Speaker 1: 0:00

And we are live. Welcome back everybody to Beyond the Tool Belt, episode 282. I am your host, ty Cobb-Backer. Thank you for joining us on this Wednesday edition. Today we have another special guest. Stay tuned and we will be back after our short intro from our sponsors. Welcome to Behind the Tool Belt, where the stories are bold, the conversations are real and the insights come to you live, raw and uncut.

Speaker 2: 0:43

Every week, host Ty Cobb-Backer sits down to bring you the stories, the struggles, the lessons learned and the wins. No filters, no scripts, just the truth. Please welcome your host of Behind the Tool Belt, ty Cobb-Backer.

Speaker 1: 1:00

Hey, hey, hey, welcome back everybody. Happy Wednesday. Thank you for joining us and I must say I'm very excited about this episode of Beyond the Tool Belt. And for those of you that know me well know how important fitness, mental toughness, personal development, resiliency is to me. We talk a lot about those topics on this podcast, outside of leadership, legacy, roofing, all kinds of crazy stuff, marketing, brand recognition, all those things but personal development and physical fitness is definitely one of many things that I try to focus on and maintain on a regular basis, so that's why this one's so special to me. Today we have an amazing guest. Today we have what I think is one of the most strongest people that I know. She is the CEO of Ray Smith Fitness personal trainer. She is a licensed vet technician. Let's welcome Rachel Smith to the Behind the Toolbelt stage. Hello.

Rachell Smith: 2:08

I'm glad to be here, thank you.

Speaker 1: 2:10

You're welcome. Thank you for joining us. It's such a pleasure, woody. You know, woody, he's a mutual friend of ours, does not speak a ill word about you. He just thinks that you are are an amazing human being and we're we're honored to have you on our show.

Rachell Smith: 2:29

So, uh yeah, he's great too, yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 2:32

So, rachel, how you doing I'm doing pretty good.

Rachell Smith: 2:34

I'm on my lunch break actually, so yeah yeah, lunch break from from where the veterinary, okay, yeah okay, so you're a full-time veterinarian so I do um. Well, yeah, I do full-time vet tech work um, and then on the side I'm doing the. So I work three days there and I work three days at the gym wow, okay.

Speaker 1: 2:55

So so you work six days a week. Um, that that could open up a great conversation to you on work-life blend I like to call it blend, um, but uh, okay. So let's talk about the veterinarian thing. Like, uh, were you into animals as as a child? How did you fall into that space? Before we get into the, the physical fitness aspect of things, let's talk about the vet space.

Rachell Smith: 3:18

Yeah, so, um, I always had a passion for animals. Growing up I used to play in the dirt and pretend like I was a vet, um, and then as time went on, um, I guess after after my 20s, um, I wanted to figure out, kind of wanted to do when I want to grow up, um. So I decided to um go to college and get my degree and um become certified and I started off in the kennel and I worked my way up. I've been doing it for about 15 years now and have worked from ER to general practice to specialty medicine, and just the caregiving for animals so they can't speak for themselves is very beneficial and rewarding.

Speaker 1: 4:02

So yeah, I can imagine. I'm an animal lover myself. We have three dogs and three cats, along with three grandchildren, and they're all amazing animals. But yeah, no, so okay, that's, that's fascinating, I think. I think you know most people that are veterinarians. I think that's something that goes back as a lifelong dream, you know, as as a child, you know. I don't think that's just something. You wake up one day, 40 years old, and decide to be a veterinarian. I think that's something that most people you know are just love, truly love animals and and uh, you know, speaking of animals, do you think that had any influence on you in terms of the, the personal training aspect of things? Like, do you do you complement that? Like you know, because there's, you know, therapy dogs and therapy animals and things like that, is there any correlation between the two?

Rachell Smith: 4:57

I think there's a caregiving aspect to it. Um, and then you know some of the biggest things I noticed. Um, leading into the fitness industry is one of the biggest things we ask people that come in at Brigham Young's I'm sure you're aware of by going to the vet is when they come in and they're sick is what's their nutrition like Is there any environmental changes?

