Transcript
What's up, you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here,
and welcome to More Movement, Please. Welcome
back to part two of my three -part series interviewing
my amazing fitness instructor, Rhonda Goode. In
the previous episode, we talked about how Rhonda
broke the generational curse of diabetes and
obesity in her family, losing 120 pounds and
completely transforming her life. But there's
a reason she was so driven to make those changes,
and today we're going to hear about it. I'm going
to be honest with you. This episode, it gets
vulnerable. like really vulnerable. We're talking
about what it was like for Rhonda to watch her
mother spend those last two years of her life
housebound. She was unable to walk from her chair
to the car and what those final moments look
like. It's heavy stuff. And I want you to listen
to it anyway, because it's the why behind everything
that Rhonda does. We're also going to hear about
how she went from working out for herself to
becoming a fitness instructor, how she built
her fitness tribe that shows up no matter what.
and her surprisingly practical advice about holiday
eating. And spoiler alert, it's okay to gain
a few pounds at Thanksgiving, but you got to
get them off. So this is part two of our series,
and I got to warn you, it might make you emotional.
It definitely made me emotional, and it made
me think about my own family dynamics. So I want
you to grab some water, maybe a tissue or two,
and let's jump right back in to my interview
with Rhonda Good. Now, this one's kind of a vulnerable
one, and if you don't want to answer it, if it's
too personal, just tell me again. I don't want
to answer it. But in February 2025, this year,
just weeks after your mother had passed, you
wrote, her retirement years were plagued with
nothing but sickness and disease. It didn't have
to be this way. My biggest fear is her last year,
and I'll do everything I can to avoid it the
right way. How did watching your mother's health
journey shape not just your fitness goals, but
your entire philosophy about aging and what you
want your future to look like? Watching my mother,
because my father passed, he was 69 when he passed.
So it's been seven years. And then my mom's brother
passed at 65. Wow. And so she lived longer than
her family, including almost all of her cousins,
which was astonishing to me because although
they were all in equally bad health, She was,
I would have considered her the weakest of all
of them. And she lived the longest. So I didn't
really realize how just how stubborn she was
until probably the last year. And I mean, I guess
that's what kept her here. I mean, she was really,
really stubborn. And I know people, when they
age, there's a lot of personality changes and
things like that. But she was extremely stubborn.
And could not leave the house at all the last
almost two years of her life. I mean, it was
definitely a solid 18 months. It was really close
to two years. So could no longer get up from
a chair and walk to the car. So and the car was
parked not in the garage, but right at the bottom
of the steps. So she was in a small house, had
to walk through. one small room and get down
three or four steps, no matter which door she
chose to get to the car and could not do that.
And could not go down the steps to get in my
car and couldn't do it. So housebound, literally
housebound. And then also got to the point where
she could barely make it to the bathroom. So
I had to start using a porta potty inside the
house and And someone having to constantly clean
that and clean her. And it was just... And at
the end, I mean, bed sores, all the things that
come with it from setting all the time. And so
she had a lift chair that she ordered in the
last year of her life because she could no longer
physically get up. And she dislocated her shoulder
trying to clean herself after going to the bathroom.
Oh, my God. And... It was really downhill from
there, really downhill. But man, was it a long
hill slide. It was long. I mean, and I kept thinking,
how much physically worse can someone get? So
when my mother would sit in her recliner, her
stomach was so big that it would literally almost
touch the floor. And because she'd been big for
years and then had no stomach muscles at all,
I mean, that's what happens. Because when you
have no muscle tone, that's what happens. And
so... Just sitting her slumped over again, drugs
out of her mind between all of the meds she was
on for all of the ailments she had. And then
sometimes I would come in and bring her food.
And of course, I gave her whatever she wanted,
whatever she asked for. That's what I got. Because
at this point, there was who cares? I mean, and
so whatever she wanted. And there was more than
once that she was. Her sugar was so low, I couldn't
even get her awake enough to eat. Oh, wow. I
mean, she was completely, but yet not in any,
I did call one time. I did call EMS one time
because I couldn't even get her to come to herself
enough to even acknowledge me there. Wow. And
her sugar when they got there was like 54. But
other times it was just a typical, like, she
was just out of it. I mean, just sitting, prison
in your own body. Wow. And you can't do anything.
