Trainers evaluate Fittest Loser contestants
The relationship between a personal trainer and a client is a little bit like a therapist and a patient.
It's also a little bit like a drill sergeant and a new recruit.
The five competitors in the Daily Herald-Push Fitness Fittest Loser contest each have their own personal trainer to work with, and they meet three times a week to work toward the goal of significant weight loss and a complete change in lifestyle. That's a great deal of pressure to put on any relationship, and this one has a three-month deadline.
The contestant who loses the most weight by percentage in the three-month period wins the competition, but everyone involved believes that all five competitors end up winning. With that kind of positive point of view, the relationship between trainer and client is relatively pleasant, despite the pain and anguish that comes from the workouts.
The five trainers have known their contestants for one month now, and here are their thoughts about the people with whom they are working:
Michelle Amsden (working with contestant Kristen Kessinger)
#8220;Kristen is very motivated and comes in ready to work hard for the entire hour. Kristen started the contest right away contacting me through calls and text messages regarding food, and that tells me she is ready and wants to do everything right. Kristen is young and can move very well and she seems to have a really good support system behind her, which is very important. With Kristen I don't really see any limitations other than she has a little bit of knee pain, which we can modify to make some exercises a little easier on the joints.#8221;
Steve Amsden (working with contestant Dee Levine)#8220;Dee is like a soldier and does anything that is asked of her. Her diet is excellent and she follows my suggestions to a T. She does her exercise outside of Push like clockwork, never missing a beat. Dee truly wants to win this competition. I can see the fire in her eyes. Being that she is the oldest contestant in the bunch this year, people are probably writing her off. She is going to show everyone what can be accomplished with mental toughness, motivation and a will to win. Every time we finish a training session I tell her how hard she works, how great she is doing and ask the rhetorical question, #8220;How many women at your age, weighing in at over 250 pounds with aches and pains all over, are training as hard, eating as healthy and pushing themselves past where they think they can go?#8221; She is not without obstacles to overcome #8212; foot injuries, aches and pains, no-impact exercise, limited ranges of motion on many exercises, poor core strength, exercise limitations.#8221;
Josh Steckler (working with contestant Bob Pearson)
Bob is very focused on his weight-loss goal and extremely competitive so I'm confident he can really come up with a big number by the end of the contest. He's a bit disappointed with the shape he's in right now and wants to do everything he can to get his fitness level back where he knows it should be. Bob's always asking me questions about how to improve his workouts or how to improve his nutrition so I know he's willing to learn and willing to do what it takes to be successful. I really look forward to seeing what Bob can accomplish over the next few months.#8221;
Wade Merrill (working with contestant John Novak)
#8220;I love training John. I tell him what to do, and he does it, and he does it with all his heart. He's told me that being as heavy as he is, it's a little scary thinking that something as preventable as being overweight could cut your life short. He may prefer pepperoni pizza and cheesy-beef, but his discipline and determination to get this weight off is motivating him to understand the value of making healthy choices. After the first couple workouts, I'm so excited to see at the end how strong he really is.#8221;
Mark Trapp (working with contestant Jayne Nothnagel)
#8220;I was one of the people who interviewed Jayne originally and what I liked about her was her charisma. She is full of energy. I felt like this was a woman who was very organized in her life. Everything is very detailed. She is not the type that would make excuses about being too tired to cook. I felt like this was somebody who has things in order; she just needs to be educated on what she needs to be eating, and start moving her body around. We have to be careful, because she is currently on both blood pressure and cholesterol medication. I'm taking it slow with her.#8221;
Status report for our contestants
<b>Kristen Kessinger, </b>28, of Volo
Current weight: 248 pounds
Weight lost this week: 3 pounds
Total weight loss: 15 pounds, 5.7 percent
<b>Dee Levine, </b>59, of Hoffman Estates
Current weight: 237 pounds
Weight lost this week: 1 pound
Total weight loss: 12 pounds, 4.8 percent
<b>Jayne Nothnagel, </b>52, of Bloomingdale
Current weight: 199 pounds
Weight lost this week: 1 pound
Total weight loss: 14 pounds, 6.5 percent
<b>John Novak,</b> 46, of Mount Prospect
Current weight: 301 pounds
Weight lost this week: 6 pounds
Total weight loss: 23 pounds, 7.0 percent
<b>Bob Pearson, </b>37, of Hampshire
Current weight: 272 pounds
Weight lost this week: 3 pounds
Total weight loss: 24 pounds, 8.1 percent