Transcript
What's up you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here.
Welcome to the third and final episode of our
Podcast Thon series right here on More Movement
Please. More Movement Please is so proud to be
a part of the fourth edition of Podcast Thon,
a global event where thousands of podcasters
all in the same week use their platforms to shine
a light on a charity that matters to them. The
charity I've had the pleasure of highlighting
this week is the Humane Society Animal League
for Life of Madison County, Kentucky. And the
links to both the organization and Podcast Thon
itself are in the show notes of this episode.
If you haven't clicked those links yet, I'd love
for you to do it after today's episode. And if
you feel moved to make a donation to the Humane
Society Animal League for Life, their donation
link is there too. Now, if you're just joining
us, first of all, hi and welcome. Please go back
and listen to episodes one and two because they
are so good. But here's the quick version of
why Rhonda Good is my guest this week. She's
my fitness instructor at the Telford YMCA in
Richmond, Kentucky. And, well, I adore her. When
I was choosing a charity for Podcast Thon, I
asked my community for recommendations, and Rhonda
is actually the one who put forward the Humane
Society Animal League for Life of Madison County.
I threw all the nominations into a random number
generator, and hers won. The universe, as far
as I'm concerned, made this call. I just showed
up with a microphone. And now for the final time
this week, Rhonda Good. In this episode, we go
deep on what it actually takes to set a brand
new student up for long -term success. After
14 years of teaching, Rhonda can read a room
in about 60 seconds. She knows almost immediately
whether someone walking through the door is going
to commit or they'll be gone by next week. She
talks about how she approaches brand new people,
what she says to them, and then, most importantly,
what she would say right now to the person who
is sitting at that crossroads. Maybe it's you.
The one who knows something that has to change
but hasn't quite made the move yet. It's direct
and it's real. Nothing less than what I would
expect from Rhonda Good. And it might be exactly
what you need to hear today. Let's get into it.
Well, I'm going to transition again. And all
right. So last time we covered plateaus, the
21 day habit rule, the three do's and don'ts
for beginners. And that episode that you call
the preachy episode, it was actually really good.
But I want to go even deeper on those patterns,
because in 14 years, you've seen the same stories
play out over and over again. And I want to know.
Well, what you know. So when someone first walks
in your class and you said you can tell pretty
quickly who's going to stick with it and who
isn't, what are the signs, the things that people
don't even realize that they're broadcasting
that tell you whether or not they're going to
be in it for the long haul? Well, usually when
you're talking to them, like if I go introduce
myself and say, you know, hey, have you ever
done whatever the format is and yes or no? And
then, OK, well, and I'll say, well, my class
is more whatever, whatever the class is. And
then and then I'll say, do what you can, you
know, and I'll say I'm wild. And I'll say, so,
you know, do what you can. Don't feel bad that
you can't keep up because, you know, some of
them have been with me for years and they can't
keep up, you know, sort of thing. But some of
them just like they'll look down at the floor
or they look away like, oh, I'm not really going
to be here very long. You know, so it's usually
that or then the people that, you know, once
class starts. They just stop and stare at you.
And it's not that they're lost. They literally
just stop like, oh, I can't. I didn't sign up
for this, you know. So, yeah, it's usually those
folks. OK. All right. Well, one of your students
sent me the most thoughtful message before this
interview, and I want to read part of it to you
because I think it deserves a real answer. She
wrote about watching your regulars, people who
have been with you for years and how they know
your routines. They know you, they trust you.
And then a brand new person comes in and they
see all of that from the outside. Do you think
it intimidates the new people when they walk
in the room? I don't think so, just because most
of my folks are pretty welcoming. I mean, new
people in a gym are going to be intimidated in
general. That's part of the whole thing about
gyms. But when you've got people in class that
are every body shape, every age, every color,
I don't think that people are necessarily intimidated.
And new people tend to go to the back anyway
where they feel safer. And so not at our place.
I mean, there are gyms that are definitely because.
There are classes because, I mean, when I was
a student even, you know, you're walking in classes,
got your little cliques in the corner, this little
group and that little group, and they don't say
anything to the people. And there's always somebody,
whether it's just because they're nosy or because
they're nice or a combination of both, that's
going to always say something to new folks. Yeah.
So not at the Y. Okay. All right. Just curious.
