An article in the Wednesday November 25th edition of the New York Times, titled “In Reality Show, Health Can Be Lost in Frenzy,” reveals what responsible fitness professionals have said for years, in that the television show, “The Biggest Loser” can be bad for your health and is hardly “reality.”

The New York Times front page story is a good first step in peeling away the first layer of BS and secrecy that surrounds this purported healthy lifestyle reality show.  The story starts off telling us about season one “winner” Ryan Benson who lost 122 of his 330-pounds, only to gain it all back once the show ended. As a result of Benson’s public comments that he resorted to fasting and dehydration – a practice apparently commonplace among the show’s contestants – he has been ignored by the show.

Benson and other anonymous contestants tell a story of marathon exercise sessions, exercising while wearing excessive clothing, purposeful pre-weigh in dehydration and severe caloric restriction. These extreme behaviors have caused contestants to lose more than 15-pounds in a week, results and behaviors that are anything but healthy.

Most contestants speak anonymously because of releases that subject contestants to severe financial fines of up to one million dollars for speaking to reporters without the show’s consent.

Speaking of releases, according to the Times story contestants sign a release that says, “no warranty, representation or guarantee has been made as to the qualifications or credentials of the medical professionals who examine me or perform any procedures on me in connection with my participation in the series, or their ability to diagnose medical conditions that may affect my fitness to participate in the series.” Keep in mind that this year’s show features some the heaviest contestants to appear.  There are five contestants over 400-pounds this season, and they all have signed a document that certifies they are in, “excellent physical, emotional and psychological and mental health.”

It’s no wonder that during the first episode of this season’s first show two contestants  were sent to the hospital for heat stroke after collapsing during a one-mile race.  And it’s no surprise that the release signed by the contestants makes no guarantees about the qualifications of the medical professionals connected with the show.  In response to this disgrace the show’s medical consultant said, “If we had to do it over, we wouldn’t do it.  It was an unexpected complication and we’re going to do better.”

Unexpected complication? Taking morbidly obese, out-of-shape people and having them run a mile is stupidity, neglect and exploitation at its worst.  Does any rational person accept that the problems encountered by these people are unexpected and can be classified as a complication?
The medical advice given to the producers of, “The Biggest Loser” is a bad as the guidance provided by their so-called fitness experts.

There’s too much info in this New York Times story to include in just one post, so check back for more in the next few days.

Back in the spring I posted an item dealing with folks who use the pending warm weather as motivation for getting into shape.  I’m not a big fan of this mind-set, as all-year consistency is the key to feeling and looking your best, and to being as capable as possible.

So now that Labor Day has come and gone and as the seasons are about to change – and the weather starts to get cooler and then colder (YUK!) – I want appeal to those of you who might drift away from the gym as a result.  Don’t let the coming autumnal equinox – September 22^nd – bum you out and sap your enthusiasm for working out.

IMHO, many people fizzle as the days grow shorter because they’ve been working so hard – perhaps overworking – since the early days of spring.  Gearing up and staying up for 4 months is tough, especially as we get older.  In the effort to look good in a bathing suit, many people stress about every meal and every workout during the summer.  Despite what you’ve been lead to believe by too many so-called fitness experts, it’s not natural to work in top gear for months on end.

Living in the northeast where the weather can be as lousy, miserable and depressing as just about anywhere, I understand why people want to take advantage of the nice weather while we have it.  However, overtraining is never a good thing regardless of the reason.  I admit that there are times when I’m tempted to go for that extra workout on a beautiful day during a string of beautiful days, and sometimes I even fall for the siren’s song of sunshine and low-humidity.  But as I’ve gotten older these instances are few and far between because I know that I always pay for overdoing it.

So as kids are going back to school and us adults start gearing up for getting back to the usual routine, make sure you make time for regular workouts.  Stay consistent and you’ll be content.

Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) is a term used to describe a host of symptoms that come about as a result of doing too much exercise, and serves as an illustration of the old adage that you can get too much of a good thing.

At this time of year I like to remind my clients not to get carried away with their workouts when the weather gets nice.  After a long, cold, dark and dreary winter people in New Jersey – and any other place that experiences winter doldrums – look forward to the arrival of good weather.  In many cases, people “celebrate” the first nice weather of the year by doing more in a few days than they’ve done in months.

I understand the enthusiasm.  However, overdoing it with exercise in the short term – even during a two or three day span – can have long term repercussions.  Runners who run too much too early can develop from shin splints, tendonitis and a host of other seemingly minor ailments that can become chronic ailments.  Whether it’s high school distance runners or middle-aged weekend jogging warriors, a few days of overtraining can cause a lot of problems.

