It was announced that Dolvett Quince will join Bob Harper and Anna Kournikova as the newest trainer for season 12 of Biggest Loser, which begins filming next week. While it may take fans a while to warm up to the idea of the hit show without Jillian Michaels, Quince definitely has the fitness chops to whip a new batch of contestants into shape.

Quince is an IFFA and ISSA certified master trainer, meaning he has earned master fitness trainer credentials, and is the owner of BodySculptor Inc., and the exclusive Body Sculptor studio in Atlanta, GA which he opened in 2004 with wild success. Quince has used his expertise to train celebrities such as Janet Jackson,  Justin Beiber, Boris Kodjoe and Baltimore Ravens Tight End Daniel Wilcox, but according to his website, Quince says his biggest accomplishment as a trainer was “helping one client lose 325 pounds”.

In addition to his training career, Quince also created the Me and My Chair Workout DVD, which is a low-impact, high intensity 30-minute workout DVD that builds muscle and burns calories using nothing but a simple household chair.

The Stamford, CT native currently resides in Atlanta, GA but will be heading to sunny California to begin filming the 12th season of Biggest Loser. Time will tell if he can hang with veteran trainer Bob, but based on his resume, he should be able to help the newest group of contestants see amazing results.

Wanna see a picture of him?  Click here and I’m not going to lie…I will not have a hard time staring at him for an hour….

Jackie Warner kicks azz in Bravo's Thintervention, catch the finale of season 1 tonight at 10/9c.

We’re super excited to have had the chance to chat with Jackie Warner, who stars in Bravo’s reality weight loss show, Thintervention.

After seven episodes, both Sian and I are on pins and needles waiting for the big reveal tonight (Monday 10/9c).  Lucky us – and you – Jackie gave us a little video ‘sneak peek’ for tonight’s finale!  Here’s what she had to say when we caught up with her Friday, and check out the clip from tonight’s upcoming show at the end of the interview.

GGS: Hi Jackie, thanks so much for agreeing to speak with us at GirlGetStrong!

JW: Well thank you so much!

GGS: Now, many of us know some of your personal story, but for those who perhaps don’t know much about you, tell us how you came to be interested in health and fitness and how ultimately, that passion led to your two tv shows, the current one being, of course, Thintervention on Bravo.

Now those are ripped abs! After four kids, mine are a little less ripped. Okay, a lot!

JW: I actually came into the game a bit late…I was working at WB until I was 30 and was doing some training on my own. I soon started training with a friend and loved it. It took a force of its own and I ended up quitting my job and training full time. Within a year I opened my first gym – Sky Sports- and then a 2^nd gym. Soon enough I got on [her first reality show] Work Out and the rest is history.

GGS: So who is your fitness hero? Who inspires you?

JW: My inspiration to continue training actually came from my first client. She was miserable, overweight, an alcoholic and in a physically abusive relationship. She was on a downward spiral when I took her on. But, in a matter of 14 months she got it together. Our workouts made an impact in her life and her results made one on mine. I was hooked! I thought ‘If I can help make this happen, then that’s what I want to do for a living!”

GGS: So do you have any personal fitness inspirations to keep you at your routine?

Oh, yeah, we remember Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2...she inspired a whole generation of us!

JW: Not really, but people always inspire me along the way. I actually remember when I was a little girl watching Terminator 2 and seeing Linda Hamilton doing pull-ups.  I was young and I remember thinking ‘Oh my goodness, look what a strong beautiful body that is! I really want that body. I wanna do 20 pullups!’ so that’s when I started doing body building pretty hard, and when I got into it, it changed my shape completely. And my current shape isn’t anything like what it was.  I’ve naturally manufactured this and its all through basic bodybuilding principles.

GGS: Okay, let’s chat about workouts! What is Power Circuit Training it and why is it your workout style of choice?

JW: It’s a combination of 4-5 exercises together, and I like to do the same muscle groups. For me, I like to combine 2 upper body and 2 lower body and go back and forth for 2 sets. I like to keep them moving constantly without break.

I train myself completely different than my clients though because it’s difficult for me to put muscle mass. So, I do chest press and chest fly back to back, rest for a min for the ATP to supply the energy for 2^nd set. That’s how a guy trains and how that I train. My DVD’s and [when I'm] training clients for weight loss [that] keeps you burning  your cardiovascular and putting muscle on simultaneously.

