Often we forget what an important part of strength training mobility work is.
Mobility work has the reputation of being something that you just tack on or do during a warm-up.
But the reality is that mobility work is incredibly important and dictates how you move, how you feel, and the gains that you see in and out of the gym.
Click play to listen right on this page, no app is needed:
Or, listen on your favorite app: iTunes (Apple Podcasts) | Spotify
Want a free week of strength workouts? Click here to get started!
Key Takeaways
- Support online content creators who are sharing this information by saving and sharing their content
- Stop thinking of mobility work as something on the side and instead center your training around it
- Remember to rest and recover in order to achieve the goals you are looking for
Taking Care of Your Whole Body with Coach RT3
Rich Thurman, better known as Coach RT3, is a mobility specialist who is passionate about sharing his experiences as a Black man in the fitness industry and advocating for coaching in a way that takes care of your body, mind, and spirit as one whole person.
Mobility is Not an Afterthought
Let’s be real, does every part of your body function optimally?
The chances are probably pretty low. Incorporating mobility into your strength training as the main objective will help you see the benefits you are looking for and improve your overall performance as you age.
In general, we tend to overlook and neglect important health things until it is too late.
This is why Coach RT3 is so passionate about helping others understand the why behind their workouts and get specific about how mobility work can help them. Mobility work is not an afterthought; it is a key component to achieving your goals.
Knowledge is Power
Coach RT3 really understands the importance of educating people on how their body works. You need to access the full capability of your mobility to ensure your training is going to succeed.
Coach RT3 believes in the power of sharing information, which can be challenging on social media.
But, through his passion and tenacity for the power of mobility, he helps people move better, feels better, and do more while still recovering in a way that is essential for longevity.
The more you have access to your mobility, the better your life is going to be. What are you waiting for?
Are you ready to dedicate yourself to mobility? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.
In This Episode
- Understanding the struggles around creating social media content as a creator (4:48)
- Calls to action that will help amplify and support the content of diverse online creators (24:52)
- Common mistakes or fallbacks people believe to be true when it comes to mobility (33:51)
- How to incorporate mobility work as a key part of your strength conditioning (40:12)
- Tips for working with Coach RT3 and improving your relationship with mobility (51:53)
Quotes
“I am a firm believer in the way I communicate and the way I put out information; it is in a sharing way. I don’t hold any information back. And if you want to work with me and if you want to train with me, then you are working with me and training with me because you like the way in which I coach.” (26:18)
“I want you all to be better and to understand and to learn and to grow. Because if you all learn and grow, then everyone is better.” (27:40)
“Mobility should be the throughline for everything that you are doing in life because it is life.” (33:19)
“If you really want mobility to be something that impacts your longevity and life, you have to slot it in as the thing, and everything else has to be the 20.” (44:53)
“If you move better, you feel better… and if you feel good you do more. And if you do more, you get more of what you want overall anyways.” (51:37)
Featured on the Show
Follow Coach RT3 on Instagram | TikTok
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Support the Podcast
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get your first month of Whoop free ($30 off)
Save 10% off GORUCK with code FUELYOURSTRENGTH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
Related Episodes
Ep 338: Mobility, Justice, and Representation in the Fitness Industry with Rich Thurman
Ep 370: Mobility for Strength Training with Dr. Jen Hosler
Making Mobility Practical w/ Coach RT3 Transcript
Steph Gaudreau
Mobility work is a very important part of strength training. But if you’re like many people, you don’t know how to incorporate it, or you’re just confused about what is really going to be effective. On the podcast today, my special guest is walking us through how to really incorporate mobility into strength training, and why yes, it’s an important supplement. But it’s really a throughline for your training, as opposed to something that you just tack on the side.
Steph Gaudreau
If you’re an athletic 40, something woman who loves lifting weights, challenging yourself, and doing hard shit, the fuel your strength podcast is for you. You’ll learn how to eat, train, and recover smarter, so you build strength and muscle, have more energy, and perform better in and out of the gym. I’m strength nutrition strategist and weightlifting coach, Steph Gaudreau. The fuel your strength podcast dives into evidence-based strategies for nutrition training and recovery, and why once you’re approaching your 40s and beyond, you need to do things a little differently than you did in your 20s. We’re here to challenge the limiting industry narratives about what women can and should do in training and beyond. If that sounds good, hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app. And let’s go!
Steph Gaudreau
Welcome back to the podcast. Thank you so much for being here. Remember to hit Subscribe on your podcast app. Today on the podcast, I am so happy to welcome you back to the show. Rich Thurman, better known as Coach RT3, was here on the show in Episode 338. And he’s back today to go a lot deeper into mobility training and how to really make it a feature of your physical work, not just a tacked-on annoyance or side thing that you have to do, but really how to make mobility work for you so that you are seeing the benefits of that work, especially as we’re getting over 40 We really need to pay attention to that stuff. So we’re going a lot deeper on that today in this episode. But what we’re also doing is revisiting a very important topic that Coach RT3 talked about in that episode 338. And we’re really looking at how it continues to be an issue for Black Indigenous and People of Color on social media, especially who are creators in this space, and how their content is not being shown or seen equally, and how the value placement is different. It’s a really important topic and one that you should learn about and hear about from his perspective. Alright, let’s go ahead and jump into this episode with Coach RT3. Coach RT3, welcome back to the podcast.
Coach RT3
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, I’m excited. You’re back. So I would I had to go back and look this up because sometimes I try to guess episode numbers. And I was way off. So you were on the show in episode 338. It was in June of 2021 that that podcast aired. So believe it or not, it’s time has really flown by it feels like it was just yesterday that you came on the podcast for the first time and talked about a lot of the issues very close to your heart. So I’m glad you’re back.
