect time to press on.

Let’s say they needed to lose 60 lbs, and they lost around 20. All they need to do is simply do it again. Start another 12 week cycle. Do it again and lose another 20 lbs. Then, do it again. That’s it. Just two more 12 week sessions and they can have what they want. Doing what they know.

If they lost 10 lbs, it might take a little longer, but the results are still predictable. It’s doable. All they have to do is—do it. In fact, there wasn’t a single person that can’t get down to their ideal body weight in 12 months at the most, if they just keep working at it.

Take Steve for example. It’s been a year and he’s down over 100 lbs. He says he has another 36 lbs to go. If he’ll just do it again for another 12-16 weeks, he’s there. It’s predictable.

For some of the contestants, 12 weeks will do the trick. For most of the rest of them, it might take two more 12 week sessions. And that’s how you do it. Set a new goal. Pick a reasonable amount of time to do it in, and start doing it.

Your chance is coming up, too. Like I told you last time, we’re going to start a community wide Biggest Loser “3” in just 2 weeks on Friday, January 4th. Same $25 entry, same $500 prize.

We’ve already have 5 people sign up just from last week’s article, and I think some of these contestants are going to do it again too. I’m not going to set a limit on it this time, but we’re starting with or without you on the 4th!

You can work out anywhere you like—here, at the YMCA, Curves—wherever you want to have your fitness membership. You can even work out at home, or at work, it you like. We’ll all come together at our place on Fridays for the weigh-ins and a boot-camp style class.

This time, I won’t be putting the names & weights in the paper each week, but I will give updates from time to time, and write about the winners a little bit.

Everyone talks about making that change after the 1st of the year. Maybe you have too. Here’s your chance. What are you going to do with it? May God bless you this Christmas season, and I’ll see you in 2008!

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 11

This week’s winner was Tony Peel. It’s not the first time for Tony, and he’s had some very good weeks. If he can figure out how to keep those good weeks coming, he’ll definitely keep the weight coming off. Right now, he’s in 3rd place overall.

It’s been an interesting race, with eleven different winners over the past eleven weeks (we had a couple ties). Since we’re coming down to the end, I thought I’d let you know how everyone’s doing overall.

With one week to go, Steve has a pretty strong lead for the $500 prize. He’s down 36.2 lbs, and is likely to hit 40 lbs by the end of next week. He had another milestone this week, being the first person to lose 100 lbs in just over a year. It’s been fun to be a part of.

Steve is followed by Shirley (27.8), Karl (26.6), Tony (25.6), and Marvin (22.0). Others have had significant losses as well: Carol (19.0), Roger (18.8), Dawn H. (18.4), and Dawn S. (17.6).
Remember, despite what you see or hear on TV, anything over a pound a week is great. Most people can do a pound a week, if they start eating right and exercising smart.

Workout twice a day, and that jumps to 2 pounds a week. Really watch what you eat and you can sometimes lose more. Steve’s a good example of this, averaging over 3 pounds a week.

Of the 21 people that started, and 19 that remain, 9 have lost over 15 pounds and two others have a shot at it by the end of next week. That’s pretty good, if you ask me.

While the other competitors haven’t lost as much, they’re still feeling pretty good about things. One of the women told me that while she hasn’t lost much weight, she’s really noticing a difference in how her clothes are fitting, she feels so much better, and is doing things she never thought she could do. That’s what it’s all about.

I’m contemplating doing another Biggest Loser contest (Winter Biggest Loser) right away and wonder if people would be interested. This time, I was thinking about opening it up to anyone who wanted to join, regardless of the amount of weight they needed to lose, or where they want to work out.

Like last time, they’d come together for a killer workout with us on Friday nights along with the weigh-in. We’d also have the same entry fee ($25.00) and the same prize ($500.00).
The only differences would be that more people could participate but they could work out wherever they have a membership, whether it’s our place, the Y, Curves, a gym out of town, at work, or even at home. I wouldn’t be limiting it to the first 20 people. Who knows? Maybe we can have 40 or 50 people hitting it this time?

I also wouldn’t write about it in the paper this time (until the end), so if that was stopping you, this might be your chance. What do you think? What do you have to lose?

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 10

This week’s winner was Janice Watson, who lost 3.2 lbs. Only Myla posted a bigger loss, but it was over the last two weeks due to illness. Janice told me she wanted to lose weight “to feel healthier” and “look better.” She also wants to be able to keep up with her children.