Rachell Smith: 5:19

Do they get exercise? And I don't know why we do don't do that in the human medicine. That's not some of the typical questions you, the doctors, ask you um, and I think it's one of the first things that should be asked okay, yeah, no, that's that's a great response to that.

Speaker 1: 5:34

No, that's, that's great okay. Um, so, how did you fall into let's jump right into the the personal trainer aspect of things like how did how did that come about? Is that has that been a lifelong dream? Did something tragic happen in your life that you needed to? You know, uh, go through therapy or or something you know like, how, how did that come about?

Rachell Smith: 5:57

Um, so I always kind of was into, I would say, fitness, even in, like, I did track um things like that in high school school, um, but I also had a very negative um, I would say um understanding of the fitness and the nutrition aspect.

Rachell Smith: 6:15

Um, I think that our generation um in the 80s and 90s, we grew up to you eat salads, do cardio, eat 1200 calories or less, and so I had a very misunderstanding of what health and nutrition was actually about, and so in our family we had a lot of eating disorders.

Rachell Smith: 6:41

I would actually had an anorexia problem in my late teens and early twenties, um, and I started doing some hit classes with a guy named chop, um about gosh, 10 years ago or so, and he actually was one of the ones to get me into the fitness world. Um kind of coming out my, my comfort zone I'm very introverted um, kind of coming out my comfort zone I'm very introverted, um. So, um, to get on stage to me was terrifying, um, because we already have that mentality of. You know, skinny fat is the kind of the thing, at least back then. Um, muscles weren't really something that women looked for, you know, they were always afraid to be bulky um, so they had that kind of twisted mindset um which I had so it got me into it, um, and so I learned through the process how to, how, what, how, like your macros are, how important they are.

Rachell Smith: 7:40

You need your proteins in your carbs and fats, um, and it's just a balance, um, and so that's kind of what I realized.

Rachell Smith: 7:49

I had a passion for Um because for me it healed me, um, and the my view of it, all of it, and so I wanted to. And then everybody I talked to I realized they had a lot of them have the same misconceptions about it, and they still do. And so then I went to school, um, and I got my personal training license and my nutrition, um, and I'm doing one for wellness, like for women, I guess misunderstood and how incorrect they are that they don't have to be afraid of food. It's what fuels our body, it's what the fitness and the nutrition aspect of it is prevents diseases. Elderly, I mean, we lose most of our muscle mass between the starting at age 40 and all the way up to age 70, they lose like 40% of it, um, and lifting weights is what they've proven that increases that bone density to prevent fractures and things like that. Um, dementia, all those things um that come along with, like not eating healthy and fueling our brains, and so that's something that I kind of want to get out there.

Speaker 1: 9:08

Yeah, no, that's good. I do believe there's a lot of misconceptions and there's so many different diets out there and some of them will help you lose weight quick but not very healthy for other organs, you know, in your body, you know high cholesterol, high blood pressure, you know all those types of things, and that's something I've struggled with over the years too. After my mom had passed, my wife and I, jana, kind of just went down this path of of eating. It was like comfort to us, right, we don't drink, we don't do things like that. So we didn't really have an outlet, or we did have some outlets, but we chose to ignore them at the time and just kind of like dove into food.

Speaker 1: 9:48

And you know I'm five, six, and I had gained, man, like so much weight. I was up to 209. I'm 170 today and just to you know kind of give you a quick description of how bloated I felt. And it was like 30 plus pounds and just felt, you know, horrible. You know my, my mental fitness, you know everything. I just felt so bad and and so I went on a diet and we did this.

Speaker 1: 10:19

It was called singular at the time I don't even know if it's around and it really wasn't a diet. It was more like a life, an entire lifestyle change. And you know, I was under the misconception of, like the less food I eat, the better off I'm going to be, and really all I was doing was is I was starving myself. It affected my attitude, it affected my, my clarity, my vision and and all kinds of of of things. But then when I really started to dive into, like the pro, the proteins and the healthier fats and and good carbs, like my body actually needs carbs, believe it or not, not a whole bag of chips Like I was eating at the time, um, but like I needed, like you said, that perfect balance of you know and and knowing my body and, of course, working out and things like that.