Coach RT3
Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I’m sure my hair’s a lot longer than the last time.
Steph Gaudreau
A little bit, a little bit.
Coach RT3
Just four years of the locks, yeah, four years. So maybe you go back on my social media, you’ll see no hair, and you’ll see a little bit of hair. And then like, now it’s four years.
Steph Gaudreau
That’s awesome. I love it. Well, today, we’re gonna talk about some really important stuff, not just in terms of mobility and the things that you do with the upgrade guys and on your social media. And I mean, if you’ve if those of you who are listening, have never seen any of your videos, I mean, gas face like become a thing. And that’s like such entertaining things. You do a lot of entertaining stuff. But you also do a lot of really important education. And you speak really powerfully about issues that affect you, as a black man on social media, trying to share a message that’s really important to you. Do you want to give us like maybe I guess an update or like some of the things that you’re seeing still are challenging in terms of social media and like getting your message out?
Coach RT3
Yeah, well, you know, it’s, it’s interesting because I think it’s 2020 like when people kind of like you had a lot of fitness people like throw up their black square and be like, Yeah, you know, I’m in support of this and you know, but I think it’s just like a pray for Paris moment, like comes and then it goes and, and that, you know, in that year, I think we did a lot collectively as a society to push forward. But I think, you know, as you push a pendulum one direction, you know, if you don’t keep pushing the work, if you don’t keep going, and the pendulum will swing back the other way, you know, and it’s, it’s, I don’t want to say it’s natural, but it’s, it’s one of those things were, like, you just stop putting energy towards it, you’ve stopped putting energy towards the direction that you want to progress and, you know, naturally, you know, we’re not any longer overcoming that inertia. And so you, I think we’re seeing, you know, as a result, a lot of things kind of a lot of pushback going, you know, opposite direction, and we were not fully accomplishing what we want. And, for me, you know, I always saw it, as, you know, affect the space that you’re in.
Coach RT3
And so, for, you know, for me, being a fitness professional, like, the space that I’m in, is the space that I can have some form of effect on. So you know, I’m not going to be out in the street marching, I’m not going to be you know, that someone else is part of this struggle. And for me, the part of the struggle that makes sense is with other fitness professionals with other, you know, consumers with, with the people within the fitness space to understand the relationships between the oppressive forces, the oppressive forces facing, you know, our communities, black indigenous people of color, whether that be, you know, diet culture, whether that be, you know, the faces on magazines, the ideas, you know, who are seen as leaders, you know, who’s being promoted on social media versus other because, at times, you know, you see a lot of, you know, the people who are being promoted, or people who are doing, you know, basically, what has always been accepted from, you know, black indigenous people of color, which is, you know, basically clowning around, you know, like, let’s, let’s put this sofa in my bag and do some, you know, some shenanigans.
Coach RT3
And, and, you know, to me that that dilutes what we’re trying to do, which is carved out a space for us to be seen as legitimate professionals. And so it kind of degrades that, that that process, it’s time to move forward from that. And, you know, just like we move forward, and from movies that where we play certain roles, we type past certain things. It’s time for us to move forward in these in this space as professionals and be seen as educators.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, absolutely. I know, recent, well, maybe not recently, recently, but in the last maybe few months, there was an example was a video of a creator, and zoos really, really interesting in the gym. And then there was a woman, white woman who kind of like, copied and did the same thing. And yeah, her posts got way more traction and reach and stuff like that. I mean, is that some an example of what you’re seeing in terms of like, being able to actually even get reach these days? I mean, it’s hard enough, and then to have the algorithm kind of working against you, like, what else are you seeing?
Coach RT3
Yeah, well, you know, I think one of the things that’s interesting is like, so you go back to, you know, it’s across platforms a little bit to tick tock. And, you know, I think it was about a year ago, where, you know, the black creators were kind of upset because the dances that were being created by, you know, black creators were being stolen or taken by, you know, nonblack or white. And, oftentimes, you know, that person would, you know, not acknowledge, you know, that, that they, you know, got it from somewhere else, or maybe they have a larger following and then, you know, there was one woman who made I think $17 million off of a dance that was not hers, she took from a black young black girl, and, you know, pushed it out to her following.
Coach RT3
She was on Jimmy Kimmel, she was on all types of stuff her you know, she’s made tons of money off of that, and there’s no recourse for that. Right. It’s there’s no real intellectual property to that, but you know, people see it and it happens and so the one that you’re speaking about, you know, as one that I actually called out, and I think it’s important that it’s called I know like the creative the original creator I tagged a minute and he just kind of went HA HA HA and I’m like, see, that’s the problem when a Black creator who this is happening to doesn’t see the impact or wants to continue to reap his own benefits without actually confronting the issue and would rather just like keep it copacetic.
Coach RT3
You know, I mean, and so, you know, the problem I saw with it was that she didn’t credit him, she did the exact same thing she didn’t credit him. You know, and, and it’s cool that, like, you saw something and you want to do just like that, but I think, you know, crediting it would have been, like the minimum that you should be in this you should do. So I call that out, you know, and, you know, you had two people on both sides of the coin. Yeah, so the people who were, who were arguing, you know, well, you can do what you want. And I was just like, you’re missing the point, you’re missing the whole point of it all. And I’ve even had content that has been that has been emulated by larger creators and has done better. And why wouldn’t it if we’re in the same field, or we’re in the same space, or similar space being mobility, and I do something, and my audience seems to be like, Oh, that’s cool? And I’ve got 28,000 people following me. And then you have 200 – 400,000, people following you, and you do the exact same thing. But if those people are also interested in mobility, or whatever the case is, then it stands to reason that you would reach a broader audience and your posts would take off a little bit further.
