Ouch….that is what goes through my mind every time I take a step today….mucho delayed onset muscle soreness from my first lower body strength training session in months. I do love that stiff feeling though…after all, pain is weakness leaving the body.
I went to my last case class of the semester today! It feels so good to be entirely done with two classes. Next week I have four finals until I’m officially done for the semester. It can’t come soon enough!
After case I took the trolley downtown to meet my mom and some family friends for lunch at the Union League. Lunch was great, but walking there in the rain and super high heels (with sore legs) from the trolley was less than great. I got a salmon dish with spinach and orzo. I had gotten it before and it was really delicious. I was almost tempted to get the burger with boursin cheese and caramelized onions, but I’ll save it for another day.
I came home and decided to do my planned elliptical workout right away. I knew the more time that went by, the less I would want to finish the workout. I did 30 minutes of light elliptical while watching the marathon part of last night’s Biggest Loser and tearing up from all the inspiration that was coming from it.
I’ve talked about the Biggest Loser marathon before, but I wanted to bring up the debate of whether or not it’s an appropriate challenge for the contestants. Personally, I think that the marathon is very inspirational. In a matter of months, the contestants learn to ditch their unhealthy lifestyles, shed the pounds, and train for a marathon. I just find it incredible that these contents are basically dying when they start their journey on the ranch. They have hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia…basically you name it…they have it. In a matter of weeks of working out all day and eating 1200 calorie diets, they shed not only pounds but diseases that were taking years off their life.
As far as I can remember, the Biggest Loser marathon used to only be the final four. This year, all of the contestants were invited back to run the marathon, and the winner had a guaranteed spot at the live finale whether or not they had been eliminated or not. This particular Biggest Loser marathon took place in the dessert…basically running in loops. There were dust storms, and it looked like the world’s most boring (flat…but boring) course of all time.
I won’t say who won for those of you who may still be working on finding time to see the episode.
So I don’t think there is anything wrong with the Biggest Loser Marathon. Some people say that it’s wrong to let people who have not properly trained for the appropriate amount of time (people who have also recently and QUICKLY lost hundreds of pounds) run 26.2 miles.
For the first time ever, I did see the doctor pull two contests from the race after mile 20 for bad limps and leg pain. Both seemed like they wished they could finish, but didn’t really put up as big of a fight as I probably would have. Perhaps they were just over it…or more likely they signed waivers saying that if the doctor says you’re done…you’re done. The doctor reminded them that the whole purpose of the show is to lose weight and get healthy, not wear down your joints or permanently injure themselves for a challenge.
Also remember, there is a lot we don’t see. There are golf carts following each contestant with hydration and fuel. They are tons of medical help for these contestants if they needed any sort of care. NBC isn’t stupid, and I don’t think that they would take the liability of putting people in extreme danger.
As for the short amount of training time…yes the actual time off the ranch to train and build up mileage was short, but they were on the ranch for up to 12 weeks working out for almost 8 hours a day sometimes. I’m sure most of them are in better shape than I am!
With everything being said, these contestants are all consenting adults. They did NOT have to compete in this challenge. One older woman did not run, and was just seen giving hugs at the finish line. Two men over 60 even finished the marathon with smiles on their faces. The first five contestants all crossed the finish line in between 5:05 and 5:30 which is a pretty decent time considering 4 months ago they were all morbidly obese. Heck, it’s a pretty decent time for ANYONE’s first time running a marathon. As for the argument that they are undertrained, that might be true to some degree as well because it took some contestants 10 hours to complete it…but they took their time, walked a lot, and did ok.
What do you guys think?
Does the marathon do more harm than good to the contestants? Is it irresponsible to glorify a marathon like this to the public by making them believe that you can train for short periods of time?
If they trained properly(which they did not) I don't have any issues but then I don't like how they train or lose the weight either. Too fast too soon is how people get hurt.
ReplyDeleteWatching it at home my only concern is that other people will think that they can just sign up for a marathon and do it like these Biggest Losers did. I don't believe that these guys had adequate training either. Working out is great but training for a marathon is different. The hours of running required to train is out of this world..which is why I haven't done one (I'll stick to the half marathon).
ReplyDeleteSince they have to keep the show to a certain length they almost made the marathon look easier than it really is. They almost made me want to sign up to run one but the reality is so much different from what they had time to show. I was so surprised to see the contestants take off at what looked like a really fast pace at the start line. Of course, this could also be due to the magic of editing. I think in the end it's a tv show and they have to do what is best for ratings but also need to be cautious of what the perception is for people at home.