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Today’s post is a shameless plug for a podcast, and a book written by the podcast hosts. They don’t know me, but I have listened to quite a few podcast episodes. I enjoy every one. The podcast is called Fat2Fit Radio, and they have a website and online support group as well.
I found the podcast a while ago when I was looking through iTunes for more health and fitness information. The About page of the Fat2Fit website introduces the hosts, Russ Turley and Jeff Ainslie. Russ is an engineer who decided to tackle his weight gain in part by starting a podcast called The Fat Guy Radio Show (not the one currently on iTunes!). Jeff is a high school physical education and computer teacher, who had his own history of yo-yo and fad diets, until he finally got fit and healthy in 2005.
Jeff heard Russ on the Fat Guy podcast, and offered to help with the podcast, as well as Russ’ weight loss strategy. The first episode of Fat2Fit Radio was recorded in 2007, and they have completed 141 episodes as of this writing. The podcast is on a hiatus due to Jeff’s recovery from an unspecified illness (which apparently affects his ability to record the show), but Russ assures listeners they will be back soon.
The episode format has varied over the years, but the segments are generally as follows:
- How are Russ and Jeff doing? How much weight has Russ lost this week?
- Listener questions
- Web Report, which might be news-related, or a health/fitness topic
- Main Topic
- Recipe of the Week
Their basic philosophy can be summarized as
- Act like the thinner person you want to become, by establishing healthy eating and exercise habits
- Diets are a temporary solution which can damage your metabolism, and don’t prepare you for the rest of your life
- Gradual (or slow) but permanent weight loss is the goal
- Don’t eat below your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); instead, eat 20% above it, to keep your metabolism actively burning calories
One of the most helpful tips I have heard on the show over and over is to eat the number of calories that a person at your goal weight would eat. For example, if my goal weight was 150 lbs, I would use one of the calculators on their website to determine my daily calorie intake, and plan my meals accordingly. In certain cases, obese individuals might want to set a goal somewhere in the middle between where they are now and their ultimate healthy goal weight, so that the number of calories is not too low for their current situation. That warning is displayed on the site’s BMR Calculator.
This approach has influenced their criticism of The Biggest Loser TV show, and extreme fitness programs such as Beachbody’s INSANITY . I might choose to disagree with them there, but I understand why they take that position. Many people have become frustrated with their attempts to lose weight by following extreme diet and/or exercise plans, or they see something on TV which they can never hope to achieve, and simply give up.
I am looking forward to new episodes of the podcast, but even after all this time I have plenty of old episodes in my queue. It’s strange to go backwards in time during Russ’ weight loss, but there’s still lots of useful information in each episode.
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| Amazon Link |
Russ and Jeff wrote a book called Fat2Fit: Getting There and Staying There, released in 2010. It was a compilation of the lessons and topics they had covered on the podcast up to that point. This is plenty of information to help you get started on a weight loss plan, leading to a healthy lifestyle.
Fat2Fit Links
Don’t forget to check out all my CAST PROFILES!
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| Side Bridge Leg Lift (advanced version) |
Full Name: Collette DeBenedetto Stohler
P90X2 Introduction: In X2 Ab Ripper, Tony Horton concludes with a shout out to Collette, “The French-Italian!” In P.A.P. Lower, we learn that she’s a former bodybuilder… No, Tony, an Olympic-style weightlifter, to be precise.
Background/Current: When P90X2 was created, Collette was a Beachbody employee, active in product development, as well as on the Team Beachbody message boards and newsletter. Her personal blog mentions her background in track and field, weightlifting (of course!) and running. A couple of interesting facts I learned from this article linked from her blog: 1) Her mom’s name is Collette too (last name Liantonio), and 2) Mom is a “Direct Response TV” marketing executive, so the younger Collette grew into the business.
She was an All-American long jumper and triple jumper who competed for the University of Pennsylvania. After that she competed for Team New Jersey in Olympic Weightlifting, where she was nationally ranked in the 53kg weight class.
She recently started competing in CrossFit for CrossFit South Bay in Hermosa Beach.
She is an avid traveler, and a spokesperson for The Yacht Week (watch for her at about 1 min 45 sec).
In a Facebook chat, she told me, “My main goals are to educate and inspire the youth generation, especially young women on fitness, self-confidence, and body image. My blog is the start of that, but I have many more ideas up my sleeve.”
