
Image: Getty.
The latest season of The Biggest Loser is well and truly over but its ‘Commando’, Steve Willis, certainly hasn’t slowed down.
The 39-year-old has been keeping busy with his online training program Get Commando Fit. We caught up with Commando recently to quiz him about fitness fads, myths, and what his ‘no excuses’ philosophy really entails.
We’ve seen a lot of fitness trends this year. Were there any that frustrated you?
“Moreso than any one fitness fad or diet, it’s more the superficial stuff [on social media]. It might work momentarily but it really has no depth or longevity. Even certain types of training – we look to the complexity of things but really, it’s in the fundamentals. It’s in focusing on the basics and doing them to the best of your ability and being consistent.
A lot of this other stuff, like Instagram, it’s almost contrived reality. Sometimes, the picture is being taken but it’s been manufactured. It’s not how it would be for the average Joe trying to get their life back on track to improve their quality of life and achieve purpose for themselves.”
Which fitness myth would you most like to dispel?
“That ‘the fix’ is external to yourself. There is nothing in this world that you can do to help empower yourself or live a life of purpose and meaning that is external to you. There are businesses with massive marketing dollars trying to make you believe their product is what is going to get your life back on track. But happiness, fulfillment, purpose — it’s created, and that comes from within. For anything to work in this world, you’ve got to work and be willing to take responsibility for your actions.”
Watch: A simple leg exercise by Paper Tiger. (Post continues after video.)
You don’t go easy on The Biggest Loser contestants. Is tough love the best approach?
“It’s tough love, but what you’re seeing is snapshots. We’re that constant reminder for the contestants of just maintaining consistency and taking stock of their emotions. Through reinforcing those habits, they take control. The simplest way of doing that is to focus on breathing — a lot of people don’t take notice of that until it’s challenged, it’s like, ‘Wow, how do I get my next breath in?’ When we realise we can get control of that we realise we can get control of other things. It does require a bit of tough love.”