I mean, her mind was I mean, her her mind was
definitely affected at the end. Don't get me
wrong. But, you know, prior to the last little
bit, I'd say the last six months, you really
declined mentally, too. But prior to that, I
mean, it's just, you know, mentally, you're OK
to be in that age range. I mean, you're OK. But
yeah, just a prisoner in your body and a prisoner
in your home where you can't do anything. You
can't leave. You can't do anything. I mean, we
all have days where we don't want to leave our
house or we don't want to do whatever. But to
not have the choice. Oh, no, I'm out. And so
it kind of made you double down on fitness. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I can't even imagine. Yeah. I can't
even like because I'm watching things with my
own mom right now. And it's just it's hard. It's
really hard. Yeah. It's really hard. Yeah. Because
there's. Nothing that you can do. And like with
her, I mean, the time, I mean, I remember when
she was in the hospital for some ailment, probably
three years before she died, maybe four, you
know, she comes home and it's like, I want to
try to do better, you know? So I'm showing her
some exercises she can do in the chair. And,
you know, if you'll just start trying to do this,
lift your knee off the ground, lift your leg
off the ground. Lift your arms above your head.
Try to walk from here to there. Get the walker
and try to just walk from here to there. We're
talking five steps and back. Okay, okay, I'll
try, I'll try. And it would last for not even
a week. And then at a certain point, there's
nothing you can do except watch it. There's nothing
you can do. And so, yeah, I mean, whatever she
wanted. Her order of food of Christmas last year,
because I told her when I left Christmas Eve,
I said, OK, so Sonic opens at five on Christmas
Day. So because, you know, most places are closed.
So send me what you want. It was five or six
menu items. And at the end of the text, it said,
I know this is a lot. But it's what I want. And
she didn't want more than a bite or two of all
of it, you know, each thing. But it was, you
know, queso and chips and tater tots and a burger
and a milkshake and whatever. I mean, it was
just I mean, the order was like thirty seven
dollars. And when I went to the drive through,
I thought, you know, you just get whatever she
wants. Because there was no arguing with her
either. I mean, you just could not, you couldn't
reason with her. And so, and there was nothing,
there's nothing you can do. You just have to
go along. And, you know, I used to think, I have
no idea what will ever take her. Because I could
not believe the condition that her physical body
was in and that she was still breathing. Just
could not believe it. And it's always some random,
weird. most of the time thing, you know, and
what finally got her was a final UTI and an antibiotic
that absolutely sent her out of her mind. Wow.
That had to be so hard to watch. It was a rough
week. Yeah. It was a rough week. Do you feel
like it's changed you? Or that it's just made
you, like I said, just double down on fitness?
Um, no, it's changed me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do
you want to talk any more on that or do you want
to move on? Move on. Okay, let's move on. Well,
it sounds like a good time to talk about mental
health. So mental health and movement. You had
mentioned in 2020, in January 2020, that the
endorphins from exercise have a larger effect
on your mind than your body at first. You said
feel better mentally, watch depression, anxiety,
and lethargy. I can't even say that word. Minimize
and then watch your body transform slowly. Let's
talk about the mental health benefits you've
experienced. How has moving been medicine for
your mind? I think for a lot of people, you know,
I mean, especially now in today's world, I mean,
everybody's diagnosed with something, which,
and I'm not trying to minimize it, but it's literally
everywhere. And I think most people know, especially
if you're older than, say, 20, that smartphones
and social media are where we're at mentally,
period. Because no one interacts anymore with
people. People don't know how to interact with
people. They're not comfortable with it. They're
kind of lost. And so most people are just lost.
And they're in these mental jails because they
don't know how to do anything outside of the
box that's in their hand. And they don't know
how to communicate with people. They don't know
how to relate to people. And they don't get out
and do things for the most part. And if they
do, they're still on their phone the whole time.
