by Julie Haddon
Kind woman that she is, Jillian agreed to join the three of us for dinner. Hollie had relocated to LA by then, and so she came along, too, and with halos perfectly in place she and I ordered salads even in the face of higher-calorie fare. When Noah couldn’t decide what he wanted to eat, Jillian ordered for him. I was flabbergasted when I saw his meal arrive. “You got him deep-dish macaroni and cheese?” I asked Jillian.
“He’s a twig!” she said. “Plus, there’s real food in there.”
Yeah, right. Just “real food” I’m not allowed to have.
After we finished our meal our server appeared with a birthday cake for Noah, with seven lighted candles on top. My son’s eyes turned into saucers as he scanned the table to see who could have coordinated such a surprise. He finally got to Jillian. “It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” she said with a smile.
He nodded excitedly as an ear-to-ear grin took over his face.
“Just don’t give any of that to your mom,” Jillian added.
Talk about cruel: a giant piece of moist chocolate cake with fudgy chocolate icing, just eight inches from my grasp. So close, and yet so very, very far away.
We all left the restaurant, but before we made it to our rental car Jillian said, “Hey, Noah, come here. I want to show you something.”
I never know what to expect when Jillian’s involved, so I trailed Noah as he ran over to where she stood. Three seconds later I heard him say, “Oh, coooool!” as Jillian hoisted him onto the back of her bike.
“You may not take my child for a ride,” I clarified.
“Killjoy,” came the reply.
Jillian let Noah take the driver’s seat and pretend-ride for a good twenty minutes before we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. It was an ordinary evening that would have an extraordinary impact on my son.
In my heart of hearts I know that Noah’s admiration for Jillian runs deeper than the things he’s able to put words to. He knows that she took care of me, that she pushed me, that she believed in me and that she took me all the way to the end of the game. He knows that without her none of it would have been possible. And he loves her because of it.
What’s more, he sees how passionately she serves every player she trains. These days my family has a standing appointment every Tuesday night, which happens to be when The Biggest Loser airs. Regardless of what else is going on in our lives, Noah won’t let us miss a single episode. He cheers for various players, but mostly he cheers for his favorite villain of all. When she’s happy, my son is happy, and when she gets mad, he gets mad too. It’s the most charming codependency I’ve ever seen.
I’m not sure how much our now eight-year-old grasps about what “transformation” means, but this much I know: Noah saw his mom’s insecurities on display for all the world to see. He saw her overcome them and learn to run real fast. And he’s well aware that because of one motorcycle-riding bad girl dressed in black our lives are forever changed.
Appendixes
SAMPLE WORKOUTS
WHEN I RETURNED home from The Biggest Loser campus, I knew that I needed to find a trainer who could pick up where Jillian Michaels had left off, and thankfully, I found that and more in Margie Marshall. Margie helped me to remain focused and confident while I worked to shed those last few pounds. Not only did she motivate me physically, but she also encouraged me to grow spiritually. Margie is still my trainer today, and when I decided to add this section of sample workouts to the book, I knew she would be the perfect person to contribute.
Read through each of the workouts that follow, and then select the one that seems most doable for you today. Over time you’ll want to give each of them a shot, I assure you. Margie doesn’t mess around: The options that follow will rock your world!
To keep up with Margie’s goings-on, I encourage you to check her out online at spidergirlfitness.com. Oh, and to sort out how many calories you’re burning during each of these workouts, visit calorieking.com and click on Resources & Tools > Interactive Tools (on the drop-down menu) > Exercise Calories. With specificity I can’t offer here, their estimates factor in the duration of your exercise, your gender and your current weight, height and age. Fantastic!
THE KICK-BUTT STRESS BUSTER
This high-intensity, low-impact workout will kick every last ounce of stress out of your system. For all moves, use your knee as a fulcrum and kick through your heel instead of leading with pointed toe. Execute all kicks using one leg—thus achieving full burnout on that side—before switching to the other.
Repeat all kicks fifteen times; thirty for advanced.
Front Kick
Stand with your feet together, knees slightly bent and your arms bent at the elbow and pulled up alongside your face, with fists balled (you’ll look like a boxer). Step your right foot back slightly, then kick out in front of you as high as you can, but no higher than your waist. Return to starting position. (For left-side burnout, you’ll execute the same motion using your left leg.)
Side Kick
Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart, knees slightly bent, and your arms bent at the elbow and pulled up alongside your face, with fists balled. Kick your right leg to the side as high as you can, but no higher than your waist. (For left-side burnout, you’ll execute using left leg.)
Note: Keep your eyes on a side-facing target when kicking to the side.
Backward Mule Kick
Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart, knees slightly bent, and your arms bent at the elbow and pulled up alongside your face, with fists balled. Leaning forward from the waist and looking behind you as you move, kick your right leg back as high as you can, but no higher than your waist. (For left-side burnout, you’ll execute using left leg.)
