Olympic Weightlifter Holley Mangold on ‘The Biggest Loser’ (Continued)

I'm not a fan of "The Biggest Loser", mostly because I disagree with their training methods.  For example, a 300 lb+ person probably shouldn't run at all.



Running applies a lot of stress to the body.  Good technique allows a runner to use his/her muscles, tendons and ligaments (i.e., elastic tissues) to absorb and damp that stress.  Though there are probably exceptions, It's unlikely that a 300 lb+ person knows how to do that, which means all that stress gets absorbed by the bones and cartilage of the lower legs - typically the knees.  That's bad news.

I am, however, a big fan of Olympic weightlifting.  And as I mentioned earlier, super heavy weightlifter Holley Mangold joined the cast.



Another reason I'm not a fan of "The Biggest Loser" is the inordinate amount of focus the producers place on contestants' sob stories (clearly, I'm not the target audience).

Squatting at the Olympic Training Center.  Courtesy, Hookgrip

Ms Mangold must not have a sob story, because they've given her very little screen time.  The clip above, however, gave her a chance to highlight her skill and provided a couple interesting quotes.

First, note that, in performing the clean, she caught the bar on her shoulders without gripping it.  Her wrist must still be bothering her.

I shattered my wrist during the Olympics and am now on the road to recovery. Before competing, I had some torn ligaments in my wrist. During the competition I was so determined to total that I tore every ligament, which made the bones scatter throughout my wrist. I came back to Colorado to do my surgery.

 In the clip, Bob Harper said, "I want to show Holley that she can be smaller and stronger.  Weight goes down, strength goes up."

Holley said, "ever since I lost weight and I thought it ruined my weightlifting... it's really hard for me to step back and say, 'I want to lose weight because... of me.'"

I'm not sure how the producers edited that comment.  I also don't know what she means when she says that loosing weight ruined her weightlifting.  When did she lose weight?  How much?  What did she do to lose weight?  How badly did her total suffer?

What I do know, however, is that there are women who are smaller and stronger than Holley.  Case in point, Tatiana Kashirina, current record holder in the clean and jerk (190 Kg = 419 lb).


I wish Ms Mangold all the luck in the world, both in her Olympic goals and her health goals.  And I hope her time on the show brings the sport of weightlifting more of the exposure it deserves.