According to Janice, her life will change for the better because she’ll “feel better about herself” knowing that she “stuck it out.” And that’s the real trick, isn’t it? Sticking it out.

Our Biggest Losers have completed 10 weeks and have just two weeks left in the contest. We’ve done pretty well—out of 21 that started, we still have 19 going pretty strong. Just the fact that they started impresses me. You know how hard it is to get started, especially an exercise program, or changing eating habits.

Once they do start, most people will do well for awhile, but then, something changes. Life intrudes. Old habits are revisited. Conflicts arise. People just start getting tired of making the effort; tired of getting up earlier to exercise, and denying themselves things they like.

Here’s where the danger lies. If their goal isn’t important enough to them, they’ll revert back to what they’ve done the most—and the way things used to be.

I was just talking with one of our members who lost 80 pounds last year. Then he quit trying. He told me he just got lazy. Basically, he quit exercising, went back to his old eating habits, and put most of the weight back on.

Losing weight and staying trim has to be a way of life. You have to eat right every day. And since we eat every day, we need to be active every day. Not just so I can make a living, but so you can feel better. So you can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and all those other things that can happen to you.

This is self defense at its most basic level. If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll start to fall apart. But if you keep exercising, you’ll have more energy and start trimming down again. And if you keep eating better you’ll feel better. Your body will even work better. But it’s an ongoing process. You still have to do it.

It’s O.K. to miss a workout now and then, or eat some cookies or chips once in awhile. Once in awhile I’ll even have a pop (the horror), some brownies, or even a chocolate milk shake. I know that if I’m working out that day, I’ll just burn it for fuel during the day.

That’s the real bonus at the end of this journey. Once you’re where you need to be, you get to eat what you want, because you’ll just burn it, as long as you eat it in moderation. And because you’re working out, you’ll feel so much better and be able to do so much more.

Our contestants are coming up on a decision. In two weeks, do they stop and go back to their old ways, or do they press on until they reach their goal? Do they keep what gains they’ve made, or do they get into that age old yo-yo cycle that traps so many people?

I’m hoping they choose to keep pressing on. The rewards of trimming down are priceless. Just watch the Biggest Loser next Tuesday night on TV, and then the finale the following week. Regardless who wins the cash prize, they’ll all be winners. Their lives are transformed. How about yours?

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 9

This week’s winner was Steve Johnson, and I’m sure he’d say “Finally!” As you know, Steve won last year’s contest by losing 44 lbs. Then he took off another 20 pounds over the past 8 months. His goal this time was to use the contest to take off another 40 pounds.

The first seven weeks, this time around, he’d always had good results, but never quite enough to win. Even so, his numbers were always good enough to keep him on top for total weight loss. Then, last week, the holidays caught up with him and he put on a couple pounds.

You’d of thought his favorite dog had died. For the next few days he was moping around, trying to figure out what happened. Finally, he realized he’d had a few days off from a fairly physical job, and he had the Thanksgiving meal still with him during the last weigh-in.

He redoubled his efforts in the gym, got back to his eating plan, and it paid off this week, to the tune of 7.8 pounds. He’s not the only one who turned it up.

Tony was second this week with a loss of 5.4 pounds. Remember, he’d had a bad week a couple weeks ago, and realized he wasn’t hitting it hard enough in the gym. Now he’s doing more, and it shows.

You see what it takes? All of us have bad weeks. We’re all going to fall down at some point. But what do you do when it doesn’t go your way? That’s when the rubber meets the road. Do you get back up and hit it harder, like Steve and Tony? Or do you just figure that’s the way it is, and the way it’s always going to be?

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when it’s wise to back off a little bit. But there are times when you just need to step up and see what you’re made of. And you know what? It’s not the destination that you’ll remember—although it’s pretty nice when you get there. It’s the journey along the way that you’ll remember.

It’s the people you did it with, and the hard times—especially the hard times. It’s the times you wanted to quit, but didn’t, and how you felt proud of yourself, maybe for the first time. When’s the last time you felt that way?

My son got married some years ago, but it’s not the wedding that we still talk about. It was the trip out west, and all the things that went wrong. Like the train that got cancelled in Chicago. The rental car that was way too small. My daughter’s baby crying all the way. The relief when it was finally over. But we were together.

