Awhile back, Quaker Oats invited me to participate in a conference call with Bob Harper along with a few other bloggers. The call was scheduled on the same day as the NASM Live Workshop, so I wasn’t able to attend, but Quaker folks kindly offered to coordinate a one-on-one email interview with Bob. Seriously, how cool is that?! Thank you, Quaker!
Without further ado, here’s my email interview with Bob Harper! I absolutely loved reading his responses! I hope you will, too!
What is your favorite way to exercise?
I have become obsessed with Crossfit. It is my favorite way to work out. It just makes so much sense to me and it also challenges me more than I have ever been challenged before. My hands, on the other hand, really have suffered!!!
Which workout gives you and/or your clients the best results for building strength and burning fat?
When it comes to building strength and burning fat, that is the foundation of Crossfit. You have got to find time for strength training AND get your cardio in to get the fat off and Crossfit really does combine those two things.
What workout/exercise do you think more people should be doing?
Haha…I feel like a broken record but CROSSFIT!! Also I would encourage people to try something new when it pertains to working out. If you have never tried yoga or spin classes, jump into a class the next time it fits in yours schedule. It is all about trying different things.
What’s your best piece of advice for someone just starting out with exercise?
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Make one smart choice everyday and let that start to create a habit.
What’s the toughest workout you’ve ever done?
Easy….there is a workout in Crossfit called, FRAN and also SANTIAGO. The worst workouts I have ever done in my life!!!
How much protein do you think the average active person needs in their diet?
Protein is crucial for muscle repair and building and it also keeps you satiated. I recommend getting in AT LEAST half of your body weight in grams so if you weigh 150 lbs, get in 75 grams.
What’s your favorite vegetable recipe?
I love to roast Brussels sprouts in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I like to over do them because they get the texture of potatoes….YUM!!!
What’s a typical day of eating look like for you?
I get my protein and carbs earlier in the day and then by the afternoon I keep it “lean & green”. Lean proteins and tons of veggies.
If it was your last day on earth, what meal would be your last?
Italian!!! I want pizza & pasta….oh yeah and definitely chocolate cake. I’m starving right now thinking about it.
What’s something about The Biggest Loser that most people don’t know?
People have no idea just how much effort goes into getting that kind of weight off a person. My contestants work harder every single season and if the viewer could really see what is required of them on a daily basis, they would be in awe. I sure am.
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This is amazing Tina!! Bob Harper is just about the greatest person and the fact that you were able to interview him is amazing! I love that Italian would be his last meal. What would yours be? Thanks for posting this interview!
@Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio: Without question, mine would be French bread, stinky cheese, and a bottle of white wine!
@Tina: I love it! Mine would be mexican food…. especially the refried beans. They have my heart.
@Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio:
Yep! Mexican for me, too!
@Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio: I also love that he said FRAN is one of the toughest workouts he’s done… How’d that make you feel reading that?
@Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio: Haha! Me too! It totally validates it!
Great questions, I didn’t realize he was so into crossfit recently. I know so many people who have really fallen in love with that and it’s great that it’s getting more attention. I love how supportive he is of the contestants too – you can tell he really cares!
@Heather @ Better With Veggies: Me either! You should have seen my face when I received his responses!
What an awesome opportunity for you! Thanks for sharing the interview!
Oh my gosh, what a great interview! I love seeing all Bob’s tweets about Crossfit recently. I really liked his thoughts about eating carbs/proteins in the morning and going lean and green in the afternoon. Thanks for sharing the interview!
My heart’s a flutter! I love Bob Harper so much! Great questions, by the way.
Great interview! His answers were great, relatable and he makes it sound so easy to make good decisions. Love it!
Very neat! I am already in awe of the biggest loser contestants. Thanks for sharing!
My biggest beef with BL (and I haven’t watched for a few seasons) is the lack of emphasis on eating. There are two parts to the calorie balance equation, but I feel like they focus only on exercise.
Good questions though!
I thought Bob Harper was vegan.
@Jen: he is, however I think he said what he said because if it was his last day on earth, he wouldnt be :O)
@JB:
I considered that… but in an interview about diet, protein questions etc, I would expect that to come up. Maybe he stopped or maybe he didn’t want to talk about it.
According to his Wikipedia page, he stopped last year.