GGS: Now, we saw some injuries during the season (Kim’s hand, Joe’s ankle, overheating, exhaustion).  And of course extreme workouts can be risky.  For those of us at home without a trainer on hand to supervise us, what are some signs that we may be overdoing it?

JW: Well, if you’re overdoing it…in terms of injury, you have to use perfect form, number one. If you’re following a DVD or online service you have to really watch what that instructor is doing and use perfect form. However, preexisting injuries do happen. You have to really watch and listen to your body and notice what the difference is between a GOOD BURN (muscle soreness) is and BAD BURN (pinch or stabbing pain).

We heart Jackie's straightforwardness and her tough love!

GGS: …and on the flip side of the last question, let’s move on to the topic of underachieving …why do you think people struggle with committing to lifestyle changes?

JW: Because people don’t like manual labor -especially women- and that’s what the gym is: manual labor. I feel people don’t like to physically stress themselves out, I have to teach that to women. Men are the easier client because of their relation with sports, muscle failure, good pain. They like it because they enjoy it. Women generally don’t like heavy lifting or feeling pain in any way when it comes to physicality. With Shay, I was able to tap into the inner athlete and inner warrior; talk about all the great things that happen when they continue in fat burning mode after the training. They get the endorphins pumping, they sleep better…you have to focus on the positives.

GGS: At times, the show has become quite emotional, what was the most difficult moment for you?

JW: There were many difficult moments in the show, mostly because the clients were so self-loathing and self-defeated, it was almost insurmountable. There was lots of self hatred and when you’re dealing with such self-sabotage it’s difficult. You also have to understand that we were working on camera with them, leaving little alone time. You miss a connection. Where I might have cracked a little deeper off camera, we didn’t have the opportunity because the cameras prevent a really deep connection between the trainer and client. That frustrated me the most. It was tough to engage  because we were always on camera.

GGS: So what can we expect in the future of Thintervention?

JW: What can we show differently…talking of season 2, hoping obviously that it comes to fruition; I think more of my personal life has to be shown. People want to hear my perspective from a day-to-day basis on training. We should also show more of Craig Ramsay because he’s my right hand man, we should go out together and be able to dish on what’s going on from our perspective….a little more personal, in terms of me showing myself and what should probably happen in season 2.

GGS: Now that we’re nearing the end of the season, what do you hope Thintervention viewers will take away from the show?

JW: I hope they can understand that with all the obstacles, if they [the participants on Thintervention] can do it anyone can do it. I know there’s a firm take-away from the show because I am a producer and made sure of it. I have people approach me and say ‘I am losing weight from your program.’  I want people to understand there’s a much deeper issue than just looking good and flipping though a celebrity magazine, it starts with changing your energy and building self-esteem.  If you boost your self esteem you will want to take better care of your body.

It’s like when we were kids: if you study for test and put the work in you get an A. if you procrastinate and fail, that’s a self-loathing builder. We have to treat ourselves the same ways as adults and feel good about ourselves.

GGS: Okay, we’re dying to find out what’s happened to everyone over the intermittent six weeks without your tough love behind them! Give us a hint about what we’re going to see in the finale – are we in for any big surprises?

JW: Oh yeah, there are some surprises!

Everyone succeeded because every one of them made a life change… that’s what I wanted when I pitched the show to brave I wanted to have a ‘life change’ show…I wanted to focus more on the emotional aspects of what it takes to lose weight on your own. I gave them the tools but left them to their own devices and they each succeeded greatly in making that connection.

GGS: So, after this season, what does the future hold for Jackie Warner? We’ve talked about the hope for another season of Thintervention… Where will we see you next?!

JW: Well, the book [This Is Why You're Fat... ]is out and doing well! We’re 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, the DVDs are performing very well, and the Personal Training With Jackie: Xtreme Timesaver Training DVD is doing phenomenally. We’re  still focusing on promoting the book now that Thintervention is [almost] over. We are also going to get a game plan and start pitching Bravo for season 2. I don’t know if we’ll get it but that’s the hope to get it. And I’ve always got things coming too, there’s a 2^nd book coming up. The focus right now is definitely on books.

GGS: Thank you so much for your time, Jackie, you are such a thinspiration to us all!

JW: Thank you so much I really appreciate it.

You can catch the finale of Thintervention tonight at 10/9 central. 

And one last note, a HUGE thank you to Nicole H – you know who you are – for all your assistance, you rock!