Now we look back and can laugh about it. I think that most of these Biggest Losers will look back on these 12 weeks and realize that their lives have changed. They embarked on a new journey. What are you going to be able to look back on? What memories are you making?

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 8

So how did you do last week? When you’re facing holiday meals like Thanksgiving or Christmas, it’s often a victory just to hold your ground and not gain weight.

On the Biggest Loser TV show, they said that the average American will gain seven pounds between now and the new year. All it takes is to eat a little more, and be a little less active. Do it a couple days in a row, and you’re in trouble.

In our case, only a few contestants gained weight; the majority lost weight—some quite a bit. Angie Archibald lost 5.4 pounds, but she’d been sick for over a week, and missed the last weigh-in, so that reflects two weeks of weight loss.

Tony Peel and Brian Blair were the Biggest Losers this week, tied at 4.2 lbs lost. This was Tony’s second week at the top, and he says he’s learned something about workout intensity.

Last week, he’d gained a couple pounds, because he hadn’t been working as hard, and missed several workouts. After last week’s Friday night workout, he realized how much harder he could be working (I push them all pretty hard), and stepped it up.

Brian was also pleased that he’d lost weight over the holidays. His family went for a walk on Thanksgiving, and he’s tried to be as active as possible, even with a busy schedule.

It comes down to pushing yourself. Some people know they can’t do it, so they hire a personal trainer like me to help them keep the intensity high. They tell me they’d never do it on their own, so I do it for them. That’s O.K.

Others could push themselves harder, but don’t really think about it—they don’t realize they could be doing more. Here’s a good way to know if you’re not pushing hard enough.

Every workout should have moments when it’s difficult to carry on a conversation without having to stop and catch your breath. This applies to both cardio days and weight training days.

If you have to stop and catch your breath, you’re in oxygen debt—where your body is trying to get enough oxygen back in to meet the demands of the exercise. Try to have several peak moments where you raise the workout enough to feel this way.

You should also be perspiring freely. Sweat is a sign that your body has heated up due to the demands of the exercise, and it is removing the heat in water, through the pores in your skin so it can be evaporated off. Sweat is a good thing.

When lifting weights, you should be using a weight that isn’t easy—that you could keep on lifting forever. You should be using weights that get difficult around 10-12 reps (guys) and 12-15 reps (gals). My goal is that it’s so difficult, that you actually fail on the last rep—meaning you couldn’t fully raise it, curl it, squat it, or whatever.

If you achieve muscle failure, that means the work load was higher, causing you to burn more calories, build more muscle, speeding up your metabolism, and helping you to reach your goals. It all works together.

To that end, I gave them another killer workout Friday night. We again combined weights with the kickboxing, but this time we did three sets of each weight lifting exercise.

Finally, I taught them several new exercises. They’re going to spend the last four weeks in Level Three... Instead of doing single motion exercises like a squat, a curl, or a shoulder press, now they’re going to start combining the exercises. A good example is the Walking Lunge—Curl—Press.

Basically, they’ll do the Lunge that they’re used to, but instead of just lunges, they’ll maintain that position, and do a Biceps Curl with dumbbells in each arm, and also a Shoulder Press. Then, they’ll lower the dumbbells from the press, lower them in the Curl and take another step, and so on.

Since you’re trying to supply oxygen to so many muscles at once, the routine actually becomes a cardio workout, too. And by throwing several other exercises in a circuit with the compound movements, the intensity of the workout goes way up.

I call it “Active-Rest.” While one muscle group is resting for a moment, you’re hitting another, and so on. That way you’re keeping the intensity of the workout high, burning more calories, even in as little as 15, 20, or 25 minutes.

These workouts will give you that tighter, firm (ripped up) body you’ve been looking for. They also help bring out that inner athlete—everything else you do will get better.

They’re not for beginners, though. Remember, the contestants spent the first month building a base with the machines, and the second month learning various free weight exercises and strengthening their core. Now, they’re ready for Level 3.

The compound exercises they’ll be building their routines around are the Clean, Jerk & Press; the Walking Lunge—Curl—Press; Thrusters (Squat & DB Shoulder Press); Box Step Up—Curls; Dumbbell Cleans; EZ Bar Deadlift—Curl—Presses; Jumping Squats, Jumping Pullups; Push—Presses, Jumping Lunge Presses; and Jumping Lunges with Dumbbell Cleans!

