Category: learning and living
re: Fit for TV, The Reality of the Biggest Loser…what I would do differently
I remember when the Biggest Loser first came out. I had already been working as a personal trainer for a couple years by that point and had a blog where I had called out some of the unsafe/unethical/stupid practices they had done. When that Netflix docu-series came out, I thought about hitching up to it, and calling out the original series again when all my suspicions were confirmed.
But I decided to go an alternate route and make it a positive/productive one instead.
I’d be thankful they chose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs 🙂
So first, lets look at the contestants and what their needs are. I didn’t watch the original series because truth be told, I would get disgusted with the trainers and the way they treat the contestants so I don’t know all of their stories. But there were a small handful of the former contestants that were part of the docu-series.
All of the contestants wanted to lose weight, knew they needed to lose weight but didn’t know how. They thought the Biggest Loser represented the ticket to better health and thought that the show had their best interests in mind. But Hollywood is Hollywood and the better approach doesn’t make for good tv. Also just having a basic understanding of how reality shows really work is why when I was approached about having cameras in my studio, I said there would have to be very specific ground rules that eliminates things like misrepresentations about the truth.
So, lets look at the contestants, what their goals are etc. Their goal is simple, gain health by losing weight and keeping it off. Now if you look at the actual results of what the contestants did…they lost a lot of weight and in a very short period of time but most of them gained it all back. The approach was crazy (people leaving in ambulances makes for great tv) they were screamed at and encouraged to fight amongst each other (because drama makes good tv) and made to do humiliating things (because once again, that sort of thing makes for good tv). My personal training business isn’t dependent on television ratings, it’s built on real people with real struggles, getting real results and continuing to choose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs and telling their friends about it.
Phase 1: Establish better relationship with food, progress custom workouts that build muscle/cardiovascular fitness. Body fat would come off, strength and biomarkers for health improve dramatically, confidence and life outlook improves drastically.
Phase 2: Maintain and build upon your results, continue to live the best life for years on end.
So my approach would be a multi phase approach. The first phase for training would be centered around the basics to get them to build muscle and strength, improving their cardiovascular system and burning body fat right out of the gate while teaching eating skills that set them up for quick wins with longer term success. The results for building muscle and strength will come fast. Reason for this is because they spent so much of their life feeling like they weren’t enough and I’d want them to feel good about themselves for a change. Nothing builds confidence like the way effective training can. In addition to that, building muscle helps you burn fat and keep it off.
The workouts would be challenging, but never outside of what the person can safely do. There is a sweet spot between too much and not enough, and keeping them in the sweet spot is the key to both fast progress and sustainable progress without the body ruining it’s metabolism along the way.
The nutrition would be something that simultaneously fuels the workouts, provides enough protein to build muscle while keeping them in a caloric deficit…but not enough of a deficit where they feel hungry all the time resulting in the body fighting back with the rebound effect (work with your body instead of against it). Instead of overly strict dieting which wasn’t even effective in the first place, I would have them use their hand size to help with portion control while practicing the healthy skills and habits that will set them up for long term success. According to Dr. John Berrardi and his staff at Precision Nutrition, using your hands as guides for your portions has approximately 95% the accuracy of weighing your food…and is much easier and more practical. If something is going to be effective, it needs to be consistent. And if it’s going to be consistent, it should be convenient.
You can learn about it on his website https://www.precisionnutrition.com/hand-portion-faq
For the way I coach them. I wouldn’t BS them and I wouldn’t belittle them or yell at them either (unless they were doing something unsafe and I only would do that to get their attention). What the contestants were looking for is a guide to help them. I would be the caring guide that treats them like a friend/family member and help them strategize how to make the process fit their lifestyle. The plan works and I’d get them laughing throughout the process to make it enjoyable for a change.
When phase 1 is done, I’d show them how far they’ve come, and I wouldn’t use the scale. I don’t think the scale is that useful of a metric because it doesn’t take into account things like muscle growth. For body composition I prefer progress pictures and possibly waist measurements. And I wouldn’t use it as a public spectacle for embarrassment. If I have people post their progress pics, it’s because it will make both them and me as their guide look good.
I’m not about guilt and shame, I’m about building gains, because life is for living.
Now you may not be a contestant for the Biggest Loser, but if you need help and if you are in or near Boonton NJ and if what I say vibes with you, I offer a free trial so you can see if you think it’s for you. Just send me a text at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself to get started on the road to better health, strength and confidence, quickly but sustainably.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strength performers more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and travels across the country doing presentations on goal achievement for conferences, corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Kinnelon, Pine Brook, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.
How to Get “In Shape” in 2023 (myth-busting and info about how to design your own fitness program)
How to make 2023 your year
Well, 2023 is here, the new year has arrived and if you’re like many people, getting in shape nears the top of your new years resolution list. Also if you’re like many people, its appeared at the top of your list before but remains and unchecked box on your new years check list.
