That's Fit

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Hooray for Paige Davis! I just got done interviewing the delightful host of TLC's Trading Spaces and I genuinely like her a lot. We spent an hour blabbing our brains out, and I have to tell you that the girl is as easy, sweet and likable in person as she is on the show. The world of home improvement fans exhaled a collective sigh of relief when TLC announced they were bringing back their beloved Paige.

She's sweet, she's smart, and she happens to have a smoking body. She's been professionally dancing for a very long time, and has some terrific advice to help get the rest of us in super shape as well. Paige's perspective on both life and fitness seems to be on track. Her enthusiasm is contagious. If you'd like to catch a case of her 'perfect life' germs...read on!

Fitz: You've been gone from Trading Spaces for a few years, and just finished shooting the first half of the new season. How'd it go?

Paige: Great! We've shot 13 episodes so far. It's been different, but great! It's wonderful to be back working with all of my friends who were there before. It is so much fun working with Frank. And Doug is like a sibling to me. We have this silly chemistry, and we just poke fun at each other and have a blast all the time. Plus, I've made lots of new friends. I love it.

Fitz: Moving is really hard work. The audience may wonder of you're just the cute perky girl hosting the show, without having to actual pitch in to the tasks. How much physical labor do you actually do while filming?

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy

My guests this week are a bit dear to my heart, as they share the same passion for fighting as I do. Doug Anderson, a highly decorated Iraqi war veteran from New Jersey traveled across the world with Jimmy Smith, a young Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. Their journey had them test their skills against locals and various fighting styles, often styles they had never seen before. Always exciting, often painful, and always real....the Discovery Channel's Fight Quest stars went on an adventure of a lifetime and returned home with bruises and scars to show for it.

Fitz: Most folks dread the thought of even verbal confrontation. You guys volunteered to go fight a bunch of unknowns from around the world, many of which were yielding weapons you didn't know how to use! What scares you?

Doug: I was shot at in Iraq and had bombs explode 100 yards from me while there. None of that stuff ever scared me. But fighting like we did on this show was different. In Iraq I was part of a team; on Fight Quest I was alone. If I failed.....the onus was on me. I was always most nervous right before each fight, but I'd lose those nerves as soon as I got hit. It made me want to go running face-first into the other guys fist. Just to get it over with!

Jimmy: What scares me is not putting my best foot forward. It's OK to lose to someone better than me, but I hated the idea of losing to someone because I was fatigued or didn't put forth my best effort. As far as nerves go, you can't kill what's inside you. It's best to use those nerves to make you react; make you sharper.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy

My guest this week is the very excellent athlete and adventurer Will Gadd. Starring on Discovery Channel's Fearless Planet, Will guides us through the world's most spectacular natural wonders to teach us how these land formations were created. The show is really so gripping that as I lay sick and exhausted in bed a few weeks ago, I refused to fall asleep. I couldn't miss his journey through and lesson about the Sahara. (No.....I don't have TiVo.Yes, I know I'm a nerd.) I was wishing this show was around when I was back in school learning about geography. If it was.....I think I would have actually been interested in the subject and learned all of the things I was supposed to learn back then. Totally entertaining!

From Canmore, Alberta, Will has won every major ice-climbing competition in the world and holds the distance world record in paragliding. He's one of the most successful outdoor sports athletes in the world, as well as an award-winning film-maker and writer. He has flown his para-glider over the Grand Canyon, climbed icebergs in the North Atlantic, won the X Games, written a best-selling outdoor instructional book and regularly writes for the New York Times and other international magazines and newspapers.

As I interviewed Will, we giggled a lot as he was totally down to earth (when not hanging from it). He's a new Daddy and considers that his most exciting, yet rewarding adventure. He's also the real deal when it comes to healthy living. He has some especially unique insight on food, which I think we could all learn from.

Fitz: You're the ultimate outdoor sports guy....in amazing shape. You're world renowned for excellence in ice climbing, mountain climbing, paragliding, kayaking , caving and skiing; a bit of a lunatic. How did you get started with all of this?

Will: I actually began my escapades in utero. My Mom was hitting the mountains while pregnant with me. My Dad's a climber too. I grew up with it.

Fitz: What does your wife think about you dangling upside-down from ice all the time?

Will: She totally gets it. She's (Kim Csizmazia) also a champion ice climber.

Fitz: That would probably help! And now you have a daughter?

Kinda yes. Kinda no. Dr. Oz recently became worried about all of the plastic he and his family of six were using while drinking tons of bottled water. Instead, he became creative and ordered some vodka infusion jugs that are handmade from 100% recycled glass. The bottles are fairly large and quite pretty. He fills the jugs with both water and some sort of fruit slices like lemon or lime.