While it sounds a little intimidating, anyone can do it, with a little guidance. You just learn the movements first, and then add a light weight, adding more when you get comfortable. Next week, I’ll tell you how they did!

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 7

This week our winner was Susan Hooper, who lost 7.6 lbs. This was an important week for her, because she’d been having problems getting her diet dialed in. For the last three or four weeks, she’d been worried she was eating too much, so she kept eating a little less each week.

Unfortunately, although she’d eat less, she’d gain weight. This happened three weeks in a row. I kept encouraging her to try to hit her minimum calories (eat more), but it seemed like an awful lot of food for her. Then, last week, she decided to go ahead and try it. After all, she’d been eating less and gaining.

The result was pretty stunning: 7.6 pounds. I’m hoping that it wasn’t water weight or muscle, but she swears that she was eating more this week. We’ll see next week. If she does have it dialed in, and is hitting her minimum, her metabolism should start speeding up and allow her to start burning fat for fuel. That’s what we want.

Susan had previously lost 30 lbs in another Biggest Loser contest just prior to starting this one. That’s exactly what people need to do, too. Hit it hard for 12 weeks, and then set a new goal. Hit it hard another 12 weeks and then another 12 weeks until you get what you want.

Susan was followed by Gene Rigdon and Carol Laughton, both of whom lost 4.4 lbs, and Karl Degenhardt, who lost 4.2 lbs. We’ll see how next week goes.

As I spoke about last week, it’s one thing to have a great week once. It’s quite another thing to have good results (1 ½ to 2 lbs off) every week! Like I told them, it’s next week’s results that will really tell me what’s going on—if it was water weight, muscle loss, or if it was really fat loss.

I’m also still seeing some of the gals not eating enough. That’s a killer every time. You’ve got to hit your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)—I call it your minimum—or your metabolism will think you’re starving, and slow down making it very hard to burn fat for fuel. Somehow your body thinks you need to hold on to that fat.

Hitting your minimum will satisfy your body’s basic energy needs, so it will release its death grip on your metabolism, and you’ll start losing weight. Have I said this before? You’ve got to hit your minimum! It sounds crazy, but sometimes, you have to eat more to lose weight.

This isn’t a license to go nuts the next time you get in the buffet line. It just means you have to eat enough to satisfy all your minimal energy needs so your body is working correctly. Then you can start burning fat.

On the workout side of things, we combined the kickboxing workout I’ve been teaching them on Fridays with their weight routine. They also combined the two different Free Weight routines to make one bigger routine.

About everyone said it was the toughest workout yet. And that’s the key—boosting the intensity a little bit. Using more muscles burns more calories and jacks up your metabolism.

Next week they’re about to embark into new territory for the final month. I’m start showing them my Level 3 and Level 4 workouts, but more on that later. Until then, what are you waiting for? Get out there and burn some calories!

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 6

With six weeks in the books so far, we’ve reached the halfway point of the contest. This week we had a two way tie between Myla Savant and Roger Hopper, both of whom lost 4.4 lbs! They were followed by Dawn Hopper and Steve Johnson, also tied at 3.0 lbs.

Myla had been looking for a good week and this was it. Previously, she’d told me she wanted to lose weight to feel better and keep up with her kids. She also wants to get off high blood pressure medication.

Roger said that he was tired of being overweight and wanted to change. He figured he’d stick out the program this time, because he was going through with his wife, and she wouldn’t let him quit! He’s also happy that his other activities are getting better, now that he’s dropped weight and gotten stronger.

This week, I want to talk about a couple trends I’ve noticed. There seem to be two groups emerging. The first group is made up of contestants that have lost weight each week, while the other is made up of people that seem to lose a little, and then gain a little (known in health circles as the yo-yo syndrome).

For example, all but one of the guys have lost the most weight at least once so far. But when you compare their total weight loss to Steve, they’re still quite a bit behind. Even though he hasn’t won a single week, this time, he’s been the most consistent, always losing at least two or three pounds, and often times, more than that.

Only Roger has been able to post consistent losses next to Steve’s. For the ladies, only Shirley has been able to post consistent losses for all six weeks, plus a couple more weeks during which she’d lost weight before the contest!

So, I asked them to talk to the others and tell them why they thought they were having more consistent results. What they were doing differently, that might help the others. While Steve wasn’t present at the Friday night workout, due to another engagement, I can tell you what his secret is.