And so at the gym, you don't, for the most part,
see people on their phones. They're there to
work out. It's a forced phone break. Now, I've
got a couple that do, especially in spin class.
I still think it's weird because to me, it's
like it's 30 minutes. Can you not give your mind
a break for 30 minutes and just work out? I mean,
whether you're thinking about nothing or bubbles
in the air or whatever. I mean, even if your
mind is blank, but just let it be blank. Yeah.
So we're afraid of that. But I think that just
working out in an environment with people that
you can choose to interact with as much as you
want or not, and then moving has such a huge
effect. And it's the whole groupthink mentality
that is both a positive and a negative, can be
a very negative thing. But at the gym, groupthink
is the best thing you can have because it'll
be those people that... encourage you or ask
you where you've been or all the things. And,
you know, and there's some that are annoying
about it. The attendance monitors. Yeah. I mean,
there are, but, and, but those are the people
that, you know, will make you accountable. And
so there's just something about being somewhere,
working out everything that is happening in your
life. And a lot of people, I mean, I tell people
like, that's why med ball slams are so fun, but.
It's like for most people, it's working out whatever
you're feeling, whether that's anger, sadness,
whatever it is. You typically can let go of it
for that amount of time during a class, usually.
I mean, and I have I mean, I've had days, especially
during sicknesses of my mother. I mean, I've
had days where I break down in class. It happens.
But, you know, I just keep going. I've had people
break down in class. I mean, it happens. But
most of the time, people can just focus on the
current present where they're at. And that's
a huge mental release for everyone. And then
when people choose to not go to the gym, I mean,
things happen. Life happens. Work happens. All
that. It tends to be that when people stop going
because of X, Y, Z, and then they don't go back
or they take an extended break, you can watch
their mental health and they will tell you that
their mental health will suffer significantly.
Because at first it was, well, no, I couldn't
go. And then I, oh, well, I'm not going. And
then, oh. And so they'll find themselves back
in the serious black hole that they started in.
So, yeah, I can definitely relate to that. And
part of the reason I chose group fitness is because
I knew that I needed other people around me and
I knew I needed other people to kick my ass if
I didn't show up. Yeah. So, yeah, it's good stuff.
It's good for the mental health. It's good therapy.
Yeah. Especially whenever you're really angry.
No, it is. It is. Yeah. Yeah. And because murder
is wrong. That's right. And those are the days
you pick up heavier weights and stuff. So, yeah.
And try not to get hurt. Yeah. Well, one thing
that appears in a lot of the posts that were
like earlier on, I haven't seen you post this
much recently, but you said in 2018, God gives
me the passion and energy to do what I do. He
protects my body every day. Does faith still
interact in your fitness journey? It does. I
mean, I think that, you know, most people call
me things like the legend and all this sort of
thing because I've been working out at the pace
I have for so many years. But, you know, everyone
has. times in their life when it's just a job.
And that's for everyone, no matter what your
job is. And this for me is definitely my passion
because of my background. And I do believe that
it's amazing that I haven't been injured, like
seriously injured because of the pace that I
go all the time. And it's as I tell people and
you, you know, that it's not as if I'm just working
out at the gym. I mean, I also walk the dog tour
three times a day and then do all the other things.
So, you know, in that regard, I mean, I did hurt
my knee one time and it was in 2018. And it,
you know, I don't know exactly what I did. I
mean, both of my knees hurt now, but that's beside
the point. But I was in a break. I had to wear
a knee brace and I probably wore it for maybe
like a week at the gym. I still, of course, did
all my classes and was like, yeah, you know,
suffer through. And I went to church Sunday and
I never asked for anyone to pray for me ever.
And I was like, I need y 'all to pray for this
knee because it really hurts. And I don't know
what's happened. And it's my job. And I was also
like, it's my job. And if I don't go to work,
I don't get paid. It's my job. So I was like,
and so, and then at the same time, because this
is just how life works. My father ended up in
hospice that week. And so I was lying on the
floor in his room with a heating pad wrapped
around my knee with a brace on it and lying on
the floor spending the night there, you know,
and then getting up and going to teach class
the next morning. You know, I was like, well,
you just got to get through it. But I do believe
that there is definitely. some protection and
that like, he knows this is my purpose and he,
he keeps me as safe as possible. And he also
tells me when I'm doing stupid things and to
back off a little bit. And I mean, I do, and
you know, and I have to, I have to nurse things
now. And, um, you know, things that used to hurt,
not very often hurt way more now, way more often.