Coach RT3
And in the end, you know, I think what people don’t understand about social media is that, that there are payouts, you know, for creators now. And if, since there are payoffs for creators now, which isn’t much mind you. So if I get any ideas that, you know, we’re out here, making a boatload of money, like think again, it’s not much it’s a pittance, compared to what the what Instagram and Tiktok are making from brands.
Coach RT3
You know, I’ll be straight up like, for the Reels that I post and the content of views that I post every month, I might make 100 bucks, right? So, you know, that’s nothing if you follow me on social media, and you see the work that I put in, and that’s why some people actually just Venmo me straight up. Like, there’s people who have been, like, you know, I’m a venue demo use of money because the way the stuff that you put out, like is valuable, and they know that I’m not getting paid, you know, for the work and time and effort that I’m putting into that.
Coach RT3
But when you think about how you’re getting paid based on views or viewership, right, and you think about the fact that I as a small content creator create something that does fairly successful and reaches a fairly amount fair amount of people for my level, right? If you have 10 times the number of people watching your content, then it stands to reason that you would have approximately 10 times the number of views, which then should translate into more revenues on your hand. Right? So in essence, people, you know, the system is working pro-people at the top, you know, and it’s not working for smaller creators, it’s not working for people who are actually in the trenches.
Coach RT3
And so it favors people who are larger. And, and, and that, that then drives back to well, what is Instagram and Tiktok, promoting and elevating? What type of creators and oftentimes, its creators who say nothing regarding social issues, nothing regarding, you know, you know, what’s going on with the planet, humanity, any of those things, you know, it seems that Instagram and those things sort of kind of elevate those that do not kind of push keywords that, that inflame Instagram, you know, or that kind of push your content down.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing all of that. And I think there’s a couple of things like, a lot of people don’t realize, like, general population, and who uses these apps like and are not creators. They don’t like people to hear, Oh, well, there’s no such thing as a shadow ban, or, you know, there’s no such thing as this and that and they don’t realize that these platforms now function as search engines, essentially, they’re like, are the content is being, I guess, for lack of a better term categorized based on you know, keywords and things that you’re using? And so why wouldn’t it stand to reason that just as it could be elevated, you know, certain content could be elevated based on I guess the quote-unquote, the value of educating, you know, you’re educating or you’re giving people something to be entertained by it would stand to reason that the reverse could happen as well.
Coach RT3
Right. And I think there’s this interesting because I’ve gotten into that date with a couple of people. I don’t know what his role is, but he comes out and gives these you know, weekly, like this is what we’re doing for creators and I’m like, Screw you, dude. Like you are full of shit. You know, he says, We’re not making it harder for people, we’re making it easier for people to find you and people to find things based on recommendations. And I’m, and so here’s the thing, as a creator, what good is it to me? If I’ve captured an audience of people, and then you go, and you say, Well, I’m recommending these other people for you to look at, based on the fact that you like this guy, you like his content, I’m recommending you go over here, and like these people’s stuff, too, and then not show them all the stuff, right?
Coach RT3
So my client, for example, has been like, I follow you, you’re the only fitness person I follow. But now I get all these recommendations for other fitness people I should follow. And she was like, and they’re not like you. So, you know, when it comes down to it. She’s she’s being like, they are not like you. They’re not educational. They’re not they’re just in the category of fitness. And so how is that a recommendation even? You know, and so, the other thing surrounding these ideas that, that, you know, they’re making it easier for people to find stuff is that if they are recommending things, they can easily not recommend things, right? So the notion that you there, they’re actually doing something to my account, you know, they might not be doing something to my account, they might just not be doing something for my account, right?
Coach RT3
And then, you know, I’ve been, I had a couple of appeals lately because I had some people who are racist, who I called out for being racist. And then I guess they gathered up their racist friends and reported, you know, my posts. And went once they reported that, that post, it got flagged, and it said, you’ve gone against community guidelines. And I said, Well, okay, let me appeal this because this is not against community guidelines. I’ve gone through their whole community guidelines. And I said, you know, what, this, I need somebody to see this and actually go through this right. And so I won both appeals.
Coach RT3
But my account is still at risk. It says your account is at risk. And so basically, you’re telling me that despite you being appealing, something that was wrongfully done to my account, I’m still at risk for some reason. And so how does that work?
Steph Gaudreau
It’s bullshit.
Coach RT3
Right? Yeah.
Steph Gaudreau
A friend of mine, you know, is different from what happened to you. Somebody reported her account for, you know, like, this person may self-harm, or something of that nature to be spiteful, you know, yeah. And then, you know, there were like, tons and tons of flags and stuff put on her account, like kept getting shut down. So, people think like, this stuff is only working for the positive, but much like you know, you’re saying here now, you’re, you’re like, the things that you do the education you provide, the way that you’re showing up for, for people and the things that you’re putting out into the world like that, that part of your, your online presence is, like you said, put at risk now because things were flagged because people got pissed off. Like really, unnecessarily, I guess, if you want to say that, but…
Coach RT3
I live in Silicon Valley, I live in the tech capital world. So I have, you know, people that I know, in tech, I know, people who work for Facebook, I know people who work for Google, I know, you know, personally. And you know, I had someone say to me when I was talking about this, this issue, and they were like, you know, this is why I just you know, you should just block you know, anybody who’s right, like racist just immediately block and don’t engage, because he was like, they know how to use them, the technology created by their people get the outcomes that they want, right, like so it’s basically a system that’s created with a bias.