Watching the Biggest Loser last night, I shed a few tears.  It gets me every time I see families reuniting, the look on the kids’ faces as they see their mom or dad again. And the speeches, well don’t get me started again…

Am I just a sap? Probably, but I’m okay with that.

Liz’s speech about taking care of everyone else but always putting herself last really resonated with me as a mom.  I saw the women in the audience nodding their heads while Liz spoke.  Because of course this is a common problem among us moms.  It is so easy for us to push ourselves down to the bottom our daily to do list…or even falling off entirely.  I thought back to the times when I’ve eaten the kids’ leftovers as my “lunch”, the times I’ve given up a workout so the kids can have a play date, and well, you know what I mean, because we all do it, don’t we? Our children, after all, mean the world to us!

I, for one, have finally realized that putting my health first (gasp) means that I have the energy to be a better mom and that I’ll be a happier and more calm mom as well.  Not to mention the kicker…my husband and I are the primary role models for our children. If we don’t take care of ourselves, how do we teach our children to take care of themselves? So perhaps we shouldn’t look at it like we are being selfish by taking care of ourselves, but rather that we are giving the gift of health to our children instead.

Gosh and it only took me most of a decade to learn this!

Moving on to the weigh in…I can’t believe it. Double digit weight loss again!  Amazing and inspirational, of course. But I wonder how the average viewer who is following along at home (like Liz, who sat and watched while eating ice cream) feels when they only lose a pound or two, or – gasp – gains over the course of a week?  Most of us don’t have the option of leaving our families to lost weight and get fitter for months at a time. I hope people don’t get discouraged, because weight loss and fitness is a lifelong journey, not a week long goal.

Let’s see…what else did I want to say…? Right. The product placement.  Am I the only one irritated by the blatant product promotion during the show? Or am I just being grumpy because I skipped eating ice cream while I watched? 

Still, those two little gripes pale in comparison to the good the show does when it comes to drawing attention to the need to make a true commitment to being healthy and fit.  Cheers and applause for that!

Finally, down to the nitty gritty.  What did you think of the challenge? Would you have pulled yourself over a canyon from 200 feet in the air? (Gosh, I had flashbacks to my recent adventure Zip Trekking…this looked way scarier! …but, I could have done it I think.)

Were you surprised by Rebecca getting voted off?  How did you feel about that? Was she the right pick?

Hit me up, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

~courtesy of DietsinReview, by Brandi

She’s back! And smaller than ever. Last season Ruby Gettinger stormed onto the Style Network reality stage and stole the hearts of America. Ruby began last season weighing nearly 500 pounds, and chronicled her more than 100-pound weight loss in a candid weekly reality program. July 5, Ruby returns for her second season weighing less than 350 pounds, the smallest she’s ever been as an adult.

The first season introduced us to this darling Savannah, Geogia resident whose weight had gotten so out of control she was told she’d die if she didn’t make some dramatic changes. The docu-series follows Ruby’s daily life, introduces us to family and friends, and shows how Ruby is slowly but surely making those important life-saving changes. Not only does Ruby works with a crack team of doctors, nutritionists, and trainers to help her better understand how to manage a healthy lifestyle, but she also works with a therapist to confront the deep issues that have prevented Ruby from making these changes.

Season two opens on a tragic event, as Ruby must deal with the sudden death of her father. The first true test of her new self, it’s with determination and her constant support network that Ruby’s able to persevere and not let this event keep her from crossing below the 350 pound mark. Former flame Denny returns and treats Ruby to a Rascal Flatts concert, a trip that sends her back to Savannah more determined than ever.

Prepare to meet an all-new Ruby and one ready to take on exciting new experiences this season. They might be things that many of us take for granted, but in season two we’ll see Ruby ride a bike for the first time in decades, visit the gynecologist, shop for new clothes and even participate in a breast cancer walk.

If you’re ready to make some big changes in your life just like Ruby, then join Ruby’s Walk Across America. It’s her way of helping Americans take those all important first steps toward a healthier life. In fact, you can join Ruby in two Walk Across America events this summer, and walk alongside the Style Network sweetheart.

• July 11 in Los Angeles: 10a, rain or shine! Oceanfront, adjacent to Santa Monica Pier
• July 18 in St. Louis: 10a, rain or shine! Kiener Plaza at the corner of Market & Broadway

Ruby continues to inspire a nation in the season two premiere July 5 at 8 p.m. et/pt

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