What does a Fittest Loser workout look like?

There's little rest for the weary during the 2018 Fittest Loser Challenge. The contestants are ramping up the duration, intensity, and frequency of their workouts as they approach the halfway mark of the competition.

Contestants work out twice a week with their trainers at Push Fitness in Schaumburg, then head to the gym early Saturday mornings for boot camps. The trainers also devise weekly exercise plans for their contestants in an effort to yield maximum results.

There's no doubt contestants are putting in the hours at the gym. Take a look at each competitor's new fitness regimen.

Kim Rosewell

Kim Rosewell works out six days a week. Trainer Nicole Steinbach leads Rosewell through circuit-style workouts that emphasize combined movements, such as a squat and shoulder press mixed into one movement. She adds sprints and jump squats into their training time for bursts of cardio.

"I love combination movements because it uses multiple muscles at a time. With adding cardio movements, we are getting her heart rate up," said Steinbach. "High intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) is a style that is time-efficient, creates high-caloric burns, and is fun."

In addition to the twice weekly trainer sessions, Rosewell tries to attend at least one other class at Push Fitness each week. She likes to alternate between boot camp and Zumba. For cardio, she does interval training on the treadmill for 30 to 45 minutes twice a week.

Rosewell said thinking about her upcoming wedding motivates her to keep pushing hard, even when the workouts are tough.

"The workouts with the trainer have become a little easier, but are still challenging," Rosewell said. "I notice I have more energy and feel like my clothing is fitting better."

Chad Lowry

Chad Lowry works out seven days a week, mostly twice a day. He's adhering to trainer Mick Viken's plan for weight loss and, while it's intense, it's working.

"As with many of my clients who are aiming to lose weight, I find that my style of circuit-based weight training, while never the same from one day to the next, is similar in its implementation and most conducive to being able to increase overall muscular strength and development while creating the best environment physiologically for fat reduction," said Viken.

On Mondays, Lowry does boot camp at Push Fitness in the morning and then runs on the treadmill after work. On Tuesdays he trains with Viken in the morning and runs in the evening. Wednesdays consist of a morning speed run. Thursdays he meet with Viken again and does a distance run after work. Fridays he does another speed run. On Saturdays he attends the contestant boot camp at Push Fitness and does another distance run later in the day. Sunday is his final speed run of the week.

He's running five miles on his evening runs and is increasing the distance by one mile per week. Speed runs are 30 minutes long with bursts of speed at the end of run. He progressively increases speed each time.

After his speed runs, Lowry does five minutes of planks, leg flutters and crosses, and Russian twists to work his core. His goal is to run the DuPage County Human Race 5K on April 28 in under 24 minutes.

Lowry said the most challenging part of working out are the evening runs because they're at the end of a full day. However, Lowry is up to the task. He now structures his time around fitting in each workout, and Viken said he has yet to introduce an exercise that is too challenging for Lowry to complete.

"You do what you have to do to accommodate [the workouts]," said Lowry.

One big change Lowry's noticed? Those trainer sessions and boot camps aren't as taxing as they used to be.

"For the first three weeks of boot camp and trainer sessions, I was utterly exhausted," said Lowry. "Now, I'm winded, I'm sweating, but I still have energy after I complete the workouts."

Nicole Mueller

Nicole Mueller is embracing all aspects of the challenge, including following the fitness plan. She works out between three to six days a week, with her routines lasting from thirty minutes to two hours. She makes sure she plans time for cardio and strength training, attends Zumba at Push, and sometimes takes step or kickboxing classes with fellow contestant Shelly Daley. Trainer Patrick Stille leads her through strength training routines and functional movement training. He also adds high intensity interval training to the end of her workouts.

"Working out is a critical component of the overall effort," Mueller said. "Combined with the change in diet, smarter shopping, and consistent exercises - it all works!"

Mueller said the weights get heavier and workouts harder, but she understands that exercise is one of the building blocks that go into the healthier lifestyle she envisions for herself. That, combined with the support of her friends and family, helps her stay motivated as the challenge progresses.

Noticing positive changes in many areas of her life because of participating in the Fittest Loser is surely motivating as well.

"This program is helping me deal with other stresses in my life," said Mueller. "I have more energy. I am also sleeping better at night, which doesn't hurt the next day."

Mueller credits Stille for creating workouts that are best-suited for her and help her achieve maximum results. She said he keeps her two ACL replacements in mind when designing workouts but knows how and when he can push her.

"He keeps that injury in mind, but he sure does love his squats," said Mueller. "I feel he has a lot of confidence in me and continues to push me every day."

Stille has noticed Mueller improving over the last few weeks.

"So far one of her biggest fitness accomplishments has been being able to do an assisted pull up. When I first showed her them, she looked at me like I had three heads," said Stille.

Shelly Daley

Shelly Daley works out five days a week and incorporates group classes like Zumba and kickboxing into her routine in addition to her two weekly sessions with trainer Michelle Jeeninga and the Saturday morning boot camps.

"I have to say my favorite is kickboxing! Jab, cross, hook, upper and pounding a bag just feels great," said Daley. "I've also been walking to my daughter's school - 1 mile each way - instead of driving a few times a week."

To stay focused, Daley said she's using skills she's learned at a workshop she attended at her daughter's school based on the principles from Stephen R. Covey's book "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People." Two ideas - begin with the end in mind and "put first things first" - stuck with her. She's using these principles to stay motivated throughout the challenge.

"Put first things first; so before I watch a show or meet up with a friend, I'll make sure I get my workout in," Daley said. "If there's a day I'm feeling like throwing in the towel, I keep thinking about the 'end' or getting to my goal weight and how empowering that will feel."

Since beginning the challenge, Daley said she's already noticed a spike in her energy. She's back to playing on the ground with her kids again and racing her 5-year-old at the park, one of her main reasons for applying to the competition.

Jeeninga has noticed improvements too. Jeeninga mixes up their 45-minute session each time to keep challenging Daley's body, but workouts are almost always full-body circuits. They do a variety of exercises to keep Daley moving, with Jeeninga assessing Daley's form to ensure she's doing the exercises correctly and avoiding injury.

"Shelly has probably been one of my best contestants so far," Jeeninga said. "She came in full speed and she is still pushing strong with excitement to do her best every week."

Kirsten Binder

Kirsten trains six days a week, with one recovery day included in her training plan. Trainer Steve Amsden developed an interval training program for Binder that has her using the elliptical, treadmill, and stair machines.

Amsden said he has designed a program where each workout varies in difficulty, duration, and intensity. In addition, Binder likes the Pilates and Tabata classes at Push Fitness. She's also eager to try different types of workouts offered in her community, including Pilates Reformer classes and a Burlesque Chair class that a friend ran in support of the Alzheimer's Association.

"All of this might sound like a lot, but it's very manageable," said Binder. "None of my workout sessions last more than 45 to 60 minutes, and I'm doing only one session per day usually - two only rarely."

Binder is thrilled that she's already seeing more muscle definition on her arms, quads, and calves, and has enjoyed every type of workout she's tried. While the workouts aren't easy, knowing that she was given the opportunity to compete in the challenge keeps her motivated to continue. She trusts Amsden and knows she's in good hands.

"The style of training I use for Kirsten is the same method I would use to train a non-competitor, including myself. The reason I chose this style of training is simple - it gets results," said Amsden. "Working your entire body with a never ending variety of training modalities will always yield the fastest progress when it comes to weight loss."