Coach RT3
And since it already has that bias in place, naturally, the people who are going to benefit most are it’s like, the thing, it’s like, we’ve taken our real world stuff and just imported it into technology. And so that’s, that’s where we’re at right now. And we don’t have control of technology, you know, just like we don’t have control of the real world.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, the robots are seriously taking over, and a friend of mine works in AI and we were having this conversation about how, you know, she’s into the ethics of AI and things like that, but she was talking to me and it was really at the time super eye-opening about, you know, really your ways in which the AI is biased racially. There’s sexist bias like there’s disability bias. Like, it’s, it’s like, horrifying when you start to see like, the depths that it goes. And yeah, the other thing I see a lot, and I’m sure this is kind of playing into what you’re seeing, and what you’re talking about here is, you know, even on the Explore page like or even trending audio, like, the algorithm wants us to use the same shit, right?
Steph Gaudreau
The same sounds the same, and the old, so like, then, at least I personally, and I don’t know about you find myself like, oh, well, I’ll use this audio because I know it’s gonna get more traction. And so it kind of pushes us into this homogenized way of using the platform. And I’m sure that even further exacerbates what you’re talking about.
Coach RT3
Not only that, like if you look at a lot of so a lot of audio is an AAV those of you out there don’t know African American Vernacular English. So, you know, a lot of stuff is being pulled off a Tik Tok, a lot of audio is being pulled off tick tock and then utilized on you know, Instagram, and it’s almost like a first person to use it. You know, once again, it’s, uh, you know, I posted about this colonizer behavior, right? And people are like, Oh, what are you talking about? That’s so bad, you’re calling people to colonize. I’m like, There’s colonizer behavior is a behavior that anyone can utilize. But it’s based on an original behavior, which just happens to be of Europeans, right?
Coach RT3
But anybody can uptake and utilize colonizer behavior, you know, even people of color, because we live within this system that is, you know, some white supremacist colonized, like we, you know, can also start to internalize that, you know, and so, you know, you’ll see a lot of like, if you go to trending audios, you’ll see audios that use AV, and the very first, you know, image up there, the very first video to use it, or the top videos will all be white. And you’re like, that’s weird.
Coach RT3
You know, you will see, like, the way if you go to any of the training audios of going into the audio pages, a lot of times you’ll see this sort of thing, you know, happening, or, like, the audio is just ripped from somewhere and just, you know, and so it’s one of those things where you’re trying to capture audio, you know, I used I used a video, which recently of hairstyles. And actually Instagram, so I had to read the terms and all that sort of stuff, Instagrams, okay with you using, you know, things if you’ve repurposed it. And so if you’ve added some text, or if you added something to it, they’re okay with it being you know, because it’s a new format or a new form of content.
Coach RT3
So, if you do that, you can bring it, you know, into this face and post it there. But I wanted to make sure when I did it, that I didn’t just do an audio version as the original one, I wanted to do the actual video itself of hairstyles, making the commentary. So, you know, that, I think was a conscious effort for me to like, say, Okay, I could just rip hairstyles, audio, and, you know, voiceover and do it that way. Or I could use his video, the video of him, and take that art form, or take it and make it a piece of art by adding some context or some text to it, to change it, which I think is different. So I might disagree with me on that. But Instagram doesn’t disagree currently.
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely. It’s you know, as we’re kind of thinking through these things, and you’re sharing your experiences, you know, are there any, I guess calls to action that you would appreciate people would do to amplify your content? You know, obviously, correctly credit, like, that’s very important, but like, are their things that you think would be helpful, even if they’re not necessarily who knows going to shift the algorithm in any way but like, how to continue to support folks like you who are trying to get your message out and sharing about the social issues that go along with the subject matter. You’re an expert in?
How to Support Creators on Social Media
Coach RT3
Yeah, I think I think one of the real overlooked aspects of social media is saving and sharing. You know, there’s a lot of, sometimes I post, I post a little thing like you’re a follower, you’re a supporter, not a follower. So if you, if you, you know, are looking at my pace, and you should be some in some way active, you know, I hope, I hope that you’d be active.
Coach RT3
So there’s a lot of people on social media who take no action, you know, at all right, they’re CFOs, they watch it, and then they move on, right? And I think they don’t realize that a simple click of the like button if you liked it, is super helpful. If you save it, it’s also super helpful, because it notifies Instagram that you think this information is valuable enough to say, you come back to. And so those are important things. And then the other step is if you think is, in my opinion, if you think it’s safe, worthy, it’s share-worthy, right? So I’m a firm believer in, you know, the way I communicate, when I put out information is in a sharing way, right?
Coach RT3
I don’t hold any information back, if you want to work with me, and if you want to train with me, then you’re working with me and training with me, because you like the way in which I coach, right, like the information is, is all out there like we don’t own information. It’s just the way in which we present it and the way in which we help you move through it. And the way in which you learn is key does this person resonate? Right, and so if they resonate with you, then you would work with them.
Coach RT3
So for me, it’s like, I think it was a friend of mine, Chris, a colleague of mine, Chris Flow, who was like, you know, I feel like, you know, thoughts and ideas kind of are in this space appear and like, they come down into our, you know, into our periphery into our brain, and then we have a choice on whether to, like, put that out into the world or whether to keep it for ourselves. And I think in a society where I’m trying to be less of a pure capitalist and less of a, of person who subscribes to this system that is set up, to hoard and keep information away from people with the purpose of creating a payment gateway, you know, I am trying to be a socialist, to some degree, and that is a person who’s like, Okay, well, I want you all to be better and to understand and to learn and to grow.