I mean, they do. And part of it is age and part
of it is, well, teaching 25 hours of class for
the last 15 years. Um, and doing them, you know,
as we say, I do the classes, I don't just stand
there. So, um, but yeah, I think there's definitely
a little bit of a divine protection. I mean,
I'm not stupid. I mean, I don't think that I
have some magical power or anything like that,
but, and I'm very cognizant of the fact that
I just turned 50 and, um, that, you know, I don't
know how much longer I can keep up the pace I
go. Yeah. I mean, physically, I don't know. Cause
some days I'm like, yeah, cause there are some
things that, I mean, I expect my shoulders to
hurt and I expect my arms to hurt and I expect
my hips to hurt. And I mean, you know, and I
expect my knees to hurt. But then there are some
days where that knee is like, oh, and then there
are some days my lower back is like, oof, and
back scares me. I tell everybody backs scare
me. So it's the one thing that, you know, and
it's why I try to preach to people about how
they're doing squats and how they're doing things
because most of my folks are not young. So that's
why you'll do the modifications. Yeah. So. But
yeah, so. Well, do you think, do you see taking
care of your body as a spiritual practice? Well,
the Bible does tell you that the body is your
temple, is the temple of God. So, you know, and
there's a whole thing in the Bible about gluttony
too. People get real mad about that. But, you
know, if it is God's temple and it's, you've
been given it to take care of. I mean, we're
supposed to take care of ourselves spiritually,
mentally, and physically is definitely a part
of that. So I think that that's what we're supposed
to do. I mean, we're supposed to labor to eat.
We're supposed to work and to do the things that
we need to do to survive and thrive in this life.
You're going to have to be physically fit to
do it. This is true. And I have read that I pray
more in your classes than anywhere else. God,
don't let me die. God, don't let me cast out.
God, don't let me throw up. Well, one thing that
you've said a lot is I'm not for everyone. You've
acknowledged this a lot. Finger style isn't for
everyone. So you've even mentioned that some
people are scared of you and that you chase people
down after class. If you were to put it all in
a bow, what would you say is your teaching style?
Like who thrives with you? Oh, definitely people
that want to work hard and push their own limits.
You know, because I tell people all the time,
you can always do more than you think you can.
And that's just for everyone. And, but when people
are brand new, I also, you know, if I see them
pick up 10 pound weights as they're, even they're
bigs, I'm like, probably shouldn't do that. You
know, I mean, if you want to argue and you want,
okay, okay. But I'm going to tell you, you probably
shouldn't do that when you're just starting out.
So, you know, but I mean, I had two brand new
people in class last night. They seemed real
happy. I mean, they're young, you know, and I'm
like, that's why they're happy. You can't kill
them. They're young. But I think people that
want to work hard and again, people that want
consistency are the ones that stay with me because
they know I'm always going to be there and I'm
going to do my best to make them work hard. So,
yeah, those are definitely my people. Lazy people
are not my people. And people that just want
to check a box are not my people. Well, that's
why you said the first year and a half I was
working out with you, I wasn't actually working.
It didn't count. At least I got serious. Yeah.
Yeah. So and who knew that when I finally started
listening to you, the changes actually started?
Who knew that was going to happen? Well, let's
talk about success metrics. You said it's not
class numbers anymore, but rather it's people
getting stronger, getting off their meds, improving
mental health and being able to do everything
they need to do. Tell me about some of the success
stories that have meant the most to you. Well,
I mean, some of my folks like other people weren't
there when they started, so they didn't see them.
