What trainers think of this year's Fittest Loser contestants
For 12 weeks, Fittest Loser contestants are immersed in physical, emotional and dietary training.
While the knowledge is critical, the strength of the relationship between trainer and contestant can be the difference between success and failure.
“While each contestant has a different goal set, they work together to keep everyone motivated with the same game plan of changing their lifestyles to improve fitness and health,” says Push Fitness trainer Laura Philbin. “The Fittest Loser Challenge offers both trainers and contestants the opportunity to show that fitness training truly is for all body types and lifestyles. People see what a difference it makes in results when held accountable by a trainer.”
For this week's update, we turn the gym spotlight over to the five trainers and ask them to share their perspectives and experiences with this year's Fittest Loser contestants.
Trainer Matt Bell on Mel Boldt
With a bachelor's degree in exercise science, Matt Bell enjoys motivating people to reach their fitness goals.
For Matt, training Mel Boldt felt comfortable from day one. “When I first met Mel, he told me just about everything about himself,” Matt says. “Right from the start, his attitude is what I like best about Mel.”
This partnership isn't all about hard work and training.
“Mel shows up each workout day with a good joke to tell me,” says Matt. “Throughout his workout, he continues to make me laugh and remain positive. We have a great relationship.”
Initially, Matt had reservations about Mel hitting his goal weight. “I thought it was going to be challenging for Mel to lose the weight, fast,” says Matt. “With his great attitude and determination, I have been able to push him farther than either of us expected at first. Mel has really surprised me with his weight loss and I'm proud of him.”
There have been a few bumps in the fitness road.
“A knee injury and brief illness presented some challenges,” says Bell. “Together we put together a workout that allowed hard training without knee damage. With all this going on, Mel continues to show up at Push Fitness and fight through any pain with a positive attitude.”
Trainer Laura Philbin on Janet Ford
As a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified trainer, Laura Philbin specializes in high intensity training to help clients maximize their fitness potential.
On the first day of training with Janet Ford, Laura saw a kindred spirit of competitiveness in her contestant.
“Janet is competitive like me and I knew she would give everything she has to win this fitness challenge,” Laura says.
Janet's positive attitude immediately won over her trainer.
“She radiates excitement in the studio,” says Laura. “For me, Janet's the ideal contestant: no whining, moaning or complaining. She has a great mindset, no matter what challenge comes along. What surprised me the most about Janet is her willingness to try any exercise, regardless of nervous hesitation.”
Janet's erratic sleep schedule from working in the medical profession has created challenges for her trainer.
“Lack of sleep has interfered with Janet's fitness and weight-loss goals. No matter her sleeplessness or long work shift, Janet shows up at Push Fitness with a strong smile ready to take on the workout,” she says.
When it came to running, Laura saw the opportunity to push Janet out of her comfort zone.
“With the 5K coming up on Saturday, April 30, I needed to ease running into Janet's training,” Laura says. “Together we worked on her endurance and now Janet has conquered running out of her comfort zone.”
Trainer Steve Amsden on Jiten “J” Patel
Steve Amsden brings more than a decade of fitness and personal training experiences to the Push Fitness studio. Jiten Patel is Steve's seventh Fittest Loser contestant, and both agree the match felt right from the first week.
“I had a good feeling about J,” says Steve. “He smiles a lot, with a great sense of humor.”
Food constraints continue to challenge both Steve and J in this contest.
“For J as a vegetarian, there are only so many quality protein sources. J's great attitude helps him with the diet restrictions and he's doing well so far,” Steve says.
J needed Steve's years of training experience to get him past his own self-imposed fitness limits.
“He struggled initially to push himself. I know Jiten is tougher than he looks and has the capacity to train harder than I expected,” Steve says. “Once he took a few trips up the stairs, everything else seemed to become a bit more manageable.”
One Saturday morning at boot camp, J gave Steve the biggest surprise in the contest, when chocolates fell out of his sweatshirt.
That shock aside, Steve feels confident about J's chances to win the competition. “He works hard, doesn't complain and laughs at my bad jokes,” says Steve. “What more can a trainer ask for?”
Trainer Patrick Stille on Sharon Miller
With firsthand experience in understanding the importance of exercise after an injury, Patrick Stille knows what it feels like to face a challenging fitness goal.
“After my first training with Sharon Miller, I knew we had a lot of work in front of us,” Patrick says. “Her introduction to me was, 'Hi, I'm Sharon and I'm scared of weights.' ”
As a diabetic, Sharon looks to the Push Fitness competition to help her manage blood sugar challenges.
“In addition to weight loss, we had to start at ground zero; teaching Sharon the right way to move again and become aware of her body to avoid injury,” Patrick says.
This is more than a fitness contest to Sharon. “She asks lots of questions while working out, trying to better understand the why of each exercise,” says Patrick. “Sharon's goal is to learn as much as possible here and continue making lifestyle changes to improve her health.”
Patrick sees the importance of building that trainer-contestant relationship.
“Getting to know Sharon on a personal level has helped me understand her health situation,” Patrick says. “Her strength is that she will try anything, including the stairs.”
Trainer Michelle Amsden on Kathy Couston
As a dedicated marathon runner, Michelle Amsden brings serious game to the Push Fitness studio as the trainer of last year's Fittest Loser Champion.
And Michelle saw clear determination in contestant Kathy Couston on their initial meeting.
“She told me she wanted to win with a fierce look on her face,” says Michelle.
Kathy's consistency has surprised Michelle. “Most contestants are gung ho in the beginning but slowly lose motivation after week four,” says Michelle. “Kathy's consistent with a winner mindset and I love it. She tells me all the time, 'I'm tough because I have a house full of boys.' ”
This contestant saves the hard critique for herself.
“Kathy doesn't like being considered a wuss,” says Michelle. “She's hard on herself when the Push Fitness scale doesn't show a big weight loss on Saturday mornings. I'm working with Kathy to give herself more credit.”
Kathy drills down on the details of her workout and food plan. “We will discuss the five meals-a-day eating plan, and Kathy will look at me and ask, 'Michelle, shouldn't I eat less and exercise more?' ”
Michelle doesn't want clients starving; she wants them to eat healthy.
“We want to teach everyone that we train how to eat five or six healthy meals a day, workout consistently and lose weight. Kathy's done an outstanding job so far,” Michelle says.