Speaker 1: 11:02

So why don't you? Why does fitness matter so much? I mean, I know, I know that's a broad question, but but like, hit us with the with, with the real benefits and what I mean, you know, not not just for great abs, but for me. You know, I feel like it helps me. You know, when I'm exercising and stuff you know, regularly abuse my memory, sharpens my focus, gives me more mental clarity and confidence. But like, give us, give us, give us the real reason why fitness is so important.

Rachell Smith: 11:36

Longevity, I think, is the biggest thing. We. You can't starve yourself for long periods of time and expect to be functional. You also can't overeat crap foods long period of time and feel good. I think a lot of people don't realize how crappy they feel until they start eating better, because this constant cycle is I don't feel good, so I'm going to eat like crap. They go and get a candy bar, they get that sugar high. They feel good for a moment, then they get the sugar crash and those foods like sugars they digest so quick chips, things like that, and then so they don't realize how like people that overeat, how much calories they're consuming in snacks and things like that and wonder why they can't lose weight, like, oh, you know this, this, this and this, but those, those are so dense in calories and so vastly digested by your system and then you're hungry again. Um, so if they were eat, you know a protein, you know a vegetable or another form of carb and some healthy fats like avocado their satiety would be so much longer and they wouldn't feel hungry.

Rachell Smith: 12:53

And a lot of times I even whenever I do their macros and meal plans for people and I start them off just at what I calculate, you know, 17, 18, 1900 calories. Most of them can't even get that in and they're like, well, that's a lot of food, I'm like, and compared to what you go out and go to McDonald's and you're eating 1800 calories in just the one setting because you're eating whole healthy foods and they have to work up to that 1800 calories because it's a lot. It is a lot, it can be, but now, once you get used to it, your body craves it. But, that being said, it's proven that eating healthy foods gives you longevity.

Rachell Smith: 13:34

Now, I'm not talking about people that have, like genetic disorders, where they have high cholesterol. A lot of that is a genetic. But you need healthy fats for brain function, for your hormones, and you can see it today that there's so many hormones deficiencies, people getting on all that have to do HRT. I'm one of those people and, yeah, you're going to need some of that stuff, just because that's just the natural role. You know, that's the way things happen. God's created us in a way and we lose those things as we age and a lot of that can be prevented just by doing better. Um, but dementia, alzheimer's, parkinson's, all that associated with poor nutrition, and a lot of that can be prevented and but nobody talks about it. It's like one of the last things they do.

Speaker 1: 14:21

They want to throw medications, and then you take a medication to counter.

Rachell Smith: 14:23

It's like one of the last things they do. They want to throw medications and then you take a medication to counteract the side effects of the medication. But nobody talks about fixing the nutrition or having them go in and doing weight resistance. They just want to do cardio. And cardio isn't the all fix. All it's not actually what burns the most of your calories.

Rachell Smith: 14:40

What you do in your daily life, which is called what they call neat, you're just normal activities cleaning, walking, um, doing yard work all those things burns calories, um, and then on top of that, then you add in the weight resistance which builds your bone density, builds your muscles. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism, so, and the more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism so, and the more you can eat. So it's just there's a lot of stuff that goes into it that people don't realize and they all go hand in hand and you don't want to be that. You can be that 70 year old that's still out jogging or lifting weights or doing activities with their grandkids, or you can be that 70 year old that's walking around in a walker.

Speaker 1: 15:27

Yeah, I choose the latter. Yeah, you know, and that's the thing I want to continue to be able to to, to push my body Right, and so when something's going on, I try to I'm more apt nowadays to to go and figure out what's off, you know, is my diet off? Is my sleeping off? Is, you know, whatever? Whatever the case might be. But I love how you touched on diseases and stuff and I actually did a little bit of research and Alzheimer's popped up, you know, and for me, a lot of the reason why I exercise and exercise as much as I do is for my mind, my mindset, and to remain resilient.

Speaker 1: 16:07

You know, what I do in my personal life also reflects my ability and my work performance.