@Tina: @Tina: @Tina:
Oh ok, interesting. Thanks for the info.
@Jen: Just an FYI – you can still be vegan and eat pizza, pasta and chocolate cake
I do it on occasion myself!
I love him. Also – one thing I always look for when a new season of BL starts? A new tattoo. He seems to always have one every season!
That is too funny that your interview with Bob focused so much on CrossFit. I actually had never heard of it until your blog. I would love to try it, but I don’t know of any classes around me. Comparing the interview to your blog, it definitely seems like you have a similar exercise/nutrition mind set to Bob, including the CrossFit promotion and the emphasis of protein in your diet.
I love how personable he is even through email. Looks like Crossfit is a winning answer in his books…if only the gyms here weren’t so expensive!
omg I <3 Bob Harper – i actually wrote on my facebook status the other night I would DIE to workout with Bob…. everyone's been talking about this CrossFit I'm shocked to find out he is too; I promised myself after the Disney half this weekend I'm going to change my workout. There are a ton of CrossFit's in NYC but it's sooo intimidating.
This makes me want to try crossfit even more! I wish it wasn’t so far away from me! Great interview.
I love how he said Fran is the hardest workout he’s ever done! So Funny, you just wrote about that. I think I have to try out Crossfit!
I adore Bob Harper! He would definitely be my trainer of choice!
Hey tina, sorry if you have already mentioned this, but are you doing the nutrition part of the crossfit program? I looked at crossfit and it seems cool, but I really have no desire to adhere to their nutritional guidelines. I am curious as to whether you need to follow the food plan in order to see results…?
No, I’m not doing the Paleo diet. I like oatmeal and cheese too much to give them up!
Haha, I love that he picked Fran as the hardest workout he’s ever done! I hope he makes his contestants do it later on this season on The Biggest Loser.
Would that be awesome!?!
Great interview! I think any good strength training class that incorporates full body moves would be fabulous—especially since that is what people want! I wonder if he’s ever tried BodyPUMP…… love to see that happen
My last meal would be sweet potato fries, spinach strawberry salad, salmon, and frozen yogurt with caramel chunks.
That is so cool that you got to do an email interview with Bob Harper! What a great opportunity!
I really like him too. i love the challenge he did with Jillian Michaels…he owned her at Crossfit! It shows how crossfit really works a different type of strength.
such an awesome interview! i loved reading his responses. i am so intrigued by crossfit!
What an awesome interview! I love that he loves CrossFit! I think it’s the best!
I still can hardly walk down the stairs properly since my 400+ squats on Tuesday! They were brutal to my poor quads!
I love Bob!! thanks so much for sharing. his insights on diet were very interesting & helpful
What an awesome opportunity! A Great interview!
this is awesome! i’ve always thought Bob seemed like such a great guy. i’m sure you loved hearing that he’s such a fan of CrossFit too!
That’s so awesome that they set up a one-on-one email interview with him…that might almost beat a group phone interview! Really good questions you chose for him! Also, it’s awesome seeing how much he loves Crossfit and kinda reiterates why I put myself through it as well haha
@char @ char on a mission: I know, right? I was psyched when the Quaker people suggested it!
This was great and thank you so much for sharing. I’ll definitely be adding CrossFit to my 2012 goals.
Wow, sounds like Bob is quite the CrossFit advocate! I think it’s for good reason too – those workouts are killer, even for people that are fit!
I loved reading your interview with Bob. His personality really came across, even in email form.
Great questions!
Yay!! I loved reading Bob’s interview! And he loves Crossfit. That’s so cool. I liked the protein answer too. Very helpful!
I’ve always been more a Jillian fan but loved Bob’s answers! Great feature, Tina!
I love Bob! If I could chose anyone to kick my butt, it would be him. I’m really thinking I need to check out Crossfit to experience the hardest workouts of my life!
Love this!! Soo awesome
With that kind of endorsement it makes you wonder if Bob owns stock in Crossfit… kidding of course. Interesting interview, thanks!
@Paj: Surprisingly enough, he doesn’t even own (or work at) a box. Goes to to Brick CrossFit in LA and GETS trained, just like the rest of us.
Very cool that you had the opportunity to interview Bob. Great interview! It was hard to tell, but I think he likes crossfit?!
I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m all about mixing it up!
