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

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.

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.

Hopefully we all know celebrities don't represent reality as the rest of us know it. The famous people we see have been made up, personal trained, coiffed, dressed, and soft-lit into the closest they can come to perfection, and of course they represent a very small and genetically blessed segment of the population. So sometimes it's necessary to do a little reality check, just to remind ourselves that what we see isn't what we are supposed to be.

Cheers to America Ferrara for giving us a vocabulary reality check. Right now the media is labeling her with what I call 'Kate Winslet Syndrome': when a svelte, normal-looking celeb is called "curvy" because she is shapelier than the stick figures in Hollywood. Pencils are "curvy" next to some of those ladies. America says, "I think it's hilarious when people call Jessica Alba or Eva Longoria curvy. Come on – they're not curvy. I'm curvy!" Props to her also for refusing to starve for her art. Don't shrink America!

As far as reality, supermodel Eva Herzigova has given us a mixed bag. Four months postpartum she's back to her pre-baby size, and says, "Nature has a way of taking care of things. If you have a certain figure you'll go back to it. Breast feed and don't worry about it." 'Kay, we like the very un-model-like lack of weight concern, but nature ain't so kind to everybody Eva.

While the Spice Girls reunion might be one of the first signs of the apocalypse, the press has certainly decided they haven't aged gracefully. Photos of Sporty and Posh with less-than-flawless complexions got media jeers, and Ginger's loose belly skin was also ridiculed. (Oooh, loose stomach skin. Big problem.) Now the SGs are being mocked for looking, um, ageless in their new video. So yeah, we know kind lighting and some digital magic probably made the transformation possible, but I have to say, is bad skin and some belly baggage so reprehensible? I think the scorn probably does more to encourage the 'perfection by any means' mentality than make it okay for famous people to have flaws. Sporty even said she almost refused the reunion for fear her old eating disorders would resurface. So let's stop bagging on the ladies for having imperfections and get back to trashing the crappy music.

And finally, here's a reality check on behalf of the men: While I like Matthew McConaughey's chest as much as the next person, I've seen enough shirtless beach photos of him. Really. People does a 'Guess the chest' quiz and I know the answer because I'd probably recognize MM's pecs faster than I'd peg a photo of the Grand Canyon. And of course, we see sandy, wind-blown MM all the time because that body isn't typical. Reality might bite, but there you have it.