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Meet the trainers who will help Fittest Loser contesants

Our Fittest Loser contestants have the passion, and the highly skilled trainers at Push Fitness have the know-how.

Working together over the next 12 weeks, the teams will pack in hours of nutrition advice, workouts and support as our Fittest Loser contestants change their lives.

Meet this year's trainers:

Michelle Amsden

Michelle Amsden is a certified personal trainer and boot camp instructor with 10 years' experience in weight loss. Michelle Amsden has competed in three marathons and three half-marathons. She trained the 2015 Fittest Loser champion Bob Coniglio, who lost more than 50 lbs.

She specializes in a variety of training styles for weight loss and muscle toning. She is passionate about health, running and training hard. According to Amsden, the best part of her job is encouraging, teaching and pushing her clients to work hard within their capabilities.

Michelle Amsden is teamed up with competitor Kathy Couston.

Steve Amsden

A NASM-certified personal trainer, Steve Amsden is in his seventh year participating in the Fittest Loser Challenge. He trained the winner of the first competition, Lisa Notarnicola, in 2009.

Steve Amsden has more than a decade of training experience in all facets of fitness and nutrition. He specializes in cardio strength training, which entails high-intensity circuits utilizing free weights, kettlebells, medicine balls, etc. His style is ideal for fat loss, muscle gain, body shaping and overall toning.

"I have little tolerance for excuses and complaining," he says. "Everyone wants results, but that only comes with discipline, hard work and dedication."

Steve Amsden is training contestant Jiten Patel.

Joshua Steckler

Personal trainer and owner of Push Fitness in Schaumburg, Joshua Steckler received a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Indiana University. He is ACSM certified with 17 years' experience.

Steckler, who trained 2011 Fittest Loser winner Bob Pearson, specializes in high-intensity, total-body and functional training styles to enhance fat loss and muscle density, and enjoys combining ballistic movements with functional exercises to improve body composition, strength, power and stability.

He enjoys training in the gym but really loves getting outside and staying active through running, hiking and mountain biking.

Joshua Steckler is training Annie Overboe.

Laura Philbin

Laura is an NASM-certified personal trainer with a bachelor's degree from Bradley University.

She is also certified in Les Mills Body Pump and GRIT, American Red Cross CPR/AED and first aid. Philbin specializes in HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), strength training, and maximizing weight loss while toning muscles, gaining strength and increasing range of motion.

She believes in pushing clients to believe in themselves while realizing their true potential and learning to always put their health first.

Laura Philbin is training Janet Ford.

Patrick Stille

An NASM- and ACE-certified personal trainer, Patrick Stille has five years of experience. He specializes in strength training, martial arts and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

After suffering a career-ending injury in gymnastics, Stille turned to exercise as a way to stay healthy while healing from injury. He is a firm believer that exercise and a healthy lifestyle are the ultimate cure.

He'll be training contestant Sharon Miller.

Matt Bell

Matt is an NASM-certified trainer with a bachelor's degree in exercise science.

Bell specializes in strength and conditioning, flexibility, endurance training, and cancer-related fatigue.

He enjoys helping people to reach their maximum potential and strive to be the very best they can be.

Matt Bell is training Mel Boldt.

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