For those who are wondering, her Facebook relationship status was Engaged and now she’s married. Maybe she was inspired by Tony Horton’s joke in X2 Ab Ripper: “Engagement, not momentum. I don’t mean to get out and get engaged…”
My Comments:
Collette was one of the inspirations for my growing list of cast profiles. So many people were searching the blog daily for information about her, that I decided to research other P90X2 cast members, since this seemed to be a more interesting topic than my workout journal. Along the way, I have learned so much about the people we see in P90X2. I’ve had the opportunity to chat with most of them, and I follow their updates on social networking sites. It’s great to be able to finally interact with Collette, and share this information with you.
Official/Personal Websites:
Collette’s blog, The Intuitive Athlete
Facebook (Personal page, friend request required)
Facebook (Fan page, The Intuitive Athlete)
Beachbody LIVE! with Stephanie Saunders and Collette (Nov 2012)
Team Beachbody newsletter articles
Don’t forget to check out all my CAST PROFILES!
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| Lana’s so fast, she’s a blur! |
Full Name: Lana Titus
Video Introduction: Jillian mentions on several occasions that Lana has three kids. Jillian has also told us that her video athletes are chosen to inspire us. Lana is inspiring and motivating moms to get in shape or stay in shape, along with their families.
Current: Lana’s website includes a Meet Lana page, where we learn about her active childhood, including various sports, then a transition to bodybuilding (and married life!) after high school. I encourage you to read the details, but after a while, Lana became a mom, and her husband’s participation in competitive fitness modeling encouraged her to give it a try as well. She was successful, and this led to her and her husband winnning Ironman Magazine’s Fittest Couple contest in 2006. After that came modeling jobs, personal training, and a television show on TLC called “Real Simple, Real Life.”
My Comments: I knew there was something I liked about Lana, and it wasn’t just that she was a mom of three, super fit, and unbelievably cheerful on the set of 12 Jillian Michaels killer workouts. She is helping individuals and families to improve their health and their lives!
Official/Personal Websites:
Related Posts
Body Revolution Cast Profiles
All Cast Profiles
Jillian Michaels Body Revolution (my workout reviews)
30 Day Shred or P90X?
Don’t forget to check out all my CAST PROFILES!
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| Russian Twist |
Full Name: Kit Horton Caldicott
P90X2 Introduction: Tony Horton has known her “forever,” because Kit is his younger sister. At first, I thought this was a figure of speech (“like a sister to me”), but it’s true! Kit is also a Team Beachbody coach. Talk about a family business!
Current: Kit is one of the P90X2 Moms, with a husband and three kids, and she’s obviously a busy coach as well. Her blog is a great mix of fitness information, inspiration, and motivation. She is fighting the trend that many parents (including myself) have fallen into, when the demands of life and kids take a toll on our health and fitness. Instead, we need to establish healthy habits and be active with our families!
My Comments:
From what I can see, I do not want to be invited to the Horton Family Thanksgiving touch football game! Well, maybe just to watch. That’s one tough family! According to her About page, Kit completed her first round of P90X at age 39. I suspect she had a little personal coaching from someone in the family, but it’s still quite an accomplishment! She has pursued other athletic and personal goals since then.
Official/Personal Websites:
Twitter @KitHortonCaldic (shortened due to Twitter’s length limit)
Get Fit With Kit (Personal website, with links to other sites and Beachbody info)
Get Fit With Kit Blog
Facebook (friend request required)
Team Beachbody coach page
YouTube channel (kjcaldicott)
Related Posts
All Cast Profiles
P90X2 Moms (cast profiles I’ve done so far)
My P90X2 Balance and Power Workouts
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| Natalie says: It’s harder than it looks! |
As I read the search results leading to this blog, occasionally I see people (presumably men) looking for information about Jillian Michaels workouts for men, or suitable for men. I can definitely respond to this topic, since I am a man who has lived through several Jillian Michaels DVD workouts.
I have been doing Jillian’s workouts for a while. I started with a 3 DVD Set: 30 Day Shred (30-40 minutes), No More Trouble Zones (50 minutes), and Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism. I didn’t use the third one very much, because it involved more kickboxing moves than I wanted to do at the time.