So cool that you got to interview Bob Harper!! How awesome is that?! Currently, I’m halfway through p90x (seeing some good results!), but I’ve been wondering what I should do when it finishes in a month and a half. Now I’m thinking crossfit might be the answer! I saw a comment above that complained about the price. Is it usually expensive? What would a reasonable price be?
@Camille: It is pretty expensive, but it’s worth it. It’s the BEST workout I’ve ever done! Price depends on location, so they’re all different.
Thank you for the great advice! I especially liked the advice on protien, and realized I really need to up my protien intake.
Yay! I love Bob Harper!
Bob endorsing CrossFit is awesome! I hope it gets a lot of people to check it out! I love CrossFit!
My brother does Crossfit and told me about the no gloves rule. His hands are pretty rough. Why is that a rule?
@Kellie: I believe it’s because your grip (for lifts, pull-ups, etc.) is better with bare hands.
@Tina: Thanks! Interesting.
@Tina: wearing gloves also makes your hands more prone to rips…i read somewhere that gloves increase the friction between your hands and the bar, so when you’re doing high reps of pull-ups, lifts, and anything with a barbell, wearing gloves makes you more likely to get rips.
Love Bob Harper. I can see why he’d like CrossFit (he loves to do circuits on Biggest Loser)
For those who are saying their CrossFit gyms are too expensive/intimidating, I did CrossFit for about a year on my own (though I don’t discredit the CrossFit gym, I bet with the right group and good trainers it would be awesome)
If you belong to a gym, just have a stopwatch with you, set up your stuff (or go at a time that’s not too busy) and crank it out! I opted out of some of the big lift things because I wasn’t confident in my form especially without a spotter. But, if you go through the archives on the website, you can find lots of workouts that don’t include big lifts (or create a substitution, they have lots of suggestions for those!)
I quit the gym to save money, but still do some Crossfit workouts. Many times I’ll go to the local park so I have a way to do pull-ups, runs, lunges, etc
I enjoy your blog – keep it up!
I have to try fran! And I’m off to google santiago- haven’t heard of that one yet.
That is great! Thanks for sharing the interview. I am thinking of trying cross fit, but there isn’t a location that is convenient for me. Is it possible to do cross fit at home? I do have a lot of exercise equipment. If so, do you know of a good resource that puts together cross fit workouts for people to do at home? Thanks!!
@Erin: Travel WODs are a good place to start:
http://www.thetravelingwod.com/p/traveling-wods.html
And around the 2:50 mark in the link below, Jon Gilson describes how to start at home for $300:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d19vtMDHogg
@Chris: Thank you for that second link about the home gym!
@Tina: Thanks Tina! This looks like a great resource! When the WOD says 3 reps for time but no time is given, what does that mean?
@Erin: You do the reps as fast as you can (with good form)!
@Chris: Thanks for the links. Looks great!
@Erin: Yep! CrossFit posts the WOD on their website everyday so you can do it at home or at the gym, and there are lots of travel WOD websites, which are great because you rarely need equipment for them! http://www.thetravelingwod.com/
Ahhh I LOVE Bob!!!
Tina – if my calculations are correct, you’ve been doing CrossFit for about a month. Are you noticing any changes in your body? You’ve piqued my curiosity!
@Anon: I have a post coming on Monday about this! Keep an eye out for it!
I love Bob Harper but enough with the protein worship! The average woman only needs about 40-50 grams per day, and it’s in everything. If you’re eating enough calories to stay alive, you’re probably getting enough.
@Mel: I disagree! Once i started actually *tracking* my protein, I saw I was getting almost none. Plain oatmeal for breakfast, salad, soup, or a sandwich for lunch and something carby or veggie or MAYBE meaty for dinner? I’d hit maybe 25 g in a day. I had to totally rearrange the way I was eating to even get close to “enough”.
So I now need to try Crossfit! And I’d totally be happy to join Bob in his last meal, Italian sounds perfect to me too ;D He seems like such a genuine and sincere guy who tries his best to help anyone up for the challenge!
How Cool! I love watching him on the biggest loser!
so i was reading this interview and totally was thinking that you were answering the questions! lol he appears to love crossfit as much as you do!
@Allison: Haha! That’s exactly what I said to Mal when I received Bob’s responses! I was, like, wait, did I write this?!
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