Meet Steve Cook — The Newest Trainer On 'The Biggest Loser' Reboot
He has some words of advice.
instagram Physical fitness is an important part of many of our lives. But for some people, finding the perfect balance between exercise and diet is complicated. Because the key to getting healthy is changing your lifestyle. And that’s exactly what The Biggest Loser has taught its contestants over the years.
The reality television program features obese or overweight individuals who compete to lose the most weight. With the help of professional trainers, contestants often find that even though there’s a monetary prize, the personal rewards are much more meaningful.
Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, and Jesse Pavelka are just some of the well-known trainers to appear on the show, but the new season set to premiere in 2020, has two new faces. Who is Steve Cook? Along with trainer Erica Lugo, Cook will work with contestants, while Harper takes over as the host.
Cook and Lugo work as online coaches, but decided to join the show to help people face-to-face.
As Cook said to People, “We have so many online clients and you forget how nice it is to actually work with somebody and get to know them and have them train right before your eyes and transform. You get to see people every day, their highs and their lows, and it feels like a family in there. That’s pretty rewarding and something you can’t get on social media these days.”
And it really is a hands-on experience! The trainers work with the contestants for six hours a day, using circuit training and healthy eating.
“Ultimately, you want to leave them with the tools so that they can go do it themselves. Four days a week we’re in the gym doing some kind of weight training, but there’s only so much high impact stuff you can do with people, especially if they’re coming from a de-conditioned state. So sometimes we just go out and walk for two hours. That’s already better than what they were doing at home,” Cook revealed. “There has been such an emphasis placed on the holistic. It’s really this 360-degree approach — mentally and physically. We make sure were doing this in a healthy way first and foremost.”
Cook also opened up to Men’s Health back in 2017 about his personal principles when it comes to training, fitness and health. And he offered some words of advice:
“I always stress the importance of progressive overload – if your goal is to get stronger or bigger, you should always be working off a one-rep max for your compound lifts. So many people just go into the gym and lift whatever. Whether it’s adding more weight each week, or getting more done in a shorter period of rest time, have your set standards so you know you're getting better. I also recommend taking the time to work on your mobility and flexibility.
For every hour you’re spending lifting in the gym, you should be doing 15-20 minutes of stretching and mobility work. I see so many guys going into the gym and neglecting that and just constantly shortening the muscles. You’ve got to dedicate time to lengthening it too. Incorporate resistance bands and then make sure you do a dynamic warm-up; it’s called a warm-up for a reason, you need to start sweating.”
As far as nutrition goes, he added that there are some core values he follows: “I believe everyone should learn how to read food labels. So many people don’t know how to and it should be taught in schools. A lot of people don’t know what a macronutrient is. You go into the gym and you learn what’s a dumbbell, barbell, how to squat, but then everyone wants someone just to tell them what to eat and you can’t do that. There’s so much variation in life. I’m a big fan of flexible dieting, but in order to do that you have to at least start to track macros.”
But he also acknowledges how difficult it can be for someone just starting to get themselves in shape and change their lives. When asked how he stays motivated, he revealed:
“I’ve gone from training for a physique show to triathlon training... Keep challenging yourself. The one thing people must do is tracking their progress consistently. So if it’s a physique goal, pictures work well. Or if it’s running a faster mile, tracking your time — just make sure you’re logging your numbers.
Having both extrinsic and intrinsic goals are important — the extrinsic and immediate ones are those that play on us. The intrinsic is why are you doing this? Are you doing it to be a better dad and set a good example? Have both goals in mind at all times.
Enjoy the journey. With fitness and anything in life, you’re only as happy as you are right now. People want to look a certain way, but when you hit that goal, you want to look better and better. There’s things you’ll want to change, so it’s about being happy now, not when.”
That’s great advice for all of us.