The jugs end up looking like a decorative piece, and because they're gorgeous...end up reminding his four children to drink lots of water. Since he's such a fan of the jugs, Dr. Oz told me he was going to give them out as gifts this year. I wonder if his buddy Oprah received one for Christmas.

Actress Nikki Blonsky, best known for her co-starring role alongside John Travolta in the movie Hairspray, is up for more nods come next year when her theatrical release Harold debuts. She's also finishing work on Lifetime's movie Queen Sized, premiering January 12 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT).

In Queen Sized, Blonsky brings to life character Maggie Baker, an overweight, outcast teen nominated for homecoming queen by girls plotting to humiliate her. The story ends happily, with Maggie overcoming adversity. Wouldn't it be nice if all such weighty issues had happy endings? Wouldn't it be grand if weight wasn't even a basis for pranks and jokes? OK, I'm dreaming.

Blonsky, 19, says this movie beautifully captures the essence of queen-sized issues.

"It's an amazing story of coming into your own, acceptance and believing in yourself," she says.

I plan to tune in -- how about you?

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

This week I'm featuring one of the coolest guys in the world. A real life action hero who actually couldn't answer some of my questions, because he's been sworn to military secrecy. I love it! Bear Grylls is the star of Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel.

Bear was a survival expert in the British Special Air Services (21 SAS). He's obsessed with adventure as well as breaking rules and records. Bear is a brilliant outdoors man, built like a guy movie producers choose for their action flicks, and handsome enough to make girls want to watch him eat zebra guts. A fantastic combination for television.

To shoot each episode of Man vs. Wild, 33 year old, Bear gets dumped out of a helicopter in to the wildest most extreme regions in the world where tourists are likely to become stranded. He then gets to work trying to teach our sorry butts how to escape eminent doom. On Man vs. Wild, Bear has: thrown himself into both quicksand and an ice lake to demonstrate exit strategies, hidden from a sandstorm inside of a camel he'd previously gutted, and chowed down on everything from elephant dung to goat testicles. All for our benefit.

While interviewing Bear, I started the conversation off by telling him that I love the show, but spend half of the run time covering my eyes and ears. He didn't seem surprised. I often inquired about why he is willing to go to such extremes. He also didn't seem phased; unlike you and I....hiding inside of a camel doesn't seem appalling to him. The man is the real deal. He takes his job seriously and is literally willing to do anything to survive. I think I'm inviting Bear to vacation with me from now on.

Fitz: How did you get into this whole survival thing?

Bear: I was a survival expert in the Royal Marines. We had a tight unit and I loved it. I served twice.

Fitz: What kind of exciting missions did you go on in the military?

Bear: I can't tell you much, it's all kind of hush-hush! But in one of my unfortunate incidents, I broke my back in three places during a free-falling parachute accident in Africa.

Fitz: Ouch! I'm impressed that you recovered and came back for more. What kind of kid were you?

Bear: Oh God! I was always dirty and causing lots of trouble. Kind of like I am now.

Fitz: How did you end up with your own show on Discovery Channel?

Bear: I had done a television series about the French Foreign Legion in the UK. The people from Discovery Channel invited me to do Man vs Wild. They had to ask three times, because the first two times I told them no. I felt like they wanted some 'smart guy' and I was not what they were looking for.

Bear Grylls (at right) used to be a more cuddly bear. The athletic star of Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild recently revealed to me that he used to be quite overweight. After completing his service to the British Special Forces and getting married, Bear gained two and half stone! Not familiar with stones? Well, each of the British survival expert's extra stones equal a whopping 14 pounds! That's quite a lot. 35 pounds to be exact.

Bear is ripped now. How did he make the transformation? He decided to! Bear says that he just was sick of being a loaf and changed his ways. He also was suffering from back pain. (He broke his back during a free-falling parachuting accident). To stay in shape for his adventures and remain pain free, Bear trains three hours a day. He varies his workouts with: martial arts, running, climbing, yoga, swimming, pull-ups, push-ups and more. When he's not eating all sorts of disgusting live and dead animals to demonstrate survival skills, Bear avoids meat and dairy. He feasts on fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

The guy knows what it's like to be out of shape, and has decided that's not the way he wants his life to be. His training is not 'easy' for him, but it's something he feels passionate about. Bear is not chubby at all anymore. In fact, his ripped. What a lucky lady his wife is to get to cuddle up with that Bear.