Speaker 1: 16:11

When I'm at work, you know, for me it like boosts my memory, it sharpens my focus and gives me more mental clarity and confidence.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Right, that's a big thing for me, and I noticed, when I'm slacking off on those things, right, working out and and doing stuff like that but, um, it also reduces, uh, the risk of up to 45 percent, um, just simply because of of working out, um, and they say stronger, stronger, you know, body, stronger mind, and really that's what I'm, I'm looking forward to and it's, you know, body, stronger mind, and really that's what I'm I'm looking forward to and it's, you know, it's a, it's a selfless act when you really think about it, by us taking care of our bodies, right, we. A lot of people might think, oh, you spend a lot of time in a gym and it sounds pretty selfish and it seems selfish, but really I'm really just trying to be here longer you know, for those that love me, it's the most selfless thing I could possibly do is is take care of myself, and I don't think a lot of people see it that way.

Speaker 1: 17:08

Um, but um, I I love how you also mentioned you know, um, you know the diet and the healthy fats and the foods and what you're digesting and also the other types of ways that you're burning calories, like, for instance, like this past weekend I was out raking leaves and stuff and I mean for for two days solid and I keep track of my steps on my iWatch and my calories that I burn and stuff like that. Like I literally, you know, and I I have it set up pretty, pretty high and I I closed my circles like twice by just out raking leaves, walking around the house doing trimming bushes, and I I closed my circles like twice out raking leaves, walking around the house, doing trimming bushes, and I mean we went, we went all in out in the rain it was raining but I didn't have any other time to do it. But I I didn't necessarily substitute that as my workout, but it was ironic to see how much activity steps, calories, um, stand, how long I was standing and things like that, but for me. It has really helped me and helped me step up my game by by actually keeping track of. I've never really counted my macros or anything like that, but I wanted to. I did look into it. I should probably do that.

Speaker 1: 18:18

So I'm telling on myself right now for that, um, but also, you know, living longer and living a better life. It's not just about you know the years, but it's like the quality of years, right. Like I want to be, like you said, 70 years old. I don't want to be that decrepit and a walker 70 years old, other people taking care of me. Like I still want to be that that guy that's out jogging. I still want to be that guy that's out doing cold plunges and doing crazy things. Like I want to be that crazy 70 year old guy. You know that that people were like I can't believe he's still hitting a golf ball that far. You know he's 70 years old and don't look like 70 years old.

Speaker 1: 18:56

You know what I mean, but it's, it's what I'm doing today. That's going to affect that for me later.

Rachell Smith: 19:03

People around you, because those are the ones that are going to have to take care of you.

Speaker 1: 19:07

Exactly.

Rachell Smith: 19:08

Exactly.

Speaker 1: 19:09

Right, exactly. And, and to touch on the example, right, you know my grandkids actually. So Skylar, our youngest grandchild, comes over to the house and it is normal for her to see us working out. Okay, she'll pick, she'll pick, I'll see where she was there when I wasn't there and weights will be moved around around. We got a little home gym there and weights will be good and that's just normal for her. It's the example that we're setting.

Speaker 1: 19:43

I wish I would have started this years ago with my first son, but he still sees it and our youngest, who's still at home. There's not a day that doesn't go by. He doesn't hear me out there. You know doing something right and you know, instead of me jamming it down his throat, I am just, I'm leading by example, because it won't be a good idea until he thinks it's a good idea. And, plus, I'm not trying to push him away and thinking that working out is a bad thing or it's a punishment. I want him to and most recently broke his foot. But we were golfing together, so I was getting him outside, getting him to do things, and then he broke his foot. He's been laid up for a couple months now, so I kind of lost my golf buddy, but but anyhow, you know, just leading by example, um, it gives us more time with our kids on this earth and more time with our animals and and our grandchildren, and not in the hospital bed yep yeah yeah, yeah, no that's good stuff

Speaker 1: 20:35

that's it's. It's good stuff. Um, you know, and then I was pulling up some other statistics too um, you know, it says um, uh, I think, 9% more. On average, physically fit people earn 9% more than an average person. That that isn't working out. Discipline in the gym translates into discipline at work. Lazy body, lazy check is is kind of what I've gotten from it and and it's true, you know what I mean. The more harder I can push myself in the gym, the more harder I'm pushing myself at work. Um, and would you say that there's a translation there?

