The world of fitness lost an icon on January 23 when Jack LaLanne, a pioneer in the health and fitness industry, passed away at age 96.
"It's a sad day in my business," Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper told TV Guide Magazine. "I was aware of Jack LaLanne over 20 years ago when I started in the business, and I remember always being very receptive to him because he was such a man. He made working out macho and he made his workouts so relevant."
LaLanne, who died of complications from pneumonia, had spent 70 years teaching the power of strength training and healthy eating...
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The Biggest Loser is introducing not one but two new trainers to take contestants through their dramatic weight-loss journey in Season 11, which begins January 4. The reason: Jillian Michaels is leaving the show after the May 2011 finale. The wannabe losers, which include an Olympic gold medalist and the heaviest contestant to date, will be allowed to choose between sweating it out with trusted trainers Michaels and Bob Harper and face elimination each week, or train with the unknown duo and receive immunity for a month.
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The 10th season of The Biggest Loser isn't just focusing on the 21 contestants chosen to compete, but on the cities and communities in which they live. Host Alison Sweeney says that the latest installment is about paying it forward, which is why the first episode involves "a cast of a thousand," who were encouraged to participate and embark on the weight-loss journey at home alongside the competitors on the ranch. TVGuide.com spoke to Sweeney about how the show stays fresh, which player she thinks will be the fan favorite, and which...
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Biggest Loser's Green Team may have began the competition strong by winning Week 1's task, but they soon faced challenge after challenge. By the third week, Migdalia Sebren, 28, walked out of the gym — and almost the show — when Jillian pushed her beyond her emotional limits. A week later, Migdalia and her mother Miggy were hit with a 2-pound disadvantage. Even without that hit, their meager weight loss that week — Migdalia shed 4 pounds and Miggy only 1 — would have put them at risk for elimination anyway.
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Are Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels raving about the decision to let viewers vote this week on who The Biggest Loser's third finalist should be? Fat chance. Michaels, for one, is "disappointed' with the change in format. "Biggest Loser is not a popularity contest. It's so much more than that," she said in a Friday conference call. "I don't get it, personally."Like Michaels, Harper fears that fans don't have enough information to adequately weigh in on so pivotal a decision, since fans have not seen firsthand as much of each player's progress as they have. "It's really a tricky thing," says Harper. "[The viewers] get all they've seen on the show, but it's still much more than that."To that end, exec producer Mark Koops says this week's episode will recap each player's journey and afford each a chance to appeal to the audience. "It's incredibly powerful," he says. "I personally think it's going to be well received." What's your take? Is this an instance where reality viewers should be...
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