He’s always here, pushing himself harder and harder. He’s running more, and trying to be very consistent in his diet throughout the week. He told me he has a few bumps on the weekend, but even then, he’s keeping the calories within check, although he might eat a few things he knows he shouldn’t.

Roger told the group that he and his wife are very careful to make sure he’s eating enough. The demands of his job have often caused him to miss meals, or eat junk food in a hurry. Now, he’s eating much better, and amazed at how much food he can eat, because he’s eating the right things. He and Dawn are also pushing themselves more, exercising longer, and running more.

Shirley said she was eating much more fruits and vegetables than she ever used to. She’s found a way to season them other ways besides just using butter, to keep the calories down. Shirley’s also been increasing her activity level. She told us she thought she was working pretty hard before the contest, but had no idea—now she’s really able to turn it up in the gym. She also said she almost never misses a workout (out of two a day), and if she does, she still got the other one in that day.

Each of them have got it dialed in—and that’s what I wanted the rest of the group to understand. It comes down to figuring out how much food you need, and then eating the right things in the right amount for you: fruits and greens; whole grains; low fat dairy, and lean cuts of meat, fish and poultry; and avoiding pop and junk foods.

It also comes down to increasing your activity with a walk (or run) every morning, and another session later in the day, which they’ve been doing with the free weights, and cardio sessions. Do these things, day in and day out, and you’ll lose weight every week, just like clockwork. Do them haphazardly, and you’ll lose a little here and there. Eat too little (or too much), and you can even gain weight, creating the yo-yo effect.

When people say they don’t have enough time to exercise, in the end, it really means that exercise isn’t a priority. Some of these guys are getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get their walk in before they have to leave for work. It all comes down to what you want. Do you want to lose weight, or just talk about it?

Each week, I’m showing them how to raise the intensity—this week we did a kickboxing workout. Most of them told me it was the toughest workout yet. Just wait. We have six weeks to go. I’ve a lot of tricks up my sleeve. Most of my personal training clients are ready to leave after just 25-30 minutes of well planned, intense, whole body exercise.

Finally, I showed them the second workout for Level Two. Later, we’ll alternate it with the other workout (Workout #1) I showed you before, and finally, we’ll combine the two for a super workout. For now, here’s the new workout.

WORKOUT #2:

WALKING LUNGES with or w/o DB (Legs, Hips, Core)
PEC FLY on the Ball or Bench (Chest, Shoulders, Arms, Core)
DEADLIFT w DB, slightly bent legs (Legs, Hips, Core
DB PULLOVERS on ball (Chest, Upper Back, Triceps, Core)
CALF RAISES (Calves)
ARNOLD SHOULDER PRESS (Shoulders, Triceps, Core)
STANDING BICEP CURL both arms together (Biceps, Core)
TRICEP KICKBACKS (Triceps, Core)
AB ROUTINE (Core)
#1: Regular Crunches
#2: Crunches with legs raised, feet crossed
#3: Crunches to sides with one knee bent, and other leg crossed
#4: Opposite Side
#5: Leg Raises (Upper body slightly curled off floor, quickly raising and returning legs just off the floor)

The first day, do one or two sets to become familiar with the routine. Be sure you get with someone that can show you the proper technique. After that, go for three sets of 10-12 reps (guys) or 12-15 reps (gals) three times a week.

For added intensity, do the Lunges and Pec Flys back to back without stopping. Then, do the Deadlifts and Pullovers back to back. Hit the Calf Raises, and then do the Arnold Press, Standing Bicep Curl and Tricep Kickbacks, back to back.

Finally, finish up with the Ab Routine, doing as many as you can of each exercise. With intensity, and without stopping, you can do this workout in a half hour. Be sure to drink plenty of water during your workout. Don’t forget to have a rest day between workouts, too.

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 5

This week’s winner was Jack Akins with a weight loss of 3.6 lbs, followed by Dana Stites, who lost 3.0 lbs. At age 57, Jack’s our oldest contestant, and he wants to be in better health for his family.

He works in health care and told me “I see people come with bad health from letting themselves go. I need to do something now for me.” As this week’s Biggest Loser, Jack received a nice tote bag provided by Paris Community Hospital.