So, you know, I've watched people take off 30,
40 pounds. And if you look at them right now,
you would think. Well, gosh, they look kind of
skinny or whatever in today's society. But for
them, 30 or 40 pounds was big for their frame,
for their body and for their knees. As you know,
every pound of weight is three pounds pressure
on your knees. So in watching them get stronger
and start with small weights and grow into big
weights for them, you know, go from fives to
15 pounds. I mean, we'll push that over their
head. I mean. That's what is great because it's
not about the fact that you can do that, but
it's about the fact that when your body can do
that and you're building muscle and you're stronger,
you're just going to have a better future because
you've got muscle tone. And watching my people
that are definitely in their senior years and
they're still doing yard work and all their grocery
shopping, they're not grocery delivering. Most
of them. I mean, they're still doing the things
that you have to do to live, you know. And when
you're 80 years old or 70 years old and you can
still do everything that needs to be done around
your house, whether that's cleaning or the yard
work or going to get your own groceries. I mean,
getting up out of the chair. No problem. Those
are the things that are important. And so. And
then I've got several people that have, you know,
gotten off blood pressure meds and off diabetic
meds. And I mean, you can't ask for any better
than that. That's, you know, I mean, yeah. Being
able to tell a farmer to suck it. I mean, that's
the best thing ever. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you've
said also that your tribe or fitness army shows
up consistently. You've mentioned that you've
got people that are doing two to three hours
with you in a row, even after a 12 hour shift,
and that they choose you over the new pretty
gym. What creates that level of loyalty and community?
And what role does accountability play in sustainable
fitness? Well, again, definitely because they
know I'm going to be there. And for some of the
folks that are working split shifts and switching
shifts and all that sort of thing. They just
know that I'm going to be there and they're going
to feel better if they show up. And so they do
show up no matter how tired they are, because
again, they'll still usually feel better. And
even if they're going home to sleep for the next
shift, they'll come work out because they know
that I'm going to be there. And, you know, I'll
take requests. Sometimes I'll say, what do you
want to work on or what do you want to do? And,
you know, and somebody will say something. A
lot of times nobody says anything, but I try
to build things. and workouts really to hit everything.
So I try to always incorporate things that are
going to hit the entire body. So if you're there,
you're going to get everything you can possibly
get in that time frame without having to be there
for six hours or whatever the case may be, or
use 20 different machines. Because a lot of people
are just intimidated by equipment and machines
and things like that. So I try to keep things
simple. And also when my folks can't come, I
mean, I have a few that can't come and they'll
ask me to send them workouts. And so, you know,
I'll send them workouts, but for them to do at
home or a different kind of workout with like,
based on the fact that they have bad knees or
whatever the case is. So I think it's just that,
and then the community there is no different
than the community anywhere. I mean, so when
they. spend time together of course they become
interested in each other's lives and and it starts
an accountability thing because it's like well
if you're always here and then you're not here
for three days where are you something's wrong
where are you you know that sort of thing and
it's just a check -in i mean there's and we've
had a lot of people through the years go through
some really bad stuff i mean it's life i mean
it you know and and so we try to be supportive
and do what we can when bad things happen to
people. Cause bad things do happen to people.
And so, you know, we try to build people up and
do what we can to try to help support them and
as best we can. And that's what people want.
I mean, people want, people just want, it's not
about belonging, but people just want a sense
of commonality. We're all here for the same reason.
We're all here for the same purpose because we're
all going to get old. Yeah. And if we're going
to get old and as you know, my mantra, for everyone
is no matter what age you walk in the room, there's
somebody in that room that's 15 years older than
you or older than that. And you look at them
and the shape they're in and you think about
where you're at at 25 and you see that person
at 40 or you're 40 and you see that person at
70. How do you want to live? Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
Marilyn knows I've shouted her out many times.
I'm chasing the 20 pound weight she is. Well,
I mean, you know, and she's almost 72. Yeah.
And old girl could catch her ass. I mean, and
genetics play a role. Don't get me wrong. Yeah.