Note: Look behind you when kicking backward.
Lunge-Back Front Kick
Begin in forward lunge position (page 211). Come out of lunge position and then using the opposite knee as a fulcrum, immediately kick forward with the leg that is in front of you, as high as you can. Your other leg should be slightly bent at the knee.
Note: Be sure your knee stays behind your ankle when in a lunge.
Squat Side Kick
Begin in a squat position, with feet hip-width distance apart and knees slightly bent. Be sure your knees stay well behind your toes (you should be able to look down and see all of your shoelaces while in squat position. If you can’t, stick out your butt further and rotate your hips backward until you can.) Ball your fists, bend your elbows, and pull your arms up alongside your face. Kick your right leg to the side as high as you can, but no higher than your waist. Return to squatting position and repeat. (For left-side burnout, execute using left leg.)
Note: Stay in your squat position throughout this entire series. Also, shift your weight to the ball of the opposing foot as you rise into your kick.
Mule Kick with High-Knee
Stand with your feet together. Bend the right leg and lift it up, so it makes a ninety-degree angle with the floor. From this starting position, take the raised right leg and kick it back behind you into an extended-leg position as you simultaneously lean your torso forward (so you are no longer standing straight up but bent slightly forward at the waist). As you return to starting position, immediately raise up the left leg into high-knee position, giving the entire rep something of a hobbyhorse motion. (For left-side burnout, execute by kicking left leg back and doing a right-side high knee.)
PLAYGROUND CARDIO
Maximize your playground time with this fun and energizing routine!
Ball-Find Suicides
Designate a “starting line” and place a bucket or shoe box for each person participating a few feet apart on that line. Give you and your child (or a friend, if your kids are occupied) five tennis balls each and sixty seconds to hide them under the slide, in the crook of a tree limb, behind a fence post, etc. Return to your designated starting point and yell “Go!” Race each other to see who can find the most balls—one ball at a time before headi
ng back—and place them in his or her bucket the fastest.
You may need to adapt the following suggestions, taking into consideration your playground’s specific equipment, the number of people who are at the playground that day and the weather. (For instance, the slide-run isn’t recommended when the sky is pouring rain.)
Swing Set Incline Push-ups
Find two swings that are adjacent to each other. With one hand positioned on each seat, ease yourself down into bent-arm plank position (about five to ten minutes) until your body forms a straight line that is at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground. Using a push-up motion, straighten your arms and lift your body away from the swings, and then return to bent-arm plank. Repeat twenty times.
Slide-Runs
This move is best executed on a straight slide, not a curled one.
Using the sides of the slide for balance, run up the slide and walk yourself back down backward, completing twenty reps in a row. For added intensity, find side-by-side slides and race your child.
Park Bench Triceps Dips
Sit down on the bench and scoot all the way forward. Keeping your elbows bent and your hands placed on the bench and as close to your body as possible, ease your legs out until they are straight in front of you. Dip your rear toward the ground twenty times, keeping your back as close to the bench as possible. For added intensity, raise a leg for five reps and then switch legs for the next five reps.
Park Bench Step-Ups
Find a park bench near where your child is playing. Step up on the bench and step back down twenty times; switch to the other leg. For added intensity, when stepping up with right foot, swing left leg into a side leg raise before stepping back down. Repeat with the other side.
Monkey-Bar Negatives
Climb up to the monkey-bars launching pad. With your feet thrust out in front of you on the launching pad and with straight legs, grab the side bars with both hands. Keeping your legs straight, pull yourself toward the bars with both arms, in a chin-up motion. Allow your arms to straighten as you descend to the starting position. Repeat twenty times.
Note: Find a friend to spot you during this exercise.
Half-Step Bunny Jumps
If your playground has half-height concrete steps (like risers), position yourself on the bottom step and then jump with both feet to the next step up. Jump back down to the starting step. Repeat sequence for one minute, jumping up and back down as quickly as you can.
Note: If your area doesn’t have half-height steps, simply jump rapid-fire while standing in place for one full minute.
THE TABATA ROUTINE
Invented by Dr. Izumi Tabata at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan, this simple, straightforward interval routine builds both stamina and strength. Each interval includes twenty seconds of exercise followed by ten seconds of rest. One routine lasts four minutes and includes eight intervals of one and only one specific exercise.
1. To begin, select one exercise from the list below to include in your Tabata Routine. (See glossary that follows this section for definitions of each.)
Burpees Squat Jumps
Commando Crawls Squat Thrusts
Jump-Ins Standard Push-ups
Knee-Tuck Jumps Table Makers
Military Push-ups Triceps Dips
Rock Star Hops Vertical Jumps
Skip Jumps Wide-Arm Push-ups
Speed Skaters
2. Next, follow the two-step process below, eight times in a row: For twenty seconds, do as many repetitions as possible. For ten seconds, rest.