The contestants stepped it up this past week by adding different activities like replacing their weight training on the machines with free weights, and doing their Friday night workout roller skating, courtesy of Twin Lakes Roller Rink. Skating is a great cardio activity and lots of fun too!

Quite a few commented how they’ve felt a difference with the dumbbells. Remember, free weights cause you to use more accessory muscles to stabilize the weights, and also work your core more.

They’ll continue to feel the difference as they get stronger and can do a few more reps, and up their weights. It’s extremely empowering. As your body and core get stronger, everything you do gets easier. Their metabolisms will speed up too.

In fact, building muscle is the secret weapon in burning fat. If you ever looked at a fat cell, you’d see a blood supply and not much else. Look at a muscle cell under a microscope and you’ll see lots of things; it looks like a little engine—and that’s exactly what it is.

More muscle means you need more energy to operate. Where do you think that additional energy comes from? You guessed it—fat. Put on some muscle and you’ll become a fat burner even when you’re just standing around. Of course, you get stronger too, which lets you push harder the next time, creating a cycle of success.”

There’s also the feeling you get after a good hard workout—it’s better than any drug out there, and it won’t get you arrested. You’ve heard of the “runner’s high.” It actually exists, and not just from running. Endorphins are released in the bloodstream that actually make you feel good.

Finally, there’s the good feeling you have about yourself, because you know you just did something that’s going to help you reach your goal. It all works together to help you get what you want.

I’m very impressed with this group. It’s been five weeks and no one has quit. Last year at this time, we’d lost almost half the group for one reason or another. This time, everyone has stuck, and that brings me to my last point.

The first step is simply starting. Everyone wants to change, but few people ever set out on the journey—and how can you get to your destination if you don’t even start?

All of these people have started, but they’ve also done something else that is just as important—they’ve been deliberate about it. They found a plan and deliberately, each and every day, make decisions to follow that plan, and that’s where they’ll find success.

Most of them lose weight each week, even if it’s only half a pound. Some are losing two pounds consistently. Sure, there are the few bumps now and again, but generally, they’re all headed in the right direction. All it’s going to take now is time.

If they’ll just keep doing what they’re doing, they’ll get what they want. And it takes a deliberate action sometimes. There are lots of land mines just waiting to blast ‘em. Life conspires to make it tough and it’s the focused, deliberate people that make it through.

They’re also consistent in their approach. It’s stupid to keep doing something you know isn’t working, but it’s really smart to keep going, once you figure out something that is.

These guys (and gals) are pretty consistent about getting their workouts in. They’re consistent in raising the intensity periodically (my job). They’re also consistent (mostly) in making better food choices throughout the day, and through the week—and that’s what it takes.

Once they have success, all they have to do is repeat it. Just do it again for another day; for another week. Just do it again. So why not get started? Find a good plan. Be deliberate about it—get focused. Learn how to be consistent in your approach, and you’ll get what you want. It’s working for them. It will work for you too.

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 4

This week’s winner, for the second time, was Karl Degenhart with a loss of 4.4 lbs, followed closely by Marvin Hooper (3.8 lbs). In third place, Carol Laughton also posted a nice loss (3.0 lbs), followed by Steve Johnson (2.6 lbs).

Karl has been working hard both here and at home. He told me his daughter has been helping coach him—she’ll get on her bike while he’s walking & jogging and he has to keep up with her.

That’s awesome. Not only is she helping him achieve his goal, but she’s staying active too! If only more families got involved like that, we’d see much less obesity in our kids today.

A few people put on a little weight, which was kind of discouraging for them. The problem is that you have to learn what the right amount of food is for you. Until you get it dialed in, you’ll have those ups and downs.

When we see a nice loss one week, and then a gain the next, it was almost always water weight and possibly muscle loss, due to not eating enough. Then, once you eat a little more, you put it right back on. This is the classic “yo-yo” syndrome.

One woman told me she ate less (on purpose), yet she put on a pound. It’s hard for women to understand that sometimes they need to eat more to lose weight, especially once they start working out.

Remember, if you don’t hit your minimum, or BMR (basal metabolic rate), your metabolism slows down. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that no woman ever go below 1200 calories a day. Males should never go below 1,800 calories.

Those are the bare minimums though. Most women are successful with a diet of around 1,500-1,650 calories. Guys usually do fine when they stay right around 2,400 calories.

