The first thing you notice about Jillian Michaels is how nice she is – intense and outspoken but, all the same, nice. It’s a surprising contrast to the tough-love persona that got America’s favourite trainer to where she is today: international fitness guru; talkshow host; reality TV star; entrepreneur; motivational speaker and life coach.
Best known for her role as the trainer on the original US version of The Biggest Loser, Michaels has released six bestselling fitness books (selling over 3.5m copies), nine fitness DVDs and an online fitness and diet programme at jillianmichaels.com, which is the fourth most-visited health website in the world, with 1.6m monthly visitors.
More than just a PT for celebs, Michaels is a celebrity in her own right. She inspires devotion from fans, who love her no-nonsense approach, tough workouts and the impressive weight-loss her method delivers.
Michaels became a trainer aged 17, but shifted gear to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She worked her way up from a job in the mailroom with the hope of becoming a Hollywood agent. When things didn’t work out, Michaels was at first reluctant to return to fitness training. ‘I thought of training as going backwards in the world. But I opened myself up to the opportunities that came my way, and I pursued them with passion and intensity,’ she says.
That passion and intensity paid off. In 2002, aged 28, Michaels opened her own gym, Sky Sport & Spa, with fellow fitness expert Jackie Warner. She then got her big break in 2005, when she was asked to become a coach on the debut season of America’s The Biggest Loser, where she helped the show’s winner, Ryan Benson, drop 122 pounds (nearly 37 per cent of his body weight) in a mind-bogglingly brief nine weeks. These results were achieved through unstinting hard graft and Michaels’ unrelenting, hard-hitting encouragement.
TOUGH LOVE
Michaels has since transformed millions of bodies, not just via TV, but through her weekly podcasts and fitness books. And her challenging DVDs, including 30-Day Shred, 6-Week, 6-pack, Killer Buns and Master Your Metabolism, are a huge hit with UK fitness fans of both sexes. ‘She pushes you to places you never know existed, but it’s worth every bead of sweat!’ says Lucy (32). ‘I’ve been doing Jillian Michaels’ DVD’s for a few years and I have them all – I’m a huge fan!’ says Cara (32). ‘I’ve tried other DVDs but nothing compares. Plus, who wouldn’t want to look like Jillian? Inspiration indeed!’ In the US, meanwhile, Crunch Gyms offer Jillian Michaels’ Bodyshred, an intense group fitness class based on her 3-2-1 interval system.
So is Michaels as tough on herself when it comes to training as she is on her contestants and clients? ‘Absolutely!’ she says. ‘Everybody has capabilities and potential that goes unrecognised, and I believe we have one obligation on this planet – and that is to be our best, happiest self.’
So far, so positive. But Michaels isn’t your average fitness fanatic or gym bunny – quite the opposite. When I ask her at what age she fell in love with exercise, she laughs and screams, ‘Never! I find it painful and it can be boring. But I do appreciate it as a means to empower myself and other aspects of my life.
You’ll never find me at the gym saying “I just love it” – never,’ she says. ‘But I like the way it feels when you’re in shape, when you look in the mirror, when you can keep up with your kids, when I think about the future and the fact that I won’t have to worry about my health. Those things matter.’
KICK-ASS BODY
Michaels didn’t always have the sculpted figure she has today – she was overweight as a child, and bullied as a result. But perhaps her 175lb body was a blessing in disguise, because when she was 13, her mother put her into a martial arts class to help her slim down and, since the age of 15, she’s been in terrific shape.
‘For me, the journey has always been about building a better life, not just a better body,’ says Michaels. ‘Exercise and sport was empowering to me as a kid and then it was something I fell into as a young adult.’
But what does she do differently to us to get those famously flat abs of hers, and how does she fit it in around her crazy life?
‘My workouts depend on my work schedule,’ she says. ‘When my schedule isn’t too crazy, I go five times a week for 45 minutes to an hour. When work is insane, I go four times a week for 30 minutes a pop.
‘It drives me mad when I can’t exercise when I want to, because you end up feeling depleted and resentful and kind of “blah” about your body, so you have to make the time, and if that means sitting down with work or with loved ones and saying, “look I have to do this, we have to work something out”, then do it.’
At the gym, Jillian saves time by doing compound moves (where you engage more than one muscle group in a given exercise) such as lunges with a bicep curl, plus high-intensity training intervals. These concentrated efforts buy her valuable time. ‘Who wants to be in the gym all day? I’m busy – I have kids and a business,’ she says.