That’s it! Two simple steps. Seems easy, right? Not!
COMMERCIALLY YOURS
The next time you sit down to catch your favorite show, instead of fast-forwarding through the commercial breaks, exercise your way through them. Each commercial lasts roughly thirty seconds, and most commercial breaks include four or five commercials. Take your pick from the exercises listed here to complete during each thirty-second interval, and by the end of American Idol you’ll have a much fitter physique!
Below, you’ll find some plank exercises. Plank is one of the most effective abs exercises out there because it’s impossible to cheat while doing it! Plus, you can do fewer plank-holds than traditional sit-ups and see twice the results. Who doesn’t love that?
To get into plank, assume a prone position on the floor and keep your feet together with the balls of your feet on the floor. Place your hands shoulder-width apart underneath your shoulders. Tighten your abs and glutes, and don’t arch or dip your back—you should be as straight as a plank. Several variations are below, to keep the exercise interesting and challenging.
Bent-Arm Plank (30 seconds)
Hold yourself in plank position, forearms resting on the floor. Remember to keep your neck in neutral position, neither tucking your chin, nor raising your chin into the air.
Straight-Arm Plank (30 seconds)
Hold yourself in plank position, arms straight and neck in neutral position.
Twisting Side-Plank (30 seconds)
Begin by lying on your right side with elbow on floor under shoulder and hips and feet stacked. Push hips up, forming straight line from head to heels. Extend left arm above shoulder, then bring left arm under body, rotating upper body to the right. Hold for one count and repeat. Switch to left side after ten reps. Alternate sides to fill the time allotted.
Isometric Up-Down Planks (30 seconds)
Begin in straight-arm plank position. Lower yourself to the bottom of a push-up, where your elbows are bent and tucked into your sides, your upper body and knees remain off the floor and your neck is in neutral position. Work to descend low enough for your nose to touch the floor. Hold for three counts and then raise yourself back to straight-arm plank. Hold for three counts and then lower once again to the bottom of a push-up. Repeat.
Standard Push-ups (30 seconds)
Begin in a straight-arm plank position with feet together and the balls of your feet on the floor. Place your hands shoulder-width apart underneath your shoulders, and focus your eyes on a spot six to eight inches in front of your body’s position. Lower your torso to the ground until your arms form a ninety-degree angle and then raise yourself using your arms. Breathe out as you push. Repeat.
Forward Bicycles (30 seconds)
Begin by lying on the floor with legs outstretched in front of you and hands positioned beside each hip. Bend your knees slightly and raise your legs into the air. Begin “pedaling” forward in the air in slow, sweeping motions, keeping your abdominal muscles tight and remembering to breathe. Pumping legs in alternating fashion away from your chest, complete twenty “rotations” and then rest for ten seconds. Repeat to fill time allotted. For added intensity, keep arms raised straight above your head.
Backward Bicycles (30 seconds)
Begin by lying on the floor with legs outstretched in front of you and hands positioned beside each hip. Bend your knees slightly and raise your legs into the air. Begin “pedaling” backward in the air in slow, sweeping motions, keeping your abdominal muscles tight and remembering to breathe. Pumping legs in alternating fashion toward your chest, complete twenty “rotations” and then rest for ten seconds. Repeat to fill time allotted. For added intensity, keep arms raised straight above your head.
Forward Lunges (30 seconds)
Begin by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and hands on hips. Step forward with one leg, landing heel-first in front of you. Your knee should be at a ninety-degree angle. Hold for one count, and then pushing off of your heel, return to starting position. Alternate legs to fill time allotted.
Note: Remember to keep hands on hips and be sure your knee stays behind your toes as you lunge.
Backward Lunges (30 seconds)
Begin by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and hands on hips. Step backward with one leg, landing toe-first behind you. The opposite knee should be at a ninety-degree angle. Hold for one count, and then pushing off of your toe, return to starting position. A
lternate legs to fill time allotted.
Note: Remember to keep hands on hips and be sure your knee stays behind your toes on leg that is bent.
Chair Pose (30 seconds)
Starting with feet together, bend over and place your hands on the floor. In one fluid motion, raise your arms straight in front of you toward the ceiling, making sure that your biceps are beside your ears and sit down on an imaginary chair. Your knees should not go beyond your toes. Keep your neck and back straight like a launching pad and your thighs parallel to the floor. Hold for the allotted time.
THE 60-SECOND SUICIDE
If you’re up for a real killer of a workout, give this one a try—a favorite go-to exercise of athletes of all kinds. Buy an inexpensive stopwatch, and time yourself—do thirty seconds of the first exercise, and thirty seconds of the second, as follows.
This thirty-minute high-intensity, high-impact monster will hit every major muscle group, as well as provide a massive cardio burn. It helps to have a friend with a stopwatch calling out each cue on a minute-by-minute basis. Complete it at your own risk!