Wow! This just announced: Jillian Michaels is leaving “The Biggest Loser“ after her contract is up follwoing the current Season 11 which is now shooting (and begins airing in January).
Her reason?
“I want to take a year off TV and focus on becoming a mommy and doing more charity work,” Michaels tweeted. “Shooting ‘Losing It‘ also had a big impact on me. Living with kids I saw first hand what I was missing.” ~ EntertainmentWeekly
Jilian also said that a female replacement has already been found and will be introduced during the upcoming season.
I’m going to take the high road here and say her departure is not because of all the controversy surrounding her credentials as a trainer. She was called out quite publicly by the LA Times recently for her online certifications and threatened to sue the newspaper.
What would be nice is if she used the time off to pick up a few certifications; may I suggest the American College of Sports Medicine certification since she works primarily with the morbidly obese population?
Or perhaps she’ll go a different route, opening a star-studded personal training studio and launching a fresh line of workout DVDs. Of course, if she does start a family, there will be the opportunity to film some pre-natal and post-partum stuff.
I truly hope the next trainer that “The Biggest Loser” hires has some real credentials behind her. I’d love to see someone with a bachelor’s in exercise science or kinesiology. That would be something, wouldn’t it? The show essentially runs a medical facility since they are working exclusively with the morbidly obese.
What do you think? Are you glad Jillian is leaving? Did all the controversy make it difficult to accept her training ideas? What do you think her next step should be? Are you a Jillian fan or a Jillian skeptic?
Lisa
Twitter
Perhaps they could hire me?
That’s too bad. The season they had Kim instead of Jullian didn’t get the results that Jillian gets. I don’t think certificates are the only thing that counts in a trainer. There are many with that paper that aren’t worth their weight. Also I think that dealing with the morbidly obese she peels back into the emotional layers which is a significant part of long term success.
I watched the season with Kim and I agree there was something that wasn’t a good fit for the show somehow. (I never quite put my finger on it.) BUT I think it’s very, very doable to find a trainer with the combination of spunk and charm that Jillian had with proper credentials and skilled trainer talent. I think it’s very possible, I can list a dozen people off the top of my head that would be great!
Janice they should hire you! You’d be great! They’ve already got someone though … a to be revealed shortly … presumably at the finale next week.
Change is good! At least I hope so. Some of the emotional stuff seems a bit awkward I would say. She seems like she is trying to hard some times. It doesn’t come across well on camera some times. She gonna kick abs no matter what she does. She’s made a name for herself. The proof is in her own body. She looks amazing!
Ah – I heard rumblings of this. It will be interesting to see if the new person has some professional credentials – more posts to come, eh? And I agree with you – I’m sure there are plenty of uber qualified folks who are hot on camera, can address the emotional connections with these issues, and can kick some booty ;-)
PS Janice! Janice! Janice!
I wonder who the replacement will be??
I’m guessing they’ll announce the new trainer at the finale next week, otherwise they would have held off on the announcement until after the season.
I think Janice will be awesome! But they did already hire someone and Kris, from your lips to God’s ears …
Lisa
I hope she turns out to be a great mother and enjoys taking a break from the demands of being on camera
All I can say is I hope who they’ve hired doesn’t sit on people’s back anymore. That drives me nuts.
yup, that drives me nuts too … also when they stand on the leg press machine so the contestant has to push the weight and the human at the same time … good TV, but bad for training.
Whats the problem with her certification? I mean she is just as knowledgeable as anybody in the fitness world.I have learned a lot from just watching her on TV. Same knowledge that have helped me excel as a personal fitness trainer. I believe in knowledge and passion first than certification.
Who would you pick? A trainer who treats his/her client with respect,have extensive knowledge in fitness, nutrition weight training, etc and puts the safety his/her client as a top priority?A trainer with the best certification in the world?
I will listen to a college dropout self made millionaire entrepreneur before i listen to an MBA graduate from Harvard. Same with a personal fitness trainer.
Just my opinion.
Khalif, first of all screaming into a clients face doesn’t show respect (she does this regularly). I would think as a personal trainer if you did that at your workout facility you’d be fired. Secondly, she isn’t as knowledgeable as anybody in the fitness world. She’s got a lot of experience and a lot of tricks up her sleeve but I believe she can be inconsistent with form and has clients in positions that I don’t consider safe.
So I definitely disagree with you. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, by continuing to get higher levels of certification you can only grow even better as a trainer. I’ve yet to met a trainer who couldn’t learn a little bit more. I’m always trying to learn more it’s how I grow as a person and trainer. It’s how my clients grow too. It’s worth every dime I pay to learn from those who are better than me and I’ve been doing this since 1997.
Thanks for your thoughts, feel free to drop in again,
Lisa
I think Khalif is trying to fan the flames of discontent here. And I happen to think he’s dead wrong. I wouldn’t go to someone for health care that had either never attended or failed out of medical school and I don’t think anyone with any regard for their health would either. Personal trainers can have daily impact on a person’s health and well being- it’s a smart idea to work with someone who has taken the time to learn about the human body and the effects activity or inactivity has on it. I can learn about how to do a lunge by watching Jillian demonstrate one on tv, but will I be able to tell someone how to change which muscles fire first by simply changing the position of my foot? And will I be able to make an adjustment for a disabled client by watching Jillian? I don’t think so. Just because you saw it on tv or heard about it from someone who made a lot of money doing it doesn’t mean that you (or they) know anything about the act.
And if Khalif wants to extend his line of reasoning of listening to a self made millionaire college dropout before an MBA grad, perhaps he should take a look at the Fortune 500. Most of the people who appear in it are college grads, very few are self made millionaire college dropouts. If you want to increase the odds that you are working with someone competent, go with the educated contender.
Jessica, another fine comment. Thanks so much for the comment, a great comparison actually MBA to the Fortune 500. L–
I am so sad that Jillian is leaving…. certificate or not, she gets results and kicks butt…. My dream would be to have her as my trainer…The show definitely will not be the same with out her. Cara is definitely no replacement. she doesn’t have the heart or know how that Jillian has.
Dear Cbabe, “certificate or not” I just shake my head when people say stuff like that. I don’t mean to be rude, honestly … but this is an industry that works with the human body … don’t you want someone with the best possible skills? Think of how awesome Jillian would be if she had all her usual tricks up her sleeve PLUS had the knowledge base a high end certificate would provide … how cool would that be? Trainers, if they’re not careful and follow safety guidelines can create injuries that can last a lifetime … it’s a lot of responsibility! We should all take it seriously. L–