All right. Well, you've seen people hit their
goals, completely transform their lives. I know
definitely transformed mine. You've seen them
get off medications. You've watched people come
back year after year after having the same conversations
and some of them make zero progress. What separates
the two groups, the ones that actually make the
big change versus the ones that, well, are stagnant?
The ones that are stagnant refuse to make any
little changes. Whatever that is. So, you know,
whether that's doing a different class or changing
their diet just a little bit, they just refuse
to do anything different at all. And so those
are the ones that, well, if nothing changes,
if nothing changes. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. We talk
a lot about people, what they should do at the
gym, but I want to ask what happens outside of
it, because I think that's where most people
actually fall apart. What are the lifestyle habits
that are not just workout habits that you see
that derail people the most? And I know most
of it's diet, but I'm curious about all the things.
Oh, yeah, most of it's definitely diet, but it's
also just sitting. I mean, so, you know, for
the for typical people, my people are different.
So when they come to the gym, they're usually
going to work out at least an hour and a half
or two hours a day. Most people aren't going
to do that. Most people are there for maybe an
hour. So, you know, you can't erase. an entire
week of a desk job, especially if you have genetics
that make you prone to being overweight and all
the other things. So you can't have a desk job
and come work out three hours a week and lose
weight. I mean, it's not going to work. So you're
going to have to go to the gym more. I mean,
that's why when I was a student, when I started,
I started going like 12 hours a week and then
14 and 16. That's how often I was at the gym
before I taught anything. So to me, when I went
into teaching, it wasn't necessarily that big
of a deal as it grew. But, you know, you just
can't erase a week of inactivity. You can't erase
eating whatever you want every day, all day,
with three hours at the gym. So you've got to,
whatever that is, take the stairs. Do the extra
things. You know, walk the dog. I was going to
say get a dog. Walk the dog. Well, just like,
you know, when you have people with overweight
dogs, I'm like, well, do you walk them? Well,
we've got a backyard with a fence. Well, so do
I. Yeah. Do you walk them? Yeah. Well, guess
what? That's why it's fat. Yeah. You know, I
mean. And so are you. No, I'm just kidding. You
wouldn't say that to them. So, yeah. I mean,
you have to do some extra things. And obviously.
And I don't hate them. I mean, there are obviously
people that are just genetically inclined to
be thin and, you know, and people joke and say,
I hate them, whatever. Those people tend to be
the kind of people that wish that they had more
shape, you know, so they wish they had more of
a butt or they wish they had more of this or
more of that. And they can't get it. Yeah. No
matter what they do. So, you know, I don't look
at those people like, you know, because I've
got a handful of them and don't. They could never
be overweight, no matter how much they try. They
couldn't be overweight. But I've also got a couple
people that have pretty small frames that have
lost 30 or 40 pounds. And on them, that's an
enormous amount on them. So, but, you know, the
biggest mistake people make is just, like I tell
everybody, I mean, sure, I can eat what I want.
Yeah. Because of the amount of time I work out
and all the other activity that I do. But I still
try to sort of behave. And I always, always like,
what else can I do to be active today? It's always
in my mind. So when people are like, you don't
rest. I don't rest well. No, I mean, I rest when
my body says, you're dead. That's it. You have
to. You have no choice. Yeah. But otherwise,
I'm always looking for something to do. To keep
moving. Not cleaning. Rhonda doesn't clean. But
outside, I'm always looking. Like, you know,
I've already mowed the lawn last weekend. I'm
always like, let's do something. You know, whatever
that is. And I really enjoy the outside work.
But whether that's going to the park and walking
or doing something, I would rather be moving.
So most people, all the mistakes are made with
eating too much stuff and then just that whole
Netflix and binge thing, which I've never done
in my life, but sitting and just... Stuffing
your face. Well, or even just laying around all
day watching whatever. I mean, unless you're
sick, that's not necessary. Yeah. Get a treadmill.
Well, there's a lot of noise out there about
nutrition, macros, intermittent fasting, cutting
carbs, not cutting carbs, blah, blah, blah. And
the thing that I recently complained about is
all these influencers pushing this protein powder
crap at you. So what I want to know is what you
think about this. Is it true or is it false?
Can you outwork a bad diet? Depends on how bad
your diet is and depends on how much you're willing
to work. Okay. Okay. So. The typical thing that
they say is like for what a woman you're supposed
to have 2000 calories or whatever it is a day.