IFS AND BUTTS
Despite her lean and muscular frame, Michaels has one pet hate: ‘My ass! It drives me insane,’ she says. ‘No matter how lean I get, no matter how good shape I’m, my ass is still where I store all my body fat. I’ve never been happy with it, I’ve tried everything under the sun to help make it smoother and smaller – having a super-clean diet, drinking tons of water, caffeine cream, laser therapy… I’ve got to the point where I’m like, “This is my ass, and that’s OK”. It doesn’t match my upper body, but it’s good enough, it’s life. If I worked harder on it I’d have next to no body fat and my face would look sunken.’
JILLIAN’S DIET
Michaels’ food ethos is equally realistic. She eats what she wants, (yes, she actually eats chocolate) and the only foods she cuts out of her diet are the ones that are full of chemicals. ‘My number one rule is to eat food that is as free of them as possible. That doesn’t mean I won’t eat processed food; I eat crackers, Popchips and candy bars; I just have versions that don’t have ingredients that our body can’t process, like fake colours, fake fats, fake flavours, sweeteners and preservatives. That’s the stuff I try to cut out because, not only will they damage your endocrine system and your metabolism, they’ll also put you at risk of diabetes, cancer and stroke.
‘Removing anything else from your diet is silly. As long as you count your calories and you eat food that your body can process you’ll be fine,’ says Michaels.
To keep her energy levels up, she snacks on protein shakes, Greek yoghurt with berries, cheese sticks, pomegranate and goat’s cheese on wholegrain crackers. And for a treat, she’ll have Popchips and some cottage cheese or Popchips and salsa.
‘I always try to get a little bit of protein and a little bit of fat and carbohydrate in every meal and snack,’ she says. ‘I’m not that strict with myself but, like anyone else, I know that when I don’t get to the gym as much as I want, then I’ll have to be more careful about my calorie intake.
NEW PRIORITIES
In the past few years, Michaels’ life, and hence her priorities, have changed dramatically. She began dating her partner, Heidi Rhoades, three years ago. Heidi gave birth to their son, Phoenix, in May 2012 and they adopted their daughter, Lukensia, a week after Phoenix was born.
‘With the kids, it’s always a challenge, she says. ‘I have to think, “right I have three hours in my day, how am I going to split it?” I don’t want to go to the gym when time is tight. It takes me 30 minutes to get there, then by the time I check in and put stuff in my locker, I only have 45 minutes to do my workout, before driving 30 minutes to get home. So I’d rather do a DVD in my living room, with my three-year-old watching! Life changes, but you get it done. It might not be as easy as it used to be, but you just get it done.’
Generally, Michaels is more of a class person. ‘I like spinning, I like yoga, I like parkour. I just like to be challenged and I need to be in a social environment and doing something new because I get so bored with it and that makes it feel less painful. With my kids, I try to do as much as I can from home, like bike rides, jogs or DVDs. I don’t love it, but at least I’m getting it done.
‘That said, going for a three-mile jog is painful,’ she adds. ‘I hate it; hate it with a passion, but it gets the job done and when I only have 30 minutes from start to finish, that’s what I have to do.’
LIFE CHANGER
Michaels’ priorities may have shifted, but it’s never been just about fitness for her. Whether it’s helping The Biggest Loser contestants shed half their body weight or squeezing in her own workouts, it all comes down to changing lives. Michaels says transforming her body has helped to transform her mind. And this is what she hopes to do for others.
‘Getting in shape is just a means to an end,’ she says. ’When someone feels strong physically they feel strong in every aspect of their existence. If they have endurance and achieve in the gym, I can redefine their entire self-image and wipe away years of negativity.’
Now she is spreading her motivational message around the world with a new self-help book Unlimited – How To Build An Exceptional Life (Crown Archetype, £17.99), and a US tour, Maximise Your Life, an interactive live show where Michaels teaches audiences how to harness their potential and kick-start their lives.
It seems her biggest success is teaching people that they already have all the tools they need to realise their true potential and create the future they deserve. For those of us intent on taking control of our destinies, Michaels supports us with practical advice – and endless encouragement.
JILLIAN SAYS:
Known for her inspiring soundbites, we asked her for her favourites…
‘I am doing the best I can, given what I have today.’
‘It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s how change occurs.’
‘You know when transformation happens? Right now. It’s a present activity. Who is the new you? Show me the new you.’‘Why choose failure when success is an option?’
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