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.

I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Mr. Michael Weiss while visiting him during one of his show stops for the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour. He comes from a wildly successful family of athletes (we're talking Olympians here) and has lived up to the Weiss expectations perfectly. Of course he trains like a workhorse, but it was neat to hear how sports and fitness were ingrained in him from ..... birth! He also tells about about the weight-loss-ish type competition he's engaged in with the other guys in the show. Sasha Cohen will decide the winner. Enjoy this interview. The guys got medals coming out the yin-yang and offers some fantastic fitness tips. There is a lot to learn!

Tyra Banks' and her America's Next Top Model panel of judges just crowned another winner. Her name is Whitney Thompson, and there's nothing skin and bones about the girl who says she feels validated after so many years of being judged.

The 20-year-old Thompson is the first plus-sized model to win Top Model honors and the first of the show's winners to kind of resemble the average American woman. Media reports peg Thompson as a size 8/10.

Thompson said she's already heard from boys and girls all over the world who are struggling with weight and eating issues. "They're thanking me for standing up and saying, 'I am a plus-size model and I am beautiful,'" says this Florida gal who is the lucky recipient of an Elite modeling contract and a fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.

Congratulations to Sarah, commenter #34. Sarah was randomly selected from over 300 entries and has won the Land's End Sport Giveaway. She'll receive a women's cardio workout apparel package valued at $300, including the Clubhouse Duffel, Via Panic Pedometer, Beach Trekker Shoes, Performance Fitness Tee, Sleeveless Performance Fitness Tee, Performance Sport Pants, Performance Sport Shorts, and a Sport Knit Jacket.

Thank you everyone who participated -- we got some fantastic responses on crazy outfits you guys wore for your workouts. There were lots of baggy sweats, some 80's style leotards and legwarmers, and quite a few mentions of exercising in undies. Even though not everyone can win the free package, everyone can check out Land's End's new collection of sport apparel for men and women.

Because you were all so forthcoming with your fitness fashion stories, we've decided to join in. Early next week watch for our admissions -- a gallery of fitness fashion faux pas by bloggers right here at That's Fit!

A woman had never been crowned The Biggest Loser before last night when Ali Vincent won the $250,000 grand prize for shedding a whopping 112 pounds, the most ever for a female contestant in Biggest Loser history.

Vincent, a 32-year-old hair stylist from Mesa, Arizona who nows weighs 122 pounds, first arrived on the Biggest Loser: Couples ranch with her mom Bette-Sue Burkland -- mom was voted off the show a while back but still lost 86 pounds -- and impressed both her competitors and TV viewers with her dramatic transformation.

Why did she take a leave of absence from her every-day life to work her butt off in front of a national audience? "I want to be strong and healthy and I want to look good and I want to set a good example," she says.

Vincent's inspiring story will be featured in PEOPLE magazine, available on Friday.

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.

I just got done chatting with myself....I think. No, it probably wasn't me. The person on the other end of my conversation is world famous and has a couple of of Olympic medals. Nope...it couldn't have been me. But! The other person sounded like me. I asked her questions about health and fitness, and she spat out the same stuff I've spent my professional life teaching. This person raved about the benefits of produce, lean meats and frequent challenging exercise. Yes. It could've been a brilliant fitness expert I was conversing with, but it wasn't. It was champion ice skater and Olympic Sliver Medalist, Sasha Cohen.

I chose Sasha to interview, because of her elite success in athletics. She's also touring with Smucker's Stars on Ice and puts on one heck of a show. She's one of the strongest, most flexible and entertaining athletes on earth. Beyond that...she turned out to be one of the best people I've ever talked fitness with. The girl gets it. I mean, she really gets it! She's a chic who seeks out highly nutritious, low fat, high fiber foods whenever she picks up a fork. She also pursues a well-rounded workout routine outside of skating. I loved what she had to say. I want you to pay close attention as well. She's physically small, but not just because of good genes. She works at it, and I believe she'll always be fit. It's a lifestyle for her, and that's what it should be for you.

Fitz: You're a brilliant skater and make a tremendously difficult sport look effortless. Do you remember when skating was hard?

Sasha: Oh Gosh! Skating is always hard. Sometimes it's a challenge to simply put one foot in front of the other. Every day requires effort just to get through it.

Congratulations to our Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week, Carolyn Kachinsky. Carolyn has literally transformed herself in to one hot mother (of five) in just 24 months! This 45 year old masterpiece of lean muscle gives new meaning to the term "it's never too late". Hopefully she'll send us a photo in her new Everlast tank top. I'm so impressed and inspired by Carolyn. Doesn't she make you want to do better too?

Maybe you'd like to win a smokin' tank from the Big E as well? Wouldn't it be nice to be rewarded for your efforts every now and then? I think you should be. I think you should be my next Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week! ....

Congratulations to our Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week, Russell Hay! Russell expanded his workouts to the Trapeze, Acrobatics and Acrobalance. Now Everlast is sending him a gorgeous tank top, so he can look hot while flying through the air!

The fitness equipment, apparel and boxing giant Everlast was so impressed with our That's Fit Fitzness Fiends that they've offered to reward our devoted readers! Not only am I proud of you all, but Everlast is proud of you too!

