Seriously, Bob?

It's not the first time I've heard lame advice or misinformation being given on The Biggest Loser but last night it happened again. During one of the "Trainer Tips" segments, Bob Harper suggested that office workers take breaks from the computer and exercise during the day. So far, so good.

So what's my beef? Bob's suggestion that people keep a resistance band at their desk and do Bicep Curls and Tricep Extensions. Really, Bob? Those are your two best exercise suggestions for desk jockeys?

Granted, last night's tip wasn't as ridiculous as Harper telling viewers that crunches will burn off abdominal fat (as he did in a previous season) but there are much better options.

Pair Prisoner Squats with Incline Desk Pushups. No equipment needed and both exercises work multiple muscles, which means they're more functional and will burn more calories than Bicep Curls and Tricep Extensions.

Prisoner Squat - Make sure you keep your weight on your heels and your elbows back.


Incline Pushup - Keep your body straight, your butt down and no head bobbing.


If Incline Pushups are too tough, do Wall Pushups until you get stronger.


As far as exchanging your chair for a stability ball (which was the other part of the tip), there's some disagreement. Some people swear by it; their experience has been positive. On the other hand, Dr. Stuart McGill, a highly respected and leading researcher on spine mechanics, cautions that prolonged ball sitting "places a high compressive force on the discs". So, you may want to consider limiting the amount of time you sit on a stability ball.

Stupid Trainer Tricks

Last night on The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper was going over the food his contestants were eating. He was understandably troubled by the fact that his trainees, who were in the 16th week of the contest, didn't seem to have a good grasp of basic nutrition so he told them to videotape everything they prepared and ate.

I won't go into all the details of what he saw in the video but basically his contestants were eating too few calories and too little protein. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging them to increase the amount of real food protein they consumed, he went into a plug for Biggest Loser Protein Powder. Ugh.

Look, I realize that Bob & fellow trainer Jillian Michaels are expected to hawk crap like this but it’s annoying and unfair to the public.

I know Jillian is a proponent of eating as little processed food as possible and yet a few weeks ago they had her pushing Cheerios. (BTW, did you know that Whole Grain Cheerios have some kind of sugary coating on them? So much for a "healthier" version.) I don't know if Bob really believes that protein powder is a better source of nutrition than real food but I sure hope not.

This has been going on since TBL started but I really wish the producers would stop inserting commercials into the actual show. If Bob Harper recommends a 100 Calorie Snack Pack to his trainees, people think that's a good choice and it's not.

Let the sponsors advertise during commercial breaks and let the trainers advise the contestants (and, in turn, the audience) with the same information they use with their private clients.