Runners aren’t the only active folks that get bit by the overtraining bug, as gym rats of all stripes are just as susceptible to doing too much and not getting enough rest.  Certainly overtraining isn’t a seasonal occurrence, but in my experience this is a time of year the many people are likely to burn the exercise candle at both ends.

Common signs of overtraining are:

• Fatigue
• Lack of enthusiasm for training/activity
• Abnormal appetite
• Insomnia
• Diminished immune system
• Uncharacteristic muscle soreness from workouts
• Joint soreness
• Increased incidence of injuries
• Stress, anxiety or depression
• Elevated resting and training heart rate
• Diminished capacity for exercise
• Compulsive need to exercise

The television show, “The Biggest Loser” is bad for your health as it provides us with a cornucopia of dysfunctional and unhealthy behaviors that causes more problems than it solves.  Fitness professionals shouldn’t pattern themselves after the trainers on this show and consumers shouldn’t let themselves be treated with the disrespect displayed by trainers on the show.

It’s hard to imagine any situation or atmosphere that is more negative, harmful and dysfunctional than the one presented on the television show, “The Biggest Loser.”  Everything from the misguided emphasis on weight loss, the rampant display of disordered eating, the mistreatment of the contestants and the inefficient and random nature of the training sessions and “Last Chance Workouts” is a testament to what is wrong with the current state of mainstream diet and exercise.

The Biggest Loser Chronicle will be a regular feature at HealthAndFitnessAdvice.com and provide commentary on the training and nutrition methods used on the show.

During episode 703 the contestants are forced to compete in a fitness challenge that involves jumping over a swinging beam, the winner being the last one to jump without hitting and breaking the beam.  Picture a swing set with giant swings that have a balsa wood board where the seat would be and that swings about 6-inches from the ground with it comes around.  This was what the 285-pound plus contestants were forced to do.

Kind of like the water-boarding torture, but for fitness.  Well someone’s idea of fitness anyway.

In the intro to the challenge we’re told “The Biggest Loser” record for this challenge was 40-minute, and a former Biggest Loser winner set the record.  There’s an oxymoron for you.  Anyway, from what we’ve seen from these contestants thus far in the show it’s apparent that at least 3 or 4 can’t even walk properly, so quick exits are certain.  Sure enough once the swing starts these contestants fail and are removed from the challenge, the first one eliminated couldn’t even step over the swing once.

There’s quite a battle for first place as several contestants make it past the old record of 40-minutes despite the 95-degree heat.  There are 3 people left as the swing is sped up after the contestants completed around 700 jumps and at this point one contestant breaks the board and is removed.  The 2 girls left battle it out for 300+ more jumps, and the winner smashes the record as she completes 1030 jumps in just under 2 and a half hours.

The winner vomits after the event ends and tells her fellow competitors that she was vomiting and re-swallowing it during the competition so that she wouldn’t lose fluids The runner-up who complete 1029 jumps was distraught because she “lost.”  There was not one redeeming aspect in this inappropriate lesson in how not to treat and train people, as contestants who complete hundreds of jumps were in effect losers.

What was worse than this “challenge” was the behavior of the trainers throughout the show.  Personal trainer Bob yells and curses at clients, and called one woman “a mess” as she tried to complete sprints during a treadmill workout.  During the “Last Chance Workout,” which is right before a weigh-in, he tells us he’s going to, “Put a whole week’s (worth of exercise) into one workout.”  And during this workout, after pounding a young contestant he proudly crows, “That’s what I wanted (to make this kid cry).  If I can get him to cry I’m doing something right.”

There isn’t a club in the world that should employ a trainer that expresses this sentiment and isn’t no one should endure this kind of treatment.  Behavior like this serves as an insult to the personal trainers out there who adhere to a professional code of conduct.

Personal trainer Jillian is just as bad, if not worse, as during the ridiculous “Last Chance Workout” she says, “It’s fun watching other people suffer.”  Her most embarrassing moment is during her “Trainer’ Tip,” segment where she presents her 3-step interval course, where she shows us how to do a 3 exercise circuit that features jumping, bicycle abs and running in place.  The application of these kinds of exercises is inappropriate for a general audience and the “workout” is constructed in a ham-handed manner.