But, I mean, they do. But a lot of it is you
choosing your own future. A lot of it. Well,
speaking of the future, we're coming into the
holiday weight gain season. So what do you tell
people during the holidays when they're surrounded
by all this yummy food, breaking routines and
the old, I'll start in January excuse? Well,
a lot of people, a lot of my folks, once you
stop being addicted to food, once you stop looking
at food as a crutch for everything you're feeling,
whether it's happy or sad or whatever, because,
you know, people will tell you that they eat
if they're happy, they eat if they're sad and
whatever. They eat mindlessly. But once you kind
of break that. The holidays aren't as big of
a deal. Yeah. Because you no longer go into if
you're going to parties or all the work functions.
And yes, people are dragging all this food in
and whatever. But you just look at it differently
because you no longer look at it like the cow
at the trough. You look at it like I can have
a bite of this. And what is your favorite thing?
I mean, just because people bring in things,
you know, don't eat it if you don't like it.
And then if you take a bite of it and it's not
fantastic, then you go sled behind the wall and
throw it in the trash if you need to. But don't
eat things that aren't delicious to you. I mean,
if I take a bite of something chocolate. It happened
recently. I won't. But it did. And I was like,
oh, this was not nearly as good as it looked.
Oh, no. And I thought, oh, no, I'm not eating
this. Yeah. Like, I'm not going to eat this.
So, you know, most of the time at all of these
parties and functions and things. There's very
little things that you just love. I mean, because
everybody kind of has their thing. So focus on
what you really like. Have some of that, but
don't take a bite of everything just because
it's there. Yeah. I mean, you know, you don't
have to eat it just because it's in front of
you. And you don't have to eat it because Aunt
Sue made it. Like, if you don't like Aunt Sue's
dressing, then don't eat it. Just, you know,
and if you need to come up with an excuse and
say, well, I got to watch my weight, you know,
whatever. Just don't feel a lot of people just
do that stuff because they feel obligated to.
Yeah. It's like you don't have to, you know,
partake in things that you don't like. Well,
the funny thing with me is whenever I started
all this, like it was my birthday and everybody
was like, are you even allowed to eat cake? Would
your instructor get mad at you? I'm like, what?
It's like, so, you know, you still have to be
reasonable. But if you have big families. I mean,
gosh, when I first got married and all my grandparents
were alive and things, I mean, you had to go
to everybody's house because everybody cooked
and, oh, they were all going to be offended.
You had to. So for Thanksgiving and Christmas
over Thanksgiving, you really just, no, that's
not true. Sometimes you did split it in between
Thursday and Friday. But Christmas, you always
split it between Christmas Eve and Christmas.
But, I mean, you're talking six meals. between
parents and grandparents. And so, you know, you,
you had to go to everyone's house. So when you
run into those situations where people are newly
married and big families or lots of whatever,
you know, it's harder sometimes. Although I think
now people are very different and they still
kind of take to one big gathering and it can
be harder, but it's okay to gain three, four
pounds. It's okay. Cause you know, if you're
consistent and you were at the gym the Wednesday
before Thanksgiving, you're going to be there
the Friday after and it'll come back off. Good.
Well, I think it's okay. If you made it through
that section about Rhonda's mom without getting
emotional, I got to tell you guys, you're stronger
than I am. That image of someone being a prisoner
in your own body. I don't know about you, but
I can't shake it. Even now, as I'm recording
this, I'm getting choked up just thinking about
it. And I don't think I'm supposed to shake it.
I'm supposed to let it fuel my workouts, right?
Because you know what strikes me most about Rhonda?
She doesn't talk about fitness like it's about
looking good or fitting into a certain size.
She talks about it like it's about freedom. Fitness
is about the freedom to leave your house. Freedom
to have choices. Freedom to live the last decades
of your life on earth on your terms. In the next
episode, which is our final one in this series,
we're going to get super practical. Rhonda is
going to share her non -negotiable do's and don'ts
for the gym, her advice for people hitting plateaus,
and why she thinks fitness should feel like church,
not punishment. Plus, we'll tackle that I'll
start in January excuse that you know we've all
used. But for now, I want you to sit with what
you heard today. Think about your own future.
What do you want it to look like? Onwards and
upwards, my friends. Have you worked out today?