This year is going to be different though because I’m going to point you in the right direction. Will this be a step by step plan? Well sorta, but more like general guidelines that if you follow you can do great.
First, let’s set a couple things straight. A common mistake people try to do is “spot reduce” problem areas. A common example of this would be doing a bunch of ab exercises in an attempt to burn belly fat. Unfortunately it doesn’t really work that way so don’t do it.
Fortunately though you can spot enhance muscle development. Meaning you can do more curls to improve your biceps, or do heavier hip thrusts to build your glutes (the butt muscle).
So in order to get that the sought after lean, sculpted athletic appearance you should
- Develop the muscle in order to create toned muscle. (Through training)
- Get lean enough so the muscle won’t be covered up. (Through nutrition)
In reality, when people say that they want to be toned, what they’re actually looking for is building muscle and burning fat, just not to the extreme levels of body builders.
Now in order for this to happen, you’ll need to get leaner by taking control of your nutrition. The nutrition needs to do a couple things simultaneously. It needs to create a caloric deficit while simultaneously providing enough of the good stuff to rebuild your muscles while building health. I have plans for this, and I also have nutritionists, dietitians and functional medicine doctors in my network to help out when the big guns are needed.
With the nutrition in place, we’ll train for performance across a variety of exercises that hit the main movements categories.
At the base level for lifting, this would be:
- Upper body push (examples would be bench press, military press etc)
- Upper body pull (examples would be rowing, chin ups and lat pull downs etc.)
- Hip dominant (examples would be hip thrusts, deadlifts, kettlebell swings etc.)
- Knee dominant (examples could be barbell squats, goblet squats, front foot elevated split squats etc.)
Training those 4 key lifting movements will train all the muscles involved with them. As an example in the overhead press, you’re hitting shoulders, upper pecs, triceps, glutes, abs and many others. Getting the 4 main categories will ensure you’re making effective time of training and hitting the major muscle groups along with everything in between and ensures balance.
Now, with those 4 in place we would strive to get stronger across all of them. Why train for performance? Well generally that produces better results, and better enthusiasm for training. When you are training simply for aesthetics it’s hard to quantify results. Even supermodels have things about themselves they don’t like.
Meanwhile, doing more weight than you ever had before and repping out with it is easy to compare. Numbers are numbers after all.
Taking a bench press with a weight that someone could only do once at the beginning of a 12 week cycle and being able to do it for an easy “ish” set of 10 at the end of the cycle is an obvious improvement. In addition to that the best way to improve someones physique is to improve their max strength and do reps with it.
Strength has its own benefits too, like walking around with the “I got this” mindset and strength carries over to life in general, like throwing around your kids, drumming all night long, lifting critical care patients (one of my clients is a paramedic), martial arts, playing pickle ball or just having the physical capacity to do whatever makes you happy. Life isn’t meant to be observed from a chair. Life is for living, and it’s better when you have the physical capabilities to live it to its fullest.
Now, with the basic lifting movements in place you would apply a strategy of progressive overload. As in over time you add either more weight, more reps or ideally both. Like I said and it bares repeating the best way to improve your physique is to improve your max strength for reps. Keep in mind, it’s not going to be every session. It’s going to be over time.
With my personal training clients, after I’ve screened them to see what we can safely do, I come up with some exercises in the categories listed above, establish what their current capabilities are so I can get an idea of where I can start them to progress them optimally.
Then we start below their capabilities and expand outward until we sneak past their previous limits without them even realizing it.
Applying these strategies works for both men and women, younger or more life experienced.
I’ve applied this to regular people that just want to look better, perform better and feel better about themselves. I’ve applied it to athletes. I’ve applied it to nerds (their words not mine). I’ve applied it to touring musicians that needed to improve their capacity so they don’t lose a step. And I’ve applied it to national beauty contest winners who went on to go the distance at the international level (making history by being the only one representing Team USA to not only place but to come in 2nd)
It works for them, it’ll work for you too.
So let’s recap with a couple key elements. Get a nutrition plan that simultaneously burns the fat that covers your physique while providing the building blocks for muscle and health. Get a plan that covers the 4 main lifting movement categories and have a strategy of progressive overload to maximize your strength for reps. If you do it right you can have that body you’ve been dreaming about for the past couple years and depending on where you’re starting from you can get it before summer. Just have a look at some of my success stories and see how they did.
If you need help with this, I have a free trial at my personal training studio in Boonton. Just text me at 973 476 5328 to get started.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.
Some of my Favorite Books on Strength and Why
On my youtube channel I encourage people to ask me questions and one of the questions and when they do, I respond with a video answering it just for them.
This questions took a bit of thought. I used the criteria of being a book I’ve read and reread several times throughout my career.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.