Coach RT3
And because if you all learn and grow, then everyone’s better, right? And then, if I’m speaking to you, you have a better understanding of what I’m talking about, you’re never like, people don’t understand, like, this is my profession. So like, a person, that’s, that’s just the end user is never going to be, you know, on the level that I’m at, like, regardless, because I’m continually learning as well. So, you know, I have no fear of somebody outgrowing me or whatever the case is, you know, it’s just like, if you have an attorney, for example, you go to the attorney because you like, the attorney has done all the due diligence that I can’t do, and they understand the law in a way that I don’t understand. And I need this person to help me get the thing that I’m trying to get, I have a full-time job, I don’t have time to go research law, in order to get better, like, so I don’t have time to go research fitness stuff, I’m gonna go to a trusted source.
Coach RT3
So for me, when I put out content, it’s like, I believe that I’m a trusted source. But I try to make sure that I’m as trusted as possible. And in that way, you see content, you save it. If you save it, it should be shareware simple ask.
Steph Gaudreau
I love sharing your videos because sometimes you say things that I’m like, maybe someone will listen to you instead of me, you know, like they haven’t seen, you know, sometimes it’s like when it’s like the old story of like a, you know, the parent tells the kid something, and then they’ll go to school and hear like a teacher or a coach or something. And it’s like, Okay, fine.
Steph Gaudreau
But yeah, there’s also value in that too. And like, the way people share and share certain things, how they say certain things. And that might resonate, right, that might click in, in a different way. So I absolutely agree. Like, there’s like no new information, really, I mean, sure. There’s studies and things like that the general gist of what we’re talking about is stuff that’s been around forever. And it’s really interesting to see the way in which certain people try to get keep that information.
Steph Gaudreau
And then I also think it’s really great the way that you say, You know what, like, if you really want to, like, improve your mobility and actually do something about this, that it’s time to take the step of actually working with me in a thoughtfully designed container that, you know, it’s not just random bits and pieces from, from Instagram, I think do that is really what you communicate that is really great.
How to Do Mobility Work
Coach RT3
Thanks, I appreciate that. I just think that you know, when it comes to strength and conditioning, mobility work as a part of strength and conditioning, I think people tend to, they, they don’t see mobility as necessary until it’s until there’s a problem or acceleration issue. And so they see your strength training, and they don’t realize that, like, everything that we’ve been taught, as far as strength and conditioning and exercise somebody just made up was like, and they made it up based on bodybuilding, and powerlifting.
Coach RT3
And those are two things that are just not too natural human things to do. You know, like, I don’t, for the life of me, it’s like because we know that we can get certain adaptations from doing these things, we think, okay, that means it’s healthy. And I’m like, that does not mean that bodybuilding and powerlifting are healthy things to do, you know, laborious tasks, as human beings were something we did to survive, and, but we also know that the lifespan of human beings was not that long.
Coach RT3
Those times when we had to labor in those ways. And so now, like, I think, when we look at exercise and training, I think, helping people frame their why, as to why they’re, why they’re doing the activity. Is, is important, I think, people don’t truly understand why or know why they want to do it, they just like, I need to lose weight, or the, I want to look this way, or, you know, now I’m in I have a medical condition. And so I want to, you know, overcome that, but if we can just like for me, you know, I came up with a tagline move better, feel better, do more. As I think, I think movement, when we use the phrase movement is life.
Coach RT3
It sounds very cliche. But, you know, movement is literally life. Like, everything is movement, you know, like, its atoms are vibrating. You know, things like everything is moving, right? Constantly. And when it is when you stop moving, is when everything comes shit, you know, like, and if you look at, like how people age and how people decline, it’s like, they’d come less and less, things become less and less accessible, right? So it’s like I can, I can no longer reach my arm over my head, I can no longer get up and down off or I can No, it’s like some of the most basic of basic things. And I think we tend to overlook and neglect those things.
Coach RT3
And until they’re too late, and then they’re like, Oh, well, now I need to work on my mobility. And I’m like, well, mobility should be the throughline for everything that you’re doing in life. Because it is life. The more Yeah, the more you have access to the better your life is going to be. Yeah, I love that. I think it’s, it changes, it flips it around, it kind of puts it into perspective and gives gives a sense of why right?
Steph Gaudreau
When you see people trying to, I guess, before they come into work with you, like how are they trying, to put mobility into their lives in a way that maybe isn’t working super well, if at all?
Why is Mobility Work Important?
Coach RT3
Usually, it’s an app, I’ve seen an afterthought, or it’s like a part of a warm-up, or, you know, and then it’s, it’s usually some form of mobilization and not actual mobilities. Right. So difference being like, you know, just moving around kind of, aimlessly, you know, there’s a bunch of exercises you’ll see on Instagram, you know, if you look at mobility, you’ll see a bunch of people kind of flopping around doing random things. And, you know, mobility is not random. You know, it’s very specific. And so, you know, the specificity is important and we adapt based on specificity.
Coach RT3
So, if you, for example, want to get better at bench pressing, or squatting, or whatever the case is, then you need to benchpress or squat or whatever that is. However, just because you’re bench pressing and squatting and doing that sort of stuff does not mean that your shoulders are going to be better or your hips are going to be better at doing what shoulders and hips are supposed to do.
Coach RT3
I’m going to become better at squatting within your capacity. So that whatever your limitations are, your body just organizes itself accordingly and says, Okay, this is what we have available, this is how, you know, we need to recruit resources to do that. So if you don’t have the resources to move into certain spaces, and you’re not gonna be able to move into certain spaces, and so a lot of people tend to, I think, say, Okay, well, if I get on this foam roller and roll around a little bit, or if I do these little, like, kick rocks, you know, beforehand, I seem to get a little bit more mobility.