So how do you combat that and still lose weight?
Well, I mean, because you're 2000 calories. You
know, if you're eating like me, a king size dark
chocolate Kit Kat at 450 calories or whatever.
And, you know, that's a quarter of your calories
a day. And of course, I don't drink coffees and
Starbucks and all that kind of stuff. But, you
know, if you're consuming in liquid form half
or more of your calories in a day, then that
doesn't leave you with much. And so, you know,
nutrient denseness does matter. And it also matters
in how you feel. I mean, if you eat fast food
and eat out, you don't. Well, if you're in a
pattern of it, your body doesn't know any different.
So you're sluggish and you're tired and you don't
feel like going to the gym and you don't feel
like moving because you're eating junk every
day. Once you get out of that mode and then you
do it, you know, your body tells you, oh, that
was a little much, you know, and you're not going
to feel well and you're going to feel tired and
sluggish. Then I don't care who you are, you're
going to. So, you know, can you eat junk every
day, all day and lose weight? No. Can you eat
junk and lose weight if you're willing to work?
Sure. Yeah. But you're going to have to be willing
to go to the gym five, six days a week and make
the commitment to do it. And some people would
rather do that because they like to eat. Yeah.
And so, I mean, and that's sort of my philosophy
is the reason I don't partake in any of that
foolishness with excluding anything is that I'm
going to work out. But I'm also going to do other
things. I mean, I'm not just working out. I'm
going to look for ways to move. And if you do
that, then you can eat more junk. All right.
You heard it here first. You can eat more junk
if you just move more. All right. I want to ask
you something a little more personal. When someone
who has been in your class for a long time and
they finally have that breakthrough moment, they
hit a goal they've been working toward for months
or they come in and they tell you they got off
on medication or whatever it is. How does that
feel for you? Like, how does it really feel?
Oh, it's definitely a boost because I get tired
of this, too. It's a job for me. I get tired.
I get tired physically. I get tired mentally.
I get tired of y 'all. I get tired. I mean, clearly.
But then I'll get a message from somebody. Just
got one this week. Someone's on vacay. They're
hiking. They sent me a picture of the top of
the mountain and said, Rhonda, because of your
classes, this hike was easy for me. It's an immediate
boost. And every time it happens, I'm like, this
is why I always show up, even when I don't feel
like it. Because that's what matters. People
can take care of themselves and can do the things
that they want to do without limitations. Yeah,
that's why the girls wanted me to send you the
picture. We did a crafter noon. And when I was
lifting the 50 pound bags of cement, they're
like, you gotta send that to Rhonda. Okay, so
if someone's listening to this right now, and
they're exactly where you were before that photo
at the family reunion that we talked about all
that, oh, all those four months ago, I was thinking
it was longer, but it was only four months ago.
And they know something needs to change, but
they haven't made the move yet. What do you want
to say to that person right now? Not the polished
version. Just get real with them. Always the
same. Look at your future 15 to 20 years from
now. If you stay in the exact same shape you're
now, which is going to get worse because that's
how it works. What does your future look like?
And if you have kids, what does their future
look like? What are you leaving them with? That's
good. Always the same. Look at your future 15
to 20 years from now. What does it look like?
That's Rhonda Goode. And she's been saying that
same thing for 14 years because it is always,
always true. This wraps up our Podcast Thon series,
and it has genuinely been one of my favorite
things I've ever done on this podcast. If you
enjoyed these episodes, I want to encourage you
to head over to podcastthon .org. You'll find
so many other charities that are being highlighted
by incredible podcasters from all over the world
this week. It's a beautiful initiative, and I'm
honored to have been a part of it. Please also
take a moment to visit the show notes for the
link to the Humane Society Animal League for
Life of Madison County, Kentucky. Share this
episode link. Donate if you can. Tell someone
about it. Awareness is everything. And you listening
and sharing this episode is already making a
difference. If you want to leave a voice note
for this podcast and possibly be featured on
a future episode, I would love to hear from you.
Head over to FamousAshleyGrant .com backslash
fitness and you'll see two links. One's for industry
pros and one is for listeners that have their
own story that they would like to share. I love
hearing from you guys. Thank you so much for
listening to these episodes from the bottom of
my heart and for being part of this little movement
of movement. Onwards and upwards, my friends.
Have you worked out today?