ACSM<\/a> personal training certification just so if anyone asks I can say, yes, I am a certified personal trainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo with Cara, she has training, having proven herself worthy to the venerable NY state board (they take their boxing very, very seriously) and she picked up the ISSA to cover her bases for personal training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her Teaching Skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI wish I could comment on her skill set, but I haven\u2019t seen enough yet on the show and I\u2019m not as good a judge about boxing as I am other forms of fitness. I haven\u2019t seen anything from her that made me cringe, so that\u2019s good. I thought it was smart that she (or the show\u2019s medical team) had Moses doing shadow boxing while seated. The few times I saw her throwing punches they were damned fast and accurate. I wouldn\u2019t want to be in a ring with her. (Although if she\u2019s reading this, she probably really<\/em> wants me in the ring with her! LOL)<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs a side note, I watched about 30 minutes of Brett Hoebel, the other new trainer on the show, cueing exercises on YouTube clips, and I was impressed. He kept focused on form, breath, and varied his cues a lot. He also used visual and tactile cues to help people into good form. All good stuff there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working with the Morbidly Obese<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCara and Brett both said they had never worked with a population like this before. I would imagine a boxing club doesn\u2019t get a lot of people at this weight. Cara pointed out that \u201cnot one page\u201d of what she learned from her certifications prepared her for working with this group, and that she and Brett both got help and support from the seasoned staff of \u201cThe Biggest Loser.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Personally, I have worked over the years with a couple dozen people who are morbidly obese, but not as overweight as those on the show and not in a group setting. The biggest issue is client retention; this population will start and then tend to fade out and leave the studio. It usually happens after<\/em> they start to see some good progress. It\u2019s a big topic in the fitness industry, and is common and frustrating for trainers because we truly want to help these people live their best lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCara didn\u2019t have to worry about anyone leaving, at least not voluntarily, but she did have to deal with the consequences of them staying and \u201chaving\u201d to do the work even though mentally they have not fully invested in the process. I know just from interviewing former Olympian and current \u201cBiggest Loser\u201d contestant Rulon Gardner last week that there was a lot of push back and testing of boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe the trainers should all have psychology degrees, too? (I\u2019m half serious here)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still Some Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI do think Cara was more interested in pursuing an acting career than a fitness career. The web presence she had before being revealed as a trainer is geared towards becoming an actress, not a personal trainer. She really did land the job of a lifetime and she\u2019s going to do well here. There will be a lot of opportunity for money and product endorsements and just by getting the gig on the show she has solidified herself in the fitness industry and in Hollywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do I think there were other, more qualified people they could have hired? Yes. Do I think Cara will do a good job? Actually, yes. However she landed on the ranch, Cara has a lot of passion and I truly believe she cares for the contestants and wants to see them do well. I hope she keeps learning from the medical staff and keeps seeking out good information to incorporate into her training sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good luck Cara, but yes, I\u2019ll still bust you if you cue crappy form. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lisa<\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had the chance today to speak with Cara Castronuova, one of the new trainers for \u201cThe Biggest Loser.\u201d I write for AOL\u2019s That\u2019s Fitwhich allows me access to group calls where a bunch of reporters pile on and each asks one or two questions. I usually hang back and listen to the other reporters before …<\/p>\n
\u201cBiggest Loser\u2019s\u201d Newest Trainers: Speaking With Cara About Her Certifications<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cBiggest Loser\u2019s\u201d Newest Trainers: Speaking With Cara About Her Certifications - Lisa Johnson Fitness<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n