Coach RT3
And, and to some degree that right, you get, because you’re mobilizing your tissue, right? So you’re, you’re, you’re moving into that space dynamically, but space you already had access to. When we work on mobility, we look more so as to like, well, what is it that you want to do as a human being? And what are the requirements for you to do those things, right? So an example is like, you know, what’s your, like, your shoulder is designed to rotate. So internal rotation, external rotation, if your shoulder doesn’t rotate, well, then there’s a lot of things that you can’t do with that shoulder, right?
Coach RT3
Like, if you, if I look at your shoulder, and you come to here, and you can only go there, then I mean, that’s a small range of what the shoulder should be capable of doing. And so if I then ask you to start doing things that place demands that are outside of that, that space, you know, then we’re playing in an area that you have no control of, and sometimes have no access to. And so most of the time, people’s issues that crop up, and other aspects of their body are because they’re loading themselves in compound movements, with with a combination of joints that are incapable of supporting that, you know, so I use this example, a lot this analogy of like, an organization, now, usually just yesterday with the client, who was like, Yeah, I get that.
What Does Mobility Work Mean?
Coach RT3
But, you know, we’re organisms. And we’ve created organizations based on our understanding of the universe, the world, whatever, I like that it’s just in us right to just evolved to the point where we’re like, Okay, this is how we should organize a company. And I don’t know who was the first person to decide this is how we organize a company, but it stands to reason that there are different groups within a company, that all have different responsibilities. But all of those groups have to coordinate and work together to be efficient for the success of the company, or for the organization. Well, it stands to reason that if we’re an organism, that all of the groups have joints, which are the things that move like joints are the only things that move and are in our body. So if those things are not, you know, working efficiently, as a unit themselves, then how do they contribute to the greater efficiency of the overall right?
Coach RT3
And so, you know, I tell them, like, hey, like, like, you work on a team, right? And you know, there’s another team at your job. And that team is supposed to have certain responsibilities. And if they can’t handle the responsibilities, and they push stuff onto your desk, and your team and your team is like, well, we’re not really capable of doing what you guys are supposed to be doing. But you take it on anyway. And now you have more burden, right? And so now, some team members on your team might become a little disgruntled and be like, hey, you know, that team over there should be doing a little bit more, but your team is the one that’s affected. And your team is the one that’s, you know, becoming inflamed. Meanwhile, that other team is underperforming. So people think like, it’s almost an overuse issue, but it’s actually an underutilization of the thing. It’s supposed to be working, not overutilized. It’s a combination, but I think more people put place an emphasis on the over utilization as opposed to like, who’s underdoing their job, you know? So that’s kind of how I tease that.
Steph Gaudreau
That’s a great analogy. And I love that idea of having to like it, you know, if there’s an over-competence question or an overutilization, like what where’s the flip side happening? And like, what can be improved there? I think you’re absolutely right. I don’t see as many people focusing on that. So let’s say there is somebody who’s really interested in you know, they do want to improve their squat or they want to improve their benchpress or whatever it is, and we do just talked about how globalization is not the same thing as really working on mobility, mobility training, broad brushstrokes wise, like, how might that person integrate mobility into the strength training that they’re doing?
Coach RT3
So, the way I the way I’ve kind of started structuring my training for myself, and then for my, my clientele is thinking about it more along the lines of, of not trying to grab, you know, too many fruits from the tree. I think with our training sessions, we tend to do a lot, you know, and, and I don’t think we need to do as much as we’re doing to get what we want.
What Are Mobility Activities Examples?
Coach RT3
So with that said, like, for me for like, if I say, it’s chest day, but to me, chest day, a shoulder day, you know, if the shoulder is going to be the prime mover, then my focal point is on shoulder mobility. And so the chest exercise that I’m doing or selecting for that day, is the endpoint. It’s the thing that I want to create an adaptation of. But, you know, I’m more concerned with like, Okay, well, if we’re doing chess, what’s my internal rotation look like? Because, you know, one of the things that people lose, with bench pressing a lot is shoulder internal rotation over time. And so, you know, for me, I’m working every chest session, to say, Okay, I need to be focused 80% of this on the shoulder, rotation, shoulder, connective tissue, shoulder, like all the things surrounding that.
Coach RT3
And then we go into like, well, what is the actual input that I want for the pec tissue that runs into the shoulder, right? And so then it becomes, okay, well, today’s session is going to be a max effort, bench press, for example. And maybe it’s a three-rep max system for the bench press. But that’s going to be the endpoint, right? And that’s all I’m going for. That’s it, right? I’m like, getting my three, three rep max, getting that neurological input. And that’s it. I’m not going in and being like, well, let me do a bunch of extra reps. Let me do a bunch of extra sets. Let me do it.
Coach RT3
I’m not like, that’s it for today, right? And for me, that gives me has given me the ability to not only train my chest more frequently, or chain that trains that tissue more frequently throughout the week. But it also has it, it reduces soreness. And I think that’s the thing that people don’t understand. They think that soreness is an indicator of a good workout. But it’s actually no, did you send the signal you want to send? Did you send the signal that says, I need to get stronger? Did you send the signal to say, I need to build more muscle tissue? Did you send the signal to say I need more endurance, like, what is the thing you’re trying to get, but people build their sessions to say, I want to get all of that in one in one training session. And then they’re so fatigued and so sore, that tomorrow, they do nothing.
