How to Get a Biggest Loser Workout at Home


by Darcy Maher Bunn

I'm hooked on NBC reality show, The Biggest Loser. It's simply riveting to watch people who come in to the competition obese, on medications, and hardly able to walk on a treadmill, as they completely transform into healthy, fit, athletic people.

The most amazing thing is how fast the weight falls off their bodies, sometimes double-digit losses in one week! What makes this possible is the combination of intense workouts and a wholesome restricted calorie diet with the fact that the contestants are totally removed from the triggers, stresses, and temptations that contributed to their weight gain at home. Every moment at The Biggest Loser ranch is invested in one task only-- losing weight.

While this fast weight loss is not for the average dieter, and should not be undertaken without a doctor's permission, there's no reason you can't undertake your own Biggest Loser-style exercise program at home.

Besides a healthy and low-calorie diet, a huge part of the success the contestants on the Biggest Loser enjoy comes from intense workouts, often three hours a day or more. They have access to a private 24-Hour Fitness gym, where most of the pounds are worked off.

It would be nice if we all slept just steps away from a fully-loaded fitness center, wouldn't it? But most of us have to drive across town to get to the club, which takes precious time and can discourage us from going to work out.

Why not create your own Biggest Loser workout room in your home? Everything you need to work out like the contestants on the show can be purchased for your home gym.

In fact, on the show Biggest Loser: Special Edition, contestants only spend 10 days on "the ranch" before being sent home for 6 months to lose weight on their own. But when they arrive home, they discover that their living room has been transformed in a 24-Hour Fitness center of their own.

Here are some of the items provided to the Special Edition contestants, and the types of things you could get for your Biggest Loser-style home gym:

  • Star Trac Pro stationary bike
  • Star Trac Pro elliptical
  • Nautilus Freedom Trainer
  • Bowflex SelectTech Adjustable Dumbbells and rack
  • Balance ball

Of course, you don't need to buy all these items at once (or limit yourself to these brands or types of equipment), but over time you can build up to a full gym in the comfort and privacy of your own home.  In the meantime, you can get an effective fat-burning workout with even minimal equipment, or none at all.  The main benefit of adding in a variety of machines and equipment is it gives you options to change up your workout, defeating boredom and helping train your muscles in different ways for maximum results.

So even if you don't get chosen to go on The Biggest Loser, you can still lose weight big-time with the help of your very own Biggest Loser-style home gym!