So, while half of the group has the diet dialed in pretty well, the other half still needs to tweak it a little bit. Of course, they need to focus on lots of fruits and greens, whole grains (no white bread, buns, etc…), low fat dairy, fish, poultry, and avoiding pop and junk food.

For the most part, I believe they’re doing that. Once you’re eating the right things, it’s a matter of eating enough of the right things. You can eat a lot of food, if it’s the good stuff.

On the workout side of things, we turned it up again for next week, introducing our Level Two training with free weights to everyone. The machines are nice, and a good way to get started, but free weights have certain other benefits.

First of all, the machines guide and support you. When lifting free weights, you are the one guiding the weights, bringing in all your stabilizer muscles and your core. This makes you work harder, ultimately burning more calories!

Everyone will be doing the first workout three days a week. Guys will work up to three sets of 10 repetitions (men) and the ladies will work up to three sets of 12-15 reps.

Here’s the first workout, in case you’d like to try it yourself. Each exercise covers a major muscle group. If you do all ten basic exercises, you’ll hit the entire body, in just 20-30 minutes.

WORKOUT #1
Wall Squat (with a ball), or Bench Squat (legs, hips, core)
DB Chest Press on a Ball or Bench (chest, shoulders, triceps, core)
DB Deadlift (knees slightly bent) (legs, hips, low back)
Single Arm DB Row (upper back, biceps, core)
Calf Raises (on a step) (calves)
DB Lateral Raises (shoulders)
Overhead DB Tricep Press (triceps, shoulders, core)
Alternating DB Bicep Curl (biceps, core)
Ab Crunches on the ball (core)
Side Twists with a ball (core)

The first time, do just one set of each exercise. The second time, repeat each exercise twice. Finally, try to do three sets of each exercise.

With free weights, you’ll be lifting less weight than you did on the machines, since you have to balance the weights yourself. Make sure you have a trainer or other knowledgeable person show you how to do everything correctly, with good form.

Do everything very slowly, and with great control. If you can’t control the weight, choose a lower weight. Everything can be performed with dumbbells (DB), and a ball or a bench. Most guys starting out will need 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 lb dumbbells. Ladies will usually use 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 lb dumbbells. Good luck!

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 3

It was an interesting week for the contestants this time. At the end of the first week, the group had lost a combined total of over 60 lbs. After week two, they lost a combined total of a little more than 40 lbs. This week, the group lost only 13 lbs.

There could be several reasons for this, but not that they’re not working hard enough. I’m extremely impressed with this group and they’re willingness to let me push them. They’re all doing two-a-day workouts most days, and everyone has been very good about this.

So what happened? First of all, some of the early weight loss was water weight and muscle—it almost always is. Their bodies have stabilized now, and adjusted to different eating habits, and now, all the weight loss should be fat—which is what you want.

Another thing is that as they get stronger, the workouts get easier, so they’ll be burning fewer calories, unless they continue to add resistance to the weights, and keep changing their workouts up.

Finally, it’s time for them to really tweak their diets (remember, the best diet is actually no diet), adjusting their calories up or down a little bit. Some still aren’t eating enough, but some others might need to take slightly smaller portions then they have been.

In a few cases, some people gained weight. Sometimes it was muscle, because the body fat went down. Other times, it wasn’t quite as clear, and those are the ones that might need to back off the eating just a little bit.

Quite a few others, though, lost a half a pound, a pound, or even two pounds, and their body fat went down as well. That’s perfect. If they can just keep doing that, week after week, they’ll get what they want, and it will be predictable.

The winner this time was Dawn Hopper, who lost 3.4 pounds, followed by her husband Roger, and Jack Akins, both of whom lost 2.0 lbs. Dawn told me that she started the program because she was “tired of being so tired.” She wants more strength and energy so she can do more “sporty, outdoor things” with her family, and also to lower her risk of heart disease which runs in her family.

If she keeps this up, she will. Like I said, it can be predictable. Be active, and eat less than you burn (as long as you hit your minimum), and you’ll lose fat. It’s amazing how quickly people feel better, even if they haven’t yet lost a lot of weight.

Some of the women haven’t lost a lot yet, but their “pants are falling down” and they’re “getting in clothes they couldn’t get in for years.” When I ask everyone how they feel, they all report they feel better. The proof’s in the pudding, too (maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor to use), because in the Friday workout, I turned it up again.