Coach RT3
And so it’s counterproductive to, you know, whatever it is if they’re an athlete, and you can’t perform well if you’re sore if you are someone who is if you’re trying to lose weight, I mean, you can be anti-diet, culture, whatever the case is, but some people are trying to lose weight, I mean, just is what it is. If you’re trying to lose weight, then we know that you need to expend more calories. And if, if you had such a hard leg workout with your trainer today, that tomorrow, you’re just gonna sit on the couch all day. And guess what you’re not doing? You’re not burning calories. So you did all that stuff yesterday. And then today, you just chuck it out the window. Right. So my goal with clients is to give them some level of like, I felt like I did something, but not I felt like I feel like I can’t do anything today. I can’t play tennis with my spouse or whatever the case is, you know, I love it when they’re like, Yeah, I was a little bit I felt a little bit sore from yesterday, but we went and play tennis and I went for a walk and I did that make great, perfect. It’s exactly what we want.
Coach RT3
You know, so I think there’s a there’s a group of coaches out there that are pushing this and then pushing this, this idea and, you know, if you really want mobility to be something that impacts your longevity in life, you have to slot it in as the thing and everything else has to be the 20. So you have to at 20 You have to decide, right, which one you want. And so all you got if you want to become, you know more plant-based, then you need to put more vegetables on your plate. That’s just it’s the only way right? So put the vegetables on first and then if there’s room for some meat then do that.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, I think that we’ve, first of all, I want anybody who’s listening to this who’s like, oh, but like, I have to do these like monumental epic workouts every day, and then I’m wrecked for a week afterward, rewind this section and listen to it again. Because the way you describe it, and the way you explain everything is like, perfection, it’s perfection. And people need to hear this because especially you know, I work more with women in their 40s and 50s, who are, you know, heading into perimenopause or in post-menopause. And I was just talking to one of my students the other day about this, and she’s like, you know, my workouts are way shorter now.
Steph Gaudreau
I’m just kind of focusing on just a couple of things. And I’m actually I’m seeing more progress. Because I’m in, I’m doing my workouts more consistently, rather than what we see a lot, which is just throw everything in the kitchen sink, to your point and up. So sorry, we can’t do anything for an entire week. And then we’re not getting that training stimulus. Or I see the other thing too, which is like, I think this is what I hear you saying is to have the intention and have a somewhat of a plan right going in. And a lot of times, especially when people are newer to this, which isn’t necessarily everybody listening to this podcast, but they will just kind of go into the gym, and they’re like, I don’t know, I’m gonna make up some stuff to do today. Well to your point if you are going to include mobility as that through the line, driving forward that end result, you kind of need to have a plan. Hire you!
Coach RT3
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, like when, I think when people kind of, I think one of the problems is we’ve we equate physique, a physique with health, or, you know, yes, to be a bodybuilder to have a bodybuilders body takes the amount of volume and amount of reps and things that bodybuilders do. But I have bodybuilder colleagues who I’ve worked with who I’ve helped with their knee issues in squatting and things like that. Because you can’t rotate, you can’t train it in that way. Sounds like you do realize that that’s a little element of tissue that’s not developed. And so if you’re doing a physique competition, and you can’t train a certain element of your hamstring, then guess what that’s going to show up when you’re standing there posing in front of the judges.
Mobility Exercises Benefits
Coach RT3
So, you know, the fact that you have access to more tissue now means you can train more tissue. Simple! Who knows right?
Steph Gaudreau
And I’m sure, that spoke really well to that, that client, right that call you they’re like, oh, wait, like missing out on hypertrophy.
Coach RT3
I’m missing out on hypertrophy. In this one area, all right. So, you know, it’s like they’re training. They’re training the same line of tissue over and over and over again and then wondering why they’re, they’re experiencing this inflammatory response. And it’s like, well, you’ve trained this single line and you agree, you know, you’re like made that super good at being strong in that way.
Coach RT3
But you missed that just right off to the site, you missed that little bit that can be better. And so now that is unable to keep up with the line, you’ve been working and getting strong, so and all of that comes to a confluence, right at the connective tissue. So all of that is involved in the connected connective tissue area. And so if this one line is super strong and these other elements right around or not, then that connective tissue is like trying to do something, even if you veer right outside of that, you know, with that load, then suddenly that connective tissue is like, I can’t quite do with this line that you’ve worked really well can do.
Coach RT3
I’ve just, I’ve taken a setback with my whole body and just being like, you know what, I am 45 I can’t, I’m not, I want to play with my kids. And I want to move around, play with my kids and not be, you know, a couple of years ago, where I was like, Yeah, you know, I’m not feeling like, you know, doing that today, because you know, I’m a little achy, I’m a little solar, I remember, you know, so I was doing a lot more powerlifting a lot more volume. And I was just sore. And, and didn’t feel good. And so that goes to the second thing, you move, move, move better, we feel better. Right? So if you don’t feel good, you’re going to do nothing. So if you’re good, you do more, right? If you do more, you get more of what you want. Overall anyway.
Steph Gaudreau
That’s genius. I love it. How can we get people to your all your good stuff that you’re doing all the resources that you have your courses, the things that they can work with you on in terms of mobility? Give us the give us the rundown. Where can we send people?
How to Get Help with Your Mobility
Coach RT3
Instagram is usually the best way to like, contact me directly at the moment. I’m still I’m in the process of getting my website u. So if you follow me on Instagram, you will learn when that happens. Or if you join one of my email lists, either with The Upgrade Guys or my personal one, you will find out when that happens. The Upgrade Guys are all of our virtual stuff so there’s classes there. There is mobility membership.
Coach RT3
We have over 100 classes that you can take and then we’ve got 4 12-week programs, you know developed from those classes that kind of organized and help you go through specific things hit program, specifically, a shoulder program, spine program, and a squat mobility program. So those are the four programs we have that serve 12 weeks, so that’s a year’s worth of going through all of them. That’s a year’s worth of classwork that you can get through.