 More recently, my wife purchased Jillian Michaels Body Revolution (jillianmichaelsbodyrevolution.com), Jillian’s 2012 response to the 90 day workout phenomenon created by P90X and other routines that choose 90 days as the magic number for improved fitness (and possibly weight loss, as a side effect). I don’t need to lose any weight, but I’m always curious about Jillian’s latest project, so I’ve been working my way through the three phases of Body Revolution. Currently I’m on Phase 3, in week 11 of the 13 week program. I’m following the workout schedule more closely than the meal plan.
When I first started looking for home fitness DVDs, I knew I didn’t want to do some crazy dance-inspired thing. I knew that Jillian Michaels was on The Biggest Loser, had a reputation as “America’s Toughest Trainer,” and by then I might have been listening to her radio show (in podcast form), so I was familiar with her training philosophy even more than the brief segments shown on TV. I respected her as a trainer, so I figured I would buy a couple of her DVDs. Besides, at about $10 each, what did I have to lose?
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| Body Revolution: Men and women, working together! |
My first impression when I started 30 Day Shred was that I was entering the women’s gym. Jillian’s warm up in Level 1 included a bent-knee, hip-swiveling move that made me feel a little uncomfortable. By the way, the swiveling is supposed to move the knees and hips through a wider range of motion, to prevent injury! Anyway, I hung in there for the 30 minutes, and it was pretty difficult. At the time, I had done very little resistance work (push ups, sit ups, etc.) and it was just what I needed. Over the next few weeks, I progressed to Level 2, then Level 3. Along the way, I learned about Plyometrics (what Jillian calls “jump training” or “metabolic training”). Jillian’s 3-2-1 system for training with body weight resistance, light weights, cardio, and abdominal work helped me to get stronger, especially in the upper body.
Once I felt I had conquered 30 Day Shred (long after 30 days, because I’m a creature of habit), I moved on to No More Trouble Zones. The theme of “targeting my problem areas” didn’t really appeal to me, but I was ready for a change. This DVD was similar, in that it had three difficulty levels, and a mix of upper body and lower exercises, as well as abdominal work. Again, I was following Jillian and two women on the screen, but it wasn’t easy.
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| Who said working out with the ladies was a bad thing? |
Fast forward to today, and I have almost completed Body Revolution after a two-year gap in my Jillian workouts. During this time, I have used P90X, P90X2, and the book Bring It! by P90X creator Tony Horton. In comparison, I will say that Jillian accomplishes a lot in 30 minutes, compared to Tony’s 60 minutes or more. If you want to see my full comparison of Jillian and Tony’s approaches, read 30 Day Shred or P90X?
Yes, it’s OK to do Jillian Michaels workouts if you’re a man!
Here are some pros and cons for you to consider.
Pros:
- Jillian’s workouts are short (30-60 minutes, depending on the DVD) but very effective
- If you can get over the “Ladies Club” look of the DVD, these are some tough workouts
- You can learn good technique related to plyometrics, abdominal exercises, and other concepts included in Jillian’s “metabolic training”
- Body Revolution, a 90 day (more expensive) workout system, does include men in the workouts, even if they are intended to be eye candy for the ladies as well as inspiration for the guys.
Cons:
- Maybe you don’t like being the only guy at the gym. Consider investing in Body Revolution, especially if weight loss is one of your goals.
- Jillian’s workouts use light hand weights. She’s a fan of body-weight training, not heavy lifting. If you want a true bodybuilding workout, consider P90X
 or Jillian-endorsed rip:60 .
- Jillian uses timed exercises instead of maximum repetitions. Again, if you want to lift heavy weights to exhaustion, this might not be for you. The workouts do wear you down, though.
- Some exercises might seem a little weird for guys; but only a few of them, honest!
While working my way through Body Revolution, I’ve seen many similar (or identical) exercises as in P90X and P90X2, but Jillian’s workouts are shorter for a comparable amount of effort.
I hope this has helped you to consider using Jillian Michaels workout DVDs, whether you are a man or woman. Jillian helped me to get off the treadmill as my only form of exercise (not that there’s anything wrong with that, as part of a balanced workout schedule). She taught me that it was possible to work on many body parts in a short period of time, to get the results I wanted.
Amazon.com Affiliate Links (like the ones below) support the blog (when you make a purchase) at no additional cost! Thanks!
Jillian Michaels Products
P90X
rip:60
Related Posts
30 Day Shred or P90X?
Jillian Michaels Body Revolution
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