Rachell Smith: 21:15

I do. I absolutely agree with that and it's like the old saying, like the body in motion stays in motion, right, um? We, so many people live sedentary lifestyles and you can see it just in like somebody that sits at the computer desk all day long. You know they get that hunch back and it completely affects your everything that you do. So like, at work I stand a lot, I don't sit in the chair, I don't even want to type on the computer, put in notes and things like that, but I try to stay active because I notice on the days that it's slower and I am seated more, the less likely I have that drive to want to go after work and go work out. If I'm busy all day long, it's like a pump and you have more desire to go work out and it has the opposite effect, which is weird. But it it, it does 100% Um.

Rachell Smith: 22:07

But you know I think a lot of people want the quick fixes. You know we've got the fad and about the GLP ones and stuff like that right now, which I'm not. You know, people do what they want to Um, and I think that some people do need it. You know it was their initially given to diabetics, you know, um, but everybody wants that quick fix and um, they're just, it's not sustainable, Um, and they want to lose it.

Rachell Smith: 22:29

You know, three months, six months, and you can lose it fast. You can also starve yourself, right, and lose the weight, but it's about habit forming, Um, and that's what I preach to a lot of you know, my clients, is that, like you know, I can cut your calories down, you know, to 800 calories, 1200 calories a day, and you can lose that weight in a very quick amount of time. But did you form habits during that time to change the latter outcome? Or, if you didn't, then those people are the ones that usually gain it back, or gain it back twice as much, because those, those habits weren't formed or they killed their metabolism and anything they do eat they do retain because they have no metabolism anymore. But it's it's hard, it's hard to change somebody's mindset.

Rachell Smith: 23:20

That's been. They've taught something for so long and that's just how they've been doing it.

Rachell Smith: 23:25

Yeah, I think that's been they've taught something for so long, um, and that's just how they've been doing it. Yeah, um, I think that's my biggest challenge. Besides that, and people always say they don't have the money and I'm like that's bs, you don't realize how much you spend on, like I've challenged people when they sit down with me for like their initial consult. I'm like, look, sit down in your finances, go through all the coffee shops you went to all the places that you went out to eat all the weekends, that you went out drinking and calculate it up. I did that with my husband when we first got together and he was spending like $600 a month just on crap like that. I'm like you cut that down to like 200, you're going to have an extra $400 a month to spend and I challenge people to do that Everybody. Just see where you're wasting it on and you can use the extra money to find somebody to help you, to teach you the right direction. It's like saying um. It's like saying um.

Rachell Smith: 24:27

I listened to a lady on a story once that um was talking about how, comparing your fitness to um. Like, let's say, I handed you um a million dollar business and are you able to maintain that business? Probably not because you didn't build it from the ground up, so you don't know all the ins and outs of it. You didn't learn from it. So that's like me giving you, giving you that perfect body that you supposedly desire, but you can't maintain it if you didn't learn how to do it. And that's what fitness is about it's learning and changing habits to maintain that over a long term period of time so the quick fixes just don't work.

Rachell Smith: 25:06

And that's why because it's not about just the end result they focus so much on that end result. They don't focus on the habit changing yeah, yeah, no, and it takes time.

Speaker 1: 25:16

There's definitely a delayed gratification and we've become such an Amazon world today where it's like everyone's seeking that instant gratification. And you know, I noticed that several years ago we started a challenge. It's called the fearless 44. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it or not, but it's like 75 hard, it's it. It resembles that a lot 75 hard, it's it. It resembles out a lot. And I thought at the end of 44 days, you know, like I was just going to completely be transformed because there was a few people in that group that was like holy shit, like I don't know what else they were doing, but I know what I was doing and I definitely didn't look like that at the end of 44 days.

Speaker 1: 25:57

But you know, but what there was. There's a couple of things here. So, first and foremost, it wasn't and I'll be honest with you, I don't think I stopped working out weekly daily since then. What it did for me was one I realized that my I was like there's a lot more work that needs to be done here, kids, so you better keep at it. The other thing it did for me was is it created a habit where I even have it on my calendar every day work out at 4 PM? Now I tried the morning workouts.