Her jumping technique is horrible as she doesn’t properly bend her knees during the take off phase and her landing mechanics are improper - she allows her knees to buckle inward when her feet hit the ground.  Women have a particular problem with ACL tears that are partially due to structural issues, but this problem can be greatly minimized by proper landing mechanics. From watching this demonstration you can say that either Jillian is unaware of the proper techniques involved with jumping and landing or is aware of the proper mechanics but didn’t care enough to make sure that these techniques were properly demonstrated during the demo.  From this demonstration you have to wonder if Jillian has really ever performed this movement.  Any way you slice is, this substandard and slipshod workout is a great example of everything that’s wrong with “The Biggest Loser.”

There are other examples of questionable personal training methods and philosophies just from this one episode – the treatment of clients, exercise selection and technique, messages that further disordered eating, and the establishment and reinforcement of negative attitudes and connections between exercise, eating and weight.

The Biggest Loser” is a part of the problem, not a solution.

There is no shortage of celebrities who like to pretend they are fit and healthy.  But just like the roles they play, this kind of fitness is just pretend.

Over the past 25 years, we have had to endure all kinds of celebrity fitness gurus and had more models, actors and actresses tell us how to eat and exercise than you would think our society could take.  However, thanks to a culture of celebrity worship that’s still going strong in the year 2008 Hollywood-types and celebrity personal trainers are everywhere trying to sell the public anything and everything that has to do with health and fitness.

Even fops like Dr. Phil have jumped on the fitness bandwagon.  Seriously, it’s bad enough that people take his advice about how to run their families, but health and fitness advice?  That is depressing, Dr. Phil McGraw as a personal trainer.

Thanks to AOL and People Magazine, we have a glimpse of a wide variety of celebrity fitness nonsense, as the online service has posted the eponymous magazine’s feature titled, “100 Tips for a Hollywood Body” that’s due on the newsstands this week.  The preview provided by AOL presents us with a veritable cornucopia of the kind of garbage that passes for health and fitness advice, with some of these great “tips” coming to us from some celeb personal trainers.

Here are a couple of the most nonsensical bits of info that People want us to swallow as being healthy and/or effective.

Minka Kelly who is on “Friday Night Lights” runs at least 45-minutes a day and lifts weights 3 times per week. This is a sure-fire recipe for burnout, over training and injury, and serves as a classic example of quantity over quality.  There’s no doubt that countless impressionable young women will take this advice to heart and embark on this over-the-top kind of program.  This is too much exercise for anyone to perform over any period of time.  The amount of pounding that over 300-minutes of running puts on the body per week is guaranteed to result in a litany of problems from orthopedic problems to a loss of range of motion.  And – if Kelly actually even does this routine, as it might just be public relations nonsense – her weight training workouts have got to be awful because she’s so shot from all of the running.

Kelly is a 27-year old woman who has the genetic gifts that allow her to play a high school cheerleader.  It’s not the workout, it’s the genetics.

This is quintessential Hollywood fitness nonsense, but wait, there’s more.

Next up is celebutard Kim Kardashian, whose claim to biggest claim to fame is a sex tape, and claims she likes her shape but gets rid of her cellulite by focusing on toning and doing martial arts on a treadmill.  And of course she loves Spanx body shapers.

With this one it’s tough to know where to begin.  There’s no such thing as a toning workout and cellulite certainly cannot be reduced via a toning regimen.  Cellulite actually poses one of the biggest problems known to mankind, for despite a variety of miracle advances in the field of cosmetic surgery “the Big C” can’t be banished.

Martial arts on a treadmill means that Kardashian is doing 2 things in a substandard fashion, and this kind of workout is representative of the zany wing of Hollywood fitness.  You’d expect to see nonsense like this on “The Biggest Loser.”

The nutritional tip from Kate Hudson will no doubt appeal to all of those – too many – people who love to deny themselves food, as she eats light and will have yogurt for breakfast and salads for dinner.  Super advice, especially for all of those women out there with poor body images who already have been taught that not eating and eating less is best.

Hudson serves as a great example of how just because someone looks good, doesn’t mean that they are healthy or capable. And I really don’t think she just eats yogurt and salad for any stretch of time, but even if she does it doesn’t mean you should.  But this just brings up the issue that you can’t believe everything that you read, especially when dealing with celebrity fitness and nutrition.  This is a nutrition tip that can be thrown in the circular filing cabinet.

David Beckham, we’re told, has become much more health conscious since moving to Los Angeles and as a result is now working out twice a day.  More crap.  He was one of the best soccer players in the world for years, but now that he’s in La-La Land he’s turning it up a notch.  Guys – and girls – who are world-class athletes are different than the rest of us.  Beckham’s twice a week workouts are likely bunk, and even if he is following such a program, the rest of us have nothing to gain from joining him.  If you work, have kids and a family and all of that jazz you don’t have a lot of time to be exercising twice a day.  Ignore this tip as well.

