The Biggest Loser!!!

Recently I watched a few episodes of the NBC show the Biggest Loser.  Watching it made me want to lose my lunch, and not in a good way.  I have a few issues with the show.  I understand that these contestants are overweight and need to lose fat as fast as possible and with that come high intensity total body exercises.  But why do we have to constantly watch these trainers completely throw biomechanically correct movements out the window, and in their place movements that make any intelligent coach cringe with pain.  Time after time we see awful technique when it comes to anything that involves bending over, squatting down, lunging, etc.  I recently watched one episode in which a contestant had to stop his workout because of intense low back pain.  Surely your joking!  You have back pain?!?!  I sure can’t see why!  And I guess neither can the trainers on the show.   Surely the fact that you’ve been continuously picking up a 75# barbell with your spine arched like a question mark can’t be it.   After the said contestant walked out the gym he was coerced back in because he was weak minded and he needed to overcome the pain, not only in his back but in his life.  Nope it wasn’t because of his s***ty technique, that any sane coach could see.  The show is extremely lucky that no one’s had to have a lumbar spine fusion yet.  Who knows, maybe they have and haven’t been sued.  They’re trying to create healthy lifestyle habits for these contestants but why aren’t they teaching healthy movement patterns for these individuals as well.  If you want to know more about properly training the back for stability and movement in general, read anything you can by Stuart McGill, especially Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance.   Yes I have several more issues that I want to rant about but those will be for another time.