Never a dull moment with Bear Grylls. The star of Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild and I spoke last week during a long interview in which he will be featured in an upcoming Celebrity Fitzness Report. Definitely 45 of the most interesting minutes in my life. I can't imagine anyone having more incredible tales.

Bear told me about visiting the Sahara Desert in Africa and enduring the extreme temperatures, highs of 130 and lows of 20 degrees ferenheit. What he didn't tell me is what I saw last night while watching his show. He was given a camel from some local tribesmen that he met on his journey, and showed how to skin it to make a blanket (which he slept with later that night). Fun! He also demonstrated how to remove the water reservoirs from the camels humps in order to drink. Tasty! But wait ...there's more!

I know. Isn't this a disgusting topic? Blech. How do I know this information you wonder? Well, a few days ago I had the luxury of speaking with one of the coolest men on television, Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild star, Bear Grylls. Bear travels to the wildest locations around the world and teaches survival skills. So, just in case you get stranded in Antarctica some day......you'll know what to do.

Bear's complete interview will be featured in an upcoming Celebrity Fitzness Report here on ThatsFit.com, but in the interim I thought I'd share this fun information with you. A huge part of surviving in the wild is knowing what to eat and what not to eat. Bear discriminates against poisonous things, not disgusting things. Apparently neither should we.

This season he feasted on goat testicles. He was presented with them by some nomadic tribesman and contrary to Bear's initial projections, they did not taste like hard boiled eggs..................

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Picture the Hulk with dreads, and a giggly personality. That's Brad Johnson. Brad Johnson is the superhero character on Discovery Channels' Last One Standing. Funny thing is...he IS his character. The man who topples competitors with his mantra "I'm Brad", is straight out of a Marvel Comic. He is a 29 year old father of two from Oklahoma, and one of the most successful lightweight Strong Men in the United States. Don't let that confuse you though. Brad is massive, but his 236 pound body comprised of pure muscle falls under the 240 pound criteria for Strongman heavyweight status.

Discovery Channel thought it would be fun to grab three American athletes and three from the UK and pit them against each other in ancient competitions amidst third world tribes. The competitors live with the tribes, eat what they eat, and train for battle in these ancient games.The competitors travel to Kalapalo, Brazil (wrestling); Zulu, South Africa (stick fighting); Tarahumara, Mexico (endurance running); Mongolia (wrestling); Trobriand Islands (tribal cricket); Sumi, Nagaland (Akikiti kickboxing); Senegal (wrestling); Papua, New Guinea (canoe racing); Brazil (Kraha log racing); Peru (glacial challenge); Java (martial arts); and Vanuatu (canoe racing).

Brad and I spoke last week about his wild trip around the world. He's passionate about sports and fitness, a fierce competitor who is willing to talk himself through anything with his "I'm Brad" mantra, a dedicated family man, and also a lot of fun. I called him giggly, but that's probably not the way his competition perceives him. Lucky me, to simply be on the other end of a conversation hearing about his exciting adventures. The Last One Standing airs Thursdays at 8:00 pm on Discovery Channel.

Fitz: What does "I'm Brad" mean?

Brad: It's my way of saying "of course I can do this!". I'm Brad! When I say that, I live up to my own expectations of excellence. Brad can not be stopped.

Fitz: How did you get into Strong Man competitions?

Brad: I played sports as a kid, football, track, and power lifting. I still wanted to compete after high school was over, so I pursued power lifting. I did really well, and basically got bored with it. Strong Man looked more interesting, power lifting only consists of three basic lifts. It also was exciting to finally be challenged again.

Fitz: What was the transition like?

Brad: Awesome! The power lifting competitors were really cocky and annoying, but all of the Strong Man competitors were helpful and positive. It was strange! Instead of trying to screw with me, they were giving me pointers and cheering me on. I loved it!

Fitz: How did you get involved with Last One Standing?

Brad: Discovery was specifically looking for an American Strong Man competitor and the American Strong Man Federation recommended me as a good candidate. A couple of weeks later I was auditioning in New York. It consisted of a three hour miserable boot camp. I think they chose me because even after my legs locked up on me two hours and 45 minutes into it, I came back and finished the training. They must have thought I was psycho enough for the competition. It was brutal.

Fitz: And then what happened?

Brad: Within a few weeks, I was granted a passport (never been out of the U.S. before) and flew off to visit some of the wildest tribes in the third world. I was only supposed to be gone for eight to nine months, but Discovery thought it was going well. We ended up extending the show to 12 episodes which took 14 months to shoot. I'd come home for a week every few months.