Speaker 1: 26:29

It seems like it took more energy from me throughout the course of the day, and 4 PM is a good time, even though I don't make it home usually till about five. But it's just a reminder get your butt home, cause if I'm, if I can work out by five, there's a lot of things by like seven o'clock that I need to be involved with. So it kind of helps me catch my second wind. It gives me that, that, that boost of energy that I need, um, and even if I don't have to go out and have a meeting that I need to attend to find that, it, it, it helps me sleep better, um, you know, and then I can eat, eat, you know, good, healthy meal afterwards, um, and it tends to to just it.

Speaker 1: 27:06

Just that works for me, um, but the delayed gratification and building that habit is so, so important to understand that. You know, you just got to start somewhere. And if somebody was to start today and let's just say they they were intimidated by giving you a call or reaching out to another nutritionist or a personal trainer or anything like that. What would you suggest for somebody listening that that wants to just make a change today? Where would they start? What should they do?

Rachell Smith: 27:32

just talk to somebody, like I do and a lot of trainers do free consultations and assessments just talk. Talk to somebody. Even if you say I'm just going to go to the gym once a week, that's once a week more than what you were doing. If you meal prep just dinner, that's one meal that you're prepping more than what you were doing. And those little small steps and those little goals that you have are what produce the long-term and getting to those long-term goals. So doing three days a week, 20 minutes of your workout, you know um, is better than nothing. Just, you have to start somewhere and you just have to.

Rachell Smith: 28:13

And I think the biggest part is that you know um, the the excuses. You know it's like I don't have time or um, you can find time. You doom scroll on instagram, you binge watch on your netflix, you set idle on the couch, whatever it is that you find you have time to do those things. Put your phone down, turn off the tv, be active, even if it's not at the gym because you're not comfortable to go to the gym. Yet you can get a gallon of milk, you can get canned goods, you can order cheap bands off Amazon, and you know I've had clients that just do home workouts. You can make it for work and you can do body weight.

Rachell Smith: 28:55

Stuff is actually quite hard, you know you can take a. I've done it before when I've been on vacation. You can take a can of beans or whatever and it weighs, you know, a couple of pounds. You do enough reps, you're going to feel the burn. I know it sounds dumb, but it's true. But you don't expect to sit there and be like, okay, well, I haven't done this really, or I haven't done it in a really long time. And in order to see anything, I have to do five days a week for an hour. That's not. That's not reasonable.

Speaker 1: 29:23

Yeah, yeah, you kind of got to build up to that. Yeah, I think I think you got to start somewhere and you hit on a lot of good points. You know it's it really. It's just go for a 30 minute walk. You know that is so therapeutic on so many different levels. You know, getting outside.

Speaker 1: 29:38

Now, treadmills, treadmill is great and and as far as health purposes they they both probably produce from from my experience anyhow um, treadmill or walking outside, but one of the things that I like about walking outside is that it helps me clear my head a lot more than it would be just, you know, sitting on a treadmill or you know walking on a treadmill listening to an audio book, but when I get the time and I got a nice little loop around our neighborhood and I have it, I have it measured out it's a mile and a half, so it's about three miles total. If I go down, make the loop and come back, it's about three miles and I typically do that after my heavy, you know lifting and stuff like that. I'll do that after my heavy, you know lifting and and stuff like that. I'll do that after I've learned that it just it's better for me to do my heavy lifting and all those things first, then go for a walk, and I'm sure my routine is a little bit different than some people, but it just it helps me really clear my head and get my thoughts, because a lot of this isn't just physical stuff for me, it's a lot of mental know. It helps me deal with anguish, stress, anxiety, types of things like that.

Speaker 1: 30:44

And they say, statistically, after the first 20 minutes, your body and mind go into a a state of euphoria. And I don't I don't know if you agree with that or not, but I literally like I time myself and I look between that like 15 and 22 minute time mark. I actually start to feel different, I feel better, right, and I don't know if it's because I'm actually doing something physical, you know, and it's boosting my confidence, like okay, I'm doing something, but, like you said, a gallon of milk, like that's that's, you know, two gallons of milk and um, I also started out doing like calisthenics and and uh, body weight stuff. And there's free apps on your phone, you know that you don't even have to pay for and and we'll basically show you how to do things and you can do them at home, in the privacy of your own home and that's kind of that was the entry for me.