For the next two months (at minimum), Everlast will be rewarding an Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week with one of their hot new tank tops from their Spring collection. They're absolutely gorgeous, totally comfy, and of ridiculously high quality.

I'm thrilled with the grand response from those of you who've already participated as a Fiend, and even more excited to meet the rest of 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.

My guest this week is one of the most menacing creatures the Octagon has ever known. Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski is a contradiction as one of the Ultimate Fighting Champion's Title Holders, and the kind of guy anyone would die to call their friend. As generous as he is powerful......Andrei is someone I'm proud to introduce you to.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago I watched Andrei win a UFC match on television. Normally, he lives up to his nick name "The Pitbull," but on this night.....the story was only slightly different. He overwhelmed his opponent in a completely lopsided first round, and then chose not to go for the knock out in the second and third (UFC rounds last five minutes). This was very smart of Andrei, as it preserved his win and kept him far from risk. But.....the crowd wanted blood and gave a little "Boo." This is what I love about Andrei. He totally could have left his opponent unconscious if he would have chosen to, but since he didn't go for it....he took responsibility to the UFC fans. The man actually took the microphone post-win and apologized to the crowd! Have you ever heard of that? The guy is both and monster and a gentleman at the same time. A perfect combination.

Andrei is a former police officer and is now playing hero to his sport. Interviewing Andrei was a lot of fun for me. He speaks English extremely well, but I left his "accent" here in the interview. I think it adds to his charm. Enjoy!

Fitz: How did you get involved with Mixed Martial Arts and UFC?

Andrei: When I was a student in the Police Academy. It is a four year school like University here. Every student needs to learn a combat sport and I learned Sambo. I excelled at this and after the Academy I tested myself with cage fighting. I then moved to Chicago and had my first fight with the UFC.

Fitz: What are your workouts like when you don't have a fight pending?

Andrei: I work on my technique in Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu and freestyle wrestling. I also do my cardio to keep in shape.

Fitz: What are your workouts like when you do have a fight in the near future?

Andrei: My work out changes as it gets closer to the fight, and also changes depending on the opponent. I work out six days a week and 6-8 hours a day.

After losing 164 pounds, 40-year-old Bill Germanakos became the fourth winner of NBC's The Biggest Loser on Tuesday. Bill takes home $250,000 -- and a new lease on life. His twin brother Jim, voted off the show earlier in the season, takes home $100,000 for losing the highest percentage of body weight among all voted-off contestants. WOW -- these double losers really won big. But so did the others, despite the empty pockets they took home.

I love The Biggest Loser. I think it's witnessing the transformation of the contestants that keeps me coming back for more. I mean, these people have a lot of weight to shed when they first arrive at The Biggest Loser campus. With a lot of hard work, sweat, and tears, these folks make amazing strides.

Contestant Amy started her diet and fitness journey at 297 pounds and now weighs 171. David lost 140 pounds. Neil lost 211. Jerry, the oldest competitor at age 62, lost 110 pounds. And the biggest loser of all -- Bill -- well, Bill started the show at 334 pounds and now weighs 170 pounds.

I'm amazed, inspired, proud of all these determined individuals. And I can't wait to tune in on January 1 when the next installment of The Biggest Loser debuts. This series will feature couples, and I predict some pretty big success stories are about to unravel.

I'm writing to both congratulate and brag a bit about the newly announced Heisman trophy winner, Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators. I'm a Gator. I've earned all of my degrees up through my Master's at the University of Florida and am very proud of this young man. The first sophomore ever honored with this award.

Being great at football is one thing, and boy is he great at football. But, Tebow is the kind of kid you want to chase down and give a big congratulatory bear hug to. He's of great moral value, strong in academics and more humble than he should be. When millionaire athletes seem to be making both reckless and criminal decisions on a daily basis, Tebow just keeps getting "gooder". "More gooder", as my friend Izzy would say.

Do you need an attitude adjustment? Not to say that you have a particularly bad attitude, but maybe you're missing some particular habits and qualities that are keeping you from being as successful as you could be. Are you letting negative feelings or fear of change hold you back? Read through this list of the qualities that turn losers into winners and see if you can't find some inspiration:

Today on Oprah, new Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson took the spotlight dishing about her victory the night before. She also chatted about her new fitness habits. Since her role in Dreamgirls, Jennifer has lost a considerable amount of weight and admitted to doing it the old fashioned way.

It seems that many Hollywood beauties seem to spend time telling the press how they can eat anything they want, and never gain a pound. Hudson was real, and I think that's great for normal women everywhere. She didn't say exactly how much she has lost, but she did tell how she's doing it. She wakes up at 4:00AM to run for an hour, followed by an hour long workout in the gym with her trainer. She didn't mention it, but I'm positive she is modifying her eating habits as well.

It's nice that Jennifer shared the details of her efforts with the world. Too many people do very little and expect very big results. Knowing that a real woman like Hudson can run for an hour will probably motivate many more to do the same. I care very little about the Oscars, so today I think I'll give Miss Hudson the Fitzness Role Model Award for inspiring others to become more fit. Congratulations on your big win!