They ran further and did some newer exercises that would have killed them in the first week. They were groaning, but everyone did everything! I was just amazed at their determination. This group is going to go far.

I gave them another assignment in the weight room this week. They’re going to do a single set of each exercise, called a drop set.

Here’s how it works: Start with a weight so heavy you can hardly lift it. Slowly try to lift it. When you can’t move it, slowly put it down, and lower the weight by 10 lbs and try again. After squeezing out a couple more reps, drop the weight again, and again, until you’ve done it 15-20 times and can’t do any more. Then move on to the next machine.

This will turn up the intensity, causing more changes in their bodies, and burn tons of calories. It will also prepare them for the move from the machines to free weights, which will happen after another week. I expect that if they also pay close attention to their eating this week, we’ll see even better results next week when they get back on the scale.

This leads me to a challenge for you. These people are all getting it done. Where most people won’t even start, they’ve not only started, but continued for 3 weeks. Last year, we lost almost half of them in the first month! These guys and gals are learning how to be consistent, and that’s how they’ll win in the end.

A lot of people “want to” lose weight and change their lives, but never seem to get started. But when you find a “have to” reason—when you “have to” do it, you’ll find a way to get it done. Each of these contestants believe they “have to” do it, and so here they are.

It’s not always convenient for them. It’s definitely not always easy, but they’re doing it, and you can too. Look, twelve weeks is going to pass us all by, whatever we do. Why not spend the time finding something priceless? Your health!

BIGGEST LOSER 2 -- WEEK 2

It was another good week for the contestants in this year’s “Biggest Loser 2” here in Paris. They gave it their all, especially in the Friday night “Fun House” workout, including a little jog around the block. Many of them had never run that far before. I checked later—it was exactly 0.2 mi. Next week, we’ll go the longer way around!

When we got back, we stretched, and went right into our boot camp: 75 jumping jacks; pushups, situps, partner squats, crabwalks, and the dreaded “suicides” which I call “running the dots” (twice).

I was extremely proud of them—everyone kept trying, even when they felt like quitting. For most of them, this was more then they ever dreamed they could do, and just wait. What was hard today will be easy in a few weeks!

Before the workout, last week’s biggest loser, Tony Peel, received a $25 Kroger gift certificate from First Baptist Church of Paris. At this time, quite a few people at FBC are thinking about weight loss, led by their pastor, Jon Lobos, who’s lost around 70 pounds. For more information, go to www.parisfbc.org .

We also awarded this week’s biggest loser, Karl Degenhardt, with another $25 Kroger gift certificate from FBC of Paris. Karl posted a 4.8 lb loss, followed closely by Steve Johnson (4.6 lbs), Shirley Fiscus (4.4 lbs), and Roger Hopper (4.2 lbs).

Karl told me he was here was to “get back in shape, be more active, and find the motivation and drive (he) seemed to have lost over the years.”

As I told you before, the focus in the first week was to get everyone moving, and I think we accomplished that goal. The focus this week was to get them thinking about how much they were eating.

When they turned in their calorie logs (if you don’t write it down, you’re just guessing, and guessing makes you fat), it was pretty clear that many of the women, and a few of the guys weren’t eating enough. Anticipating this, we gave everyone a personal assessment, based on their lean body weight, height, and age that told them their minimum, and also a suggested daily calorie goal.

Over the years, we’ve found that 9 out of 10 women don’t hit their minimum, and it was no different this time. If you don’t hit your minimum, your body will slow it’s metabolism down, making it really hard to burn fat.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the most respected governing body for exercise and nutrition, women should never eat less than 1,200 calories, and men should always eat at least 1,800 calories.

Over the next week, everyone will focus on trying to hit their minimum, and I’ll think we’ll see even better results, especially in the women. They’re also going to add some intensity to their strength workouts by doing opposing exercises like the bench press and seated row machines back-to-back. First one then the other, back to back, three times. Then, they’ll switch to the next two machines, and so on.

For those of you trying this on your own, these supersets are a great way to add intensity to your exercise routine. By eliminating the break, you’ll raise the amount of calories burned during the workout. I call this active rest—while one muscle group is recovering, you’re working the other muscle group.

The focus will also turn to the quality of what they eat. Many of the contestants are already eating better after just two weeks, and have said how much more energy they now have. Several who lost weight actually ate more food, but lost weight. More on this next week—stay tuned!