Speaker 1: 31:39

You know to kind of just wanted to do something behind closed doors. Now, I don't promote what it is that I do and by no means am I where I want to be, but I'm not where I used to be. You know in in in terms of, you know, wanting to look the way that I want to look and there's still body parts and stuff that I need to work on. But, um, I'm getting better at is. The days go by, the weeks go by, the years go by, I'm getting better at working out and things like that. But, like you said, you just got to start somewhere anywhere.

Rachell Smith: 32:07

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 32:09

Yeah. So I guess, okay, once somebody does that and they start to figure out, okay, I'm going to start walking and stuff like that. If somebody came to you and let's say they've never worked out before, they don't know where to start, where would you start them out at?

Rachell Smith: 32:28

Um, usually. So. My biggest thing is that for fitness and nutrition, it has to be something that you're going to stick to. It has to be fun, um. So, for instance, everybody's a little bit different.

Rachell Smith: 32:39

I deal with people that have complete immobility issues to people that's been doing it for a long period of time. So I try to make a plan that they're going to stick to. So I try to figure out what is that short term goal that they have. Is it just to lose weight? Is it to build muscle muscle? Um, but there's usually more to it than just that. Is it health reasons? Is it because, um, self-confidence? Um, is it because you want to build a hike with friends Cause they go out hiking? I mean, it's just trying to find out what their initial reason is and why they entered the gym or why they're looking for somebody to help them.

Rachell Smith: 33:16

Um, and then I make a program off that. So whether or not some people just do two days a week. And then I make a program off that, so whether or not some people just do two days a week, which I recommend doing at least three, but it starts somewhere, and some people they just start off hardcore. But I also have some people that want to do six or seven. I'm like, no, you're going to burn yourself out because you have to have recovery and you have to have rest. Sleep is so important, your recovery is so important. Have to have recovery and you have to have rest. Sleep is so important, your recovery is so important. Um, so you always have to either one side or the other. Um, but, and then the nutrition part of it, it's all. Also, you hear the 80, 20 rule. You know 80% healthy 20%. You know things that you enjoy, and I don't believe in cutting food groups out. I don't believe in cutting carbs out and not believe in cutting fat out, fat out. Um, and of course, protein is very important. Um, you also have to enjoy it.

Rachell Smith: 34:08

Because if you're say, people have this thing, they're like I'll eat chicken, rice and asparagus all the time. That's not, that's not realistic. I mean, if you're maybe getting ready to get on stage in two weeks, then that that might be the case, but most people aren't. That's not what they're looking for. Most people aren't looking just to get on stage. It's just a lifestyle change.

Rachell Smith: 34:28

And if you want that little piece of chocolate, have that little piece of chocolate. You can fit that into your daily calorie, your daily macros. If somebody wants a glass of wine, then have a glass of wine. Nobody says that you can't. You have to cut all that stuff out all the time. So because if you do, what happens is you end up binging or just saying, screw it, I don't want to do it anymore, you know, because it's not realistic. It has to be realistic for that person. So when I build food plans I usually say hey, what are the things that you like and what are things that you don't like? And then I give them a huge variety so that way every meal can be different, if they want to for a month if they want it.

Rachell Smith: 35:08

It doesn't have but it's.

Speaker 1: 35:09

It's just all about the individual person yeah, yeah, no doubt I agree with that. That's such a good way to approach it. For somebody, it's kind of like you know where, I don't, I'm not removing everything from you, we just got to take it. For somebody, it's kind of like, you know, I don't, I'm not removing everything from you, we just got to take it in moderation. But I need you to eat more of these foods and less of these foods. Now, I like that, I like that. But that's not a loophole either.

Speaker 1: 35:28

You know, because when I hear something like that, especially years ago, it's like oh okay, so on Sundays watching football, I can eat a whole bag of Cheetos Okay, gotcha, okay Gotcha, cheetos. No, because I've done that, I've, I've literally done that. And then I feel like a piece of crap mentally and emotionally, physically, after I've done that. But so I know something I wanted to ask you earlier you were talking about, you know, I don't know what made me think of it, but are you I think you were talking about like TRT and and and stuff like that Are you? Do you believe in like a more homeopathic approach, like cold plunge saunas, grounding ground? I know grounding mats and sheets and stuff like that right now are getting pretty popular, and and so so is a cold plunges. What's your take on all that stuff?

Rachell Smith: 36:19

I think they're actually really. I've done a lot of research, um, my husband actually got me into that. He does cold plunges, um, I'm still I've done it a little bit, Um, but that's something that's really hard for me. That is a very mentally challenging thing to do and I think if you can do it it's great because, man, cold plunges are tough and I don't like cold water, I like being cold, I like the winter, but man, water, like especially in your core area, getting your back and your abdomen and stuff down in that water, is brutal, um, but it has some really good health benefits to it. You know it's supposed to help with your metabolism, um, and all types of stuff. So, um, I don't know like all the dynamics around it. Um, sauna is actually supposed to be very good like post-workout, um, detoxifying and um, things like that. So, um, all that's really good.

Rachell Smith: 37:13

I do believe in a lot of holistic um, mainly because one I I don't believe in taking a bunch of medications. I believe take some supplements, um, and eat healthy. My mom has, we found out, is onset, dementia and parkinson's. So that's where I kind of dug into it about six months ago um, looking at like holistic things because they had her on like high cholesterol meds and all these medications, um, and so I slowly kind of weaned her off of it, um, and put her on like high grade fish oils and like third-party tests. I use thorn um products because they're just, they're great um, and I put her on like collagen supplements and creatine. Um, it's when I did my nutrition class. It's one of the most researched supplements out there and I didn't know that, like I was always told from other fluid influencers and things like that, that creatine can make you bloated, it makes you gain weight, it makes you hold water retention and all these things and that really it's not the case. Um, now, starting out, yes, it helps, it pulls like fluid into your muscles, but it's really good for your muscles. So I take it now every day and they've done research that creatine helps the brain and they did a bunch on huge groups of, like elderly people that were onset or in into pretty far into dementia and their memory. Their cognitive function changed drastically, like some of them up to 70%, which was crazy. So I would dug into it a little bit deeper and so I started giving my mom creatine every day, started off with two and a half grams up to five, and I will thank God watching her from when I started till now.

Rachell Smith: 39:05

Her she would like walk into a room and, like I know we all walk into a room. I forget what we're doing, but it was really bad. Like she would go help feed our dog because she stays with us, um, and she would walk back out and go, do you need help feeding the dogs? And I was just like, oh, or we would talk and it was like a constant repeating ourselves, um, and she would walk back out and go, do you need help feeding the dogs? And I was just like, oh, or we would talk, and it was like a constant repeating ourselves. And it's really hard to like not be like I told you, because they don't. We literally don't remember Um, but it's gotten so much better.

Rachell Smith: 39:33

Her episodes that she was having, which were like every day, um, are now they're very sporadic, um. So the one thing I could set up to just taking her off, like all these high cholesterol medications and when I'm not saying that, taking those, like, listen to your doctor, don't, don't just go and take it off all your medications, um, but we put her on high grade fish oils. Um, her cholesterol is normal, normal. Um, try to get her to eat like avocados and things like that, like better foods, instead of like the sugar that feeds. Um, they supposedly the high sugar diets, feed dementia and all those types of things. Um, so we helped her get off of that. More holistic foods that are on the like, I said, the fish oils, the creatine, the collagen, the supplements, and I'll be damned if it didn't change so much on her. So now, like me just seeing it in action, I'm like the big advocate of doing all those things. Absolutely, it's crazy.

Speaker 1: 40:39

Yeah, just a few little tweaks.

Rachell Smith: 40:41

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 40:42

Yeah, no, no, I, I love that.

Speaker 1: 40:44

That's a great, that's such a great story and I was kind of hoping to pull something out of you like that, like from your experience you know, doing the things that you've done. You know and thank God you've, you've fallen into the field that you're in, because who knows if what you you probably wouldn't have done anything, you'd probably just watched her diminish, yeah, but thank goodness you were in the field that you were in and had the resources to you know kind of do some investigation into you know different, you know supplements and things like that and get her off some of the synthetic stuff and help her along the way. And that's such a great message to anybody out there. You know, obviously, yes, you know listen to