There’s more nonsense as well.  But in the efforts to not be totally negative, I’d like to recognize 2 celeb tips that are quite helpful.  First of all we have Kate Beckinsale who says her personal trainer has taught her “sleep is like the Holy Grail,” and “that if you’re tired your workouts will suffer.”  Good advice from Kate.

Another celeb that seems to be on the right track is multi-talented Hugh Jackman.  The star of stage and screen recommends interval training and from what I remember from the lead-up to the first X-Men movie really makes an effort in the gym.

But the lesson to be learned from these two – especially as it pertains to celebrity fitness – is that both Beckinsale and Jackman have great genetics.  Combine this with a good work ethic and responsible program – and the fact that their appearance is their career – and the sky is the limit when it comes to how good these 2 can look.  It might seem unfair – hell it is unfair – but most people don’t have these genetic gifts.

So don’t get all caught up in the hype and promise of celebrity fitness, and fall into the trap that appearance is synonymous with fitness and health.

The old adage that too much of a good thing is bad for you applies to exercise, as Over Training Syndrome can adversely affect your fitness level.

People who love to exercise – and those who are addicted to exercise – can fall prey to Over Training Syndrome (OTS), and chances are that those of us who workout regularly have over-trained.  As a strength coach/personal trainer, and as someone who has pushed myself in the gym, I constantly adjust my workouts and the workouts of my clients to avoid OTS and the problems that it causes.

Simply stated, OTS occurs when you consistently don’t allow yourself enough time to recover in between bouts of exercise.  OTS can occur Sometimes people feel so great about exercising and train so hard during individual workouts that the typical rest period between workouts isn’t sufficient to allow for recovery, and over time the effects of over training are felt, and performance decreases.

There’s no one indicator of over training; OTS is marked by a collection of physical, behavioral and emotional behaviors that are brought about from months or even weeks of doing too much.  Athletes and weekend warriors alike can suffer from diminished performance, a compromised immune system, constant muscle soreness or muscle soreness after “easy” workouts, an increased resting pulse rate and increased rate of injuries.  Sometimes people also have a hard time sleeping.

All of this from exercising too much.  And it doesn’t matter if you are a professional athlete, a personal trainer or a weekend warrior, doing too much will result in OTS.  Fatigue sets in earlier in workouts as glucose tolerance is affected that results in symptoms of hypoglycemia and athletes will find that they can’t maintain their usual workload at a given heart rate.

Over the years, I have had several clients who loved to distance run, and every year the onset of the great weather that comes with spring spurs these runners to run longer or more frequently than they are accustomed to.  Being so happy that the weather has finally gotten nice, these runners over train.  What follows is injury, illness and diminished performance.

OTS can also affect people who overdo it in the weight room.  Training 4 or 5 days per week, every week can trigger OTS and result in the same problems as experienced by distance runners.

Steroids and human growth hormone are popular because they help to body recover faster from the rigors of training and competition.  Users of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are relatively immune to the affects of OTS, which is why they are so popular among professional athletes.

There are several ways that you can check to see if you are over training and as a strength coach/personal trainer I utilize a couple of methods. With my own training from a performance standpoint, I test my vertical jump or broad jump to see if I’m overdoing things, even if I don’t feel any symptoms.  There are times when I feel great but am 1-3 inches off in these different jumps, which IMHO is the single best indicator of a person being over trained.  Using the jump measurements is the early indicator of OTS and will definitely help to prevent the condition from getting worse.

However, I’m human just like everyone else and for a variety of reasons there are times when I overdo.  If I haven’t tested my jump I know I’m “over trained” by my level of soreness and/or an overall heavy-limbed feeling.

The best treatment for OTS is rest, and how much rest you need depends upon how over trained you are.  If you’re in touch with your energy levels and are aware of the fact that you might be doing too much, taking a few extra days off in between sessions for a couple of weeks can do the trick.  However, for those folks who refuse to recognize that everyone has limits and get themselves deep into the throes of OTS, more rest is required to overcome the problem.

Remember that you need to balance exercise and recovery, as rest plays just as important of a role in getting into and being in shape as does exercise.  Taking time off is a good thing and will improve your fitness level.  Taking time off from exercise because of illness or injury is not recovery from exercise, but healing.

Enjoy exercise, but enjoy your rest as well.  You can’t be fit, healthy and in shape unless you allow yourself time for rest and recovery.

