CC Collazo of Teaneck is one of 10 women chosen to compete on 'Strong,' which focuses on health, strength and fitness as opposed to sheer weight loss
"Holding on to my body weight for a really long period of time -- that's kind of my thing," says Adam Von Rothfelder, an elite trainer who co-stars on NBC's new competition reality show "Strong."
Let me tell you about the very fit. They are different from you and me.
"Strong," co-created by Sylvester Stallone, focuses on fitness as opposed to weight loss, although the series feels like vey much like a mash-up of "The Biggest Loser" and "American Ninja Warrior" (producers from both NBC shows are involved here) with a dash of "Survivor"-style strategy.
The 10 women selected for the show, including Von Rothfelder's trainee CC Collazo of Teaneck, are somewhat out of shape but far from "Biggest Loser"-level obesity, and they are paired with 10 male fitness trainers from a variety of disciplines, who are tasked with getting them into shape and competing alongside them, and sometimes by themselves.
On last Thursday's episode, for example, the men had to climb a rotating barrel jokingly dubbed "the spool of hell" to avoid being sent with their partners to the dreaded elimination tower, a neon-lit four-story structure that looks like it was designed by the Master Control Programmer in "Tron" expressly for the purpose of destroying human will.
One team is eliminated each week, and the last team standing will split a cash prize of up to $500,000. Collazo and Von Rothfelder took a commanding lead in the early challenges and have quickly found themselves with a target on their backs. "You have to be smart," says Collazo, who spoke to NJ.com earlier this week. "This is a marathon. As you're getting stronger, so are your competitors. You want to fight your fight in a smart way."
Collazo is a wife, mother of two and former gym rat who suffers from fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by widespread pain with no apparent cause, and for which there is no cure. Collazo said she received an email about the show -- "Do you want to be strong?" -- at a time when she "feeling a little lost and uninspired and frustrated with my workout."
She auditioned and was flown to California for more vetting, but had no idea what she was in for until she showed up on the set for the first day of taping. "I only knew that I signed up to be on a show that was going to air on NBC, and I was going to lose 20 to 30 pounds and get stronger."
She picked Von Rothfelder, a former mixed martial arts fighter and self-described "movement guru" whose unconventional training methods don't typically involve traditional exercise or weight-training equipment. "He knows what it's like to fight, and I'm fighter," she says. "He's got great tattoos on top of everything. He's not bad to look at."
(We spoke before nude modeling photos of Von Rothfelder made the rounds of the web; NBC had no comment.)
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"He was constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone. He's all about movement as opposed to just heavy lifting. It was hard to watch myself in a couple of the episodes because you feel so self-conscious," she says.
"As far as today, I absolutely do everything and more of what he initially taught me. I'm able to do those pull-ups and chin-ups I wasn't able to do before, lifts and squats. I'm so happy about my progression ... Now I just feel I sacrified so much to be on the show and went through so much on the show, it's that fire that is just not going to burn out."
"Strong," which also features another New Jersey contestant, Giovanna Cicerchia of Wyckoff, airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.