Coach RT3
And yeah, other than that Instagram is it’s probably the best place to get a hold of me and connect.
Steph Gaudreau
Alright, everybody, you heard it here.
Coach RT3
And I do respond to all of my DMs, which are a lot.
Steph Gaudreau
That’s a big task.
Coach RT3
It’s rough.
Steph Gaudreau
It is.
Coach RT3
I’m sure you can identify with that.
Steph Gaudreau
I really relate to that for sure. You know, I want everybody here to follow you on Instagram. And to your point, you have all these amazing, not just individual classes, but courses and think about that in a year, if you devoted the next 12 months to your mobility and you went through these four, you know, four courses, like how much better would you be doing the things you want to do in life? How much better would you feel? How much better would you be moving?
Steph Gaudreau
I want people to stop talking about it and be about it. I want you to go and actually look at it and go sign up. Because a lot of people are listening to this going, Oh yeah, like, oh, this part isn’t working well or, you know, this thing. People like you have created these incredible, like, really well-thought-out expert resources. So I want folks listening to this if your mobility is kind of janky and I’m there too, I’ve got parts of me that don’t really function optimally. I want to talk to you about elbows after this, but let’s, you know, go and actually do the thing. Let’s make the time let’s be about it not just talking about Yeah, I’d have you change.
Coach RT3
It’s a lot of material, to be honest with you. We put a lot of classes on there and they’re, you know, we’re educators, so a lot of the information is like deeply educational as well. So I know a lot of people you know sometimes are like, man that’s a lot, you know, but we’re really, we really think it’s important that people understand how their body works. And, you know, the people who have completed our classes, because to be honest with you there, there are people who have not completed, they’ve bought the 12 weeks, you know, and they have not completed the whole thing I can see whether you complete or not.
Coach RT3
There’s people you know, who are, I call them our, you know, they’re like, our biggest supporters, you know, that has like, gone through the entire 12 weeks of hips, or entire 12 weeks of shoulders, or even shoulders and spine. And they didn’t know what they didn’t know. And, you know, we’ve had everyone for people who want to swing meses, who are like, Oh, my God, I didn’t know my shoulder could be better. And now I’m swinging a maze, better than I was before, you know, just from doing this, this class. And that’s because when you come to the task with a better shoulder, who knew you can fix it?
Coach RT3
You know, like, if you come to the task with a better spine, like, who knew that you would be, you know, better at doing the thing, so, but it’s a lot of content. And, you know, it’s, I’m not gonna lie, it’s a challenge to get through a lot of it, but you’ll be better for it. And I stand by that, you know, especially since NAT does a lot of the longer classes and he does the actual class with you. And there’s real sweat on his face. And I was like, Better you than me, every time we finish classes, I better you than me.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, I was gonna say, my, also my fellow jujitsu players need to get on this, especially the ones who are like, strength training. It’s not my thing. Look, I’ve seen some, some stuff. Yeah, I need to, yeah, I need to take care of your part. So I’m gonna send my jujitsu people to you as well.
Steph Gaudreau
Thank you so much for being with me again, today. It’s always a pleasure, I super appreciate you, and I appreciate everything you’re doing. And I look forward to seeing all the other good things that you’re going to be creating next.
Coach RT3
Thank you so much for having me. I really, really appreciate you giving me a platform to speak and share this. And I know I’ve come into contact with a lot of people who have passed through from you. I’m hoping like, I’ve found you from staffs, podcasts, you know, so I was like, I really appreciate that. You’ve given me a voice and a space to, you know, to kind of let people know, I’m even here.
Steph Gaudreau
You’re so welcome. Thanks again.
Steph Gaudreau
All right, my friend. I hope you’ve learned a lot in this episode. I know I always do from listening to rich and everything that he has to share in his perspective in the world, as a professional, as a black content creator. And as somebody who’s really trying to help not just educate folks, but get them to put mobility work into practice. That is the challenge, right, we can share information. But when it comes to implementation, we need y’all to take the next step, right? So go ahead and check out his programs, and everything else that he has to offer.
Steph Gaudreau
And we’ve linked all of that up in the show notes for this episode, which is on StephGaudreau.com, including a summary and a full transcript as well. If you know somebody who needs a transcript, or you prefer to read the episode and what we talked about, you can absolutely do that at my website, StephGaudreau.com. And before you navigate away from this podcast, a couple of things. First, hit subscribe on your app, it’s very important, and it helps so much. And if you can share this episode out on Instagram stories, and of course, tag Coach RT3 and tag myself, I’d love to be able to share that out and spread the word.
Steph Gaudreau
And then also make sure that if you are thinking about how you’re going to build your strength over 40 You know, you need to start now and not three years. In the future. We want to help you do that in Strength Nutrition Unlocked is really going to help you take an approach for building strength over 40. As a woman who’s noticing that your body is perhaps changing. And you know you need to work smarter, not harder, and also work with your physiology, not against it. You can’t keep doing the stuff we did in our 20s and 30s. We have to change things up and in Strength Nutrition Unlocked. You’re going to learn, customize, and apply my proven framework to help you build strength, add muscle, increase your energy and improve your performance both in the gym and outside. We want to chat with you about whether this is a good fit for you and hear what’s going on in your life and basically interview you and see if you’re the right fit for this program. You can book a call with the team over at StephGaudreau.com/apply.
Steph Gaudreau
Or just look for the link in the menu that says book a call alright thank you so much for being here it was an incredible time on this podcast episode today I can’t wait to bring you next week’s as well so make sure you come back and until then stay strong.