Dr. Mehmet Oz and his partner Dr. Michael Roizen have written a great book called “You On a Diet,” that provides much needed straight talk on the subjects of nutrition and the need to exercise. I said, “the need to exercise.”  When it comes to the specifics of exercise, the good doctors should stay out of the conversation.

The ubiquitous Oprah Winfrey, who loves to find diet and exercise experts but can’t stick to the regimen set forth by any of them, is giving props and publicity to Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen and their new book, “90- Day Live Longer, Feel Younger Plan.”  The features of his plan are; do yoga and lift weights, walk 30-minutes every day rain or shine and adopt a “food is medicine” philosophy and avoid foods that Dr. Oz says belong in a Hall of Shame.”  Of course, this plan is being touted as providing “fast” results.

Of course, “fast” has to be included in any of these pop diet and exercise programs, or else people won’t shell out the 20-or-so bucks to buy the book.  Who wants to hear that slow and steady wins the race when there are people out there who promise fast and easy results?

Dr. Oz has a fitness test and he says all 30-year old women should be able to perform 45 bent-knee, also called “modified,” push-ups while men should be able to perform 35 “real” push-ups.  Dr. O goes on to say that five push-ups can be subtracted for every 10 years of age.

I must say that I’m not very impressed with Dr. Oz’s exercise prescription or his fitness test.  First of all, while yoga is a good supplementary activity there are many other valid, even superior, choices of exercise to be paired with weight training.  Swimming, Pilates and martial arts are but a few of these options.

Giving people the goal of walking 30-minutes every day, rain or shine, is a prescription for failure.  There is no need to exercise every day, and while walking is a great activity, except for beginners and/or the non-motivated, there are much better ways to spend your exercise time.  But for the sake of giving Dr. Oz the benefit of the doubt in that he’s trying to appeal to the masses, I won’t pick the nit of recommending walking.  However, I do have a big problem with telling people that they have to perform this activity – or any activity – every day.

Exercising every day guarantees that the quality of the exercise will diminish over a very short period of time.  Despite what many so-called fitness experts want you to believe, the mind and body wants and needs time to rest and recover from exercise, even from low-intensity/high-volume activities like walking.  And with regard to these kinds of activities it’s more important to take a mental break when following any kind of exercise program.

High-volume/low-intensity exercise is inefficient and very often leads to burnout and/or over training.  After consecutive days of exercise, the benefits of rest and recovery in the form of an off day will do much more than will another day of exercise.  Certainly for the very short-term some people can train every day, and even fewer people at high-intensities, but following a healthy lifestyle plan is a long-term commitment that requires the appropriate mix of work and rest.

Dr. Oz’s push-up based fitness test leaves much to be desired.  For starters, it is woefully one-dimensional.  While push-ups are one of the best exercises you can do, in the broader context of an exercise program there are certainly better exercises, and exercises that can better assess a person’s fitness/capability level.

To assert that women should do “girl push-ups” – bent knee push-ups – is to be ignorant of women’s physical capabilities.  Women should and can do traditional, real push-ups.

“Girl” nothing, “real” everything.

Over the past two decades, I have had women clients of all ages and ability levels perform perfect, real push-ups.  Right now I have 3 women who can perform multiple sets of 15 or more push-ups.  And there’s no two ways about this, bent knee push-ups are a euphemism for “girl” push-ups.

Dr. Oz states that as people age 10 years they can do 5 fewer push-ups, which is absolutely ridiculous.  Using this standard my 60-years young clients would only have to do 30 “girls” push-ups instead of the 60+ real push-ups that they currently do.  My clients aren’t athletes or even ex-athletes, just real women who work hard and as a result are in great shape.  To express the notion that women and older people can or should do less, or should strive to do less, is to reveal a fundamental lack of understanding with regard to human capabilities.

Dr. Oz’s nutritional mantra that “food is medicine” just furthers the misguided school of thought that eating should be about weight control and avoidance behaviors, and ultimately not eating.  Feeding becomes a joyless exercise that is equated with taking medicine; now there’s a real attractive image.  According to Dr. Oz, one of life’s pleasures should be reduced to the level of taking medicine.  It’s no wonder that disordered eating is rampant and that so many people, particularly women, have poor body images.

Not too long ago equating eating with taking medicine would have be laughed at as being preposterous, now this concept is front and center in a marketing plan to help sell books.  It’s too bad that these doctors have taken this turn and have become just another voice in the crowd of cookie-cutter, misguided diet and exercise programs.  My advice is to read “You on a Diet” and just ignore this new book.