Thread: Jillian Michaels Accused of Not Knowing Anything About Kettlebells!

Jillian Michaels Accused of Not Knowing Anything About Kettlebells!

Jillian Michaels needs to know what she's doing before she makes promises about her new fitness DVD.

October 11, 2010|By James S. Fell, Special to the Los Angeles Times
I don't know much about proper kettle bell techniques. Neither does Jillian Michaels.

I have an internationally respected fitness certification and 17 years' experience with free weights, yet I lack the audacity to pretend I am qualified to teach kettle bells.

Jillian Michaels, on the other hand, is lacking in shame. At least that's what I thought until I realized Michaels is not actually a real fitness trainer — she's an actress playing the role of fitness trainer on TV and in a line of popular DVDs.

It's analogous to Jesse Ventura's choice of a Gatling-style minigun to mow down guerrillas in the 1987 movie "Predator." Most viewers thought it was way cool, but real soldiers shook their heads in disbelief that anyone would schlep such an ungainly weapon through the jungle.

Same thing with Jillian Michaels. Typical viewers think she's great, yet the collective jaws of professional trainers hit the floor after witnessing her regular displays of poor technique and unsafe training practices.
Michaels obtained some introductory fitness certifications (National Exercise & Sports Trainers Assn. and Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America) 17 years ago and does not seem to ever have recertified. The biography on her website goes on and on about her multimedia endeavors, but there is not a single mention of any health-and-fitness education or credentials.

And now, seemingly without any qualifications, Michaels is teaching amateurs how to use kettle bells in her latest DVD, "Shred-It With Weights." Her toned, tanned and possibly Photoshopped physique stands proudly on the cover holding a kettle bell, while a bubble on the cover exclaims, "Lose up to 5 pounds a week!"

Lose 5 pounds a week? Sure, if you start off weighing more than a Smart Car.

It's not the first time she's made such a claim. Even though it takes hundreds of hours for a serious professional to become certified as a yoga instructor, Michaels made a yoga DVD that also promises you can lose up to 5 pounds a week, which is about as likely as Paris Hilton winning the Nobel Prize in physics.

A kettle bell is a traditional Russian training tool that looks like a cannonball with a handle affixed. It allows for a wide variety of swinging movements that focus more on development of power and endurance, whereas most weightlifting focuses on slow-speed strength. In order to reduce the risk of injury and maximize your results, qualified instruction is strongly recommended.

Originally Posted by Merkaba

Uh Oh, I googled Mr. Fell and realized I'll have to keep an eye on this!

Clownfish of the Week: James S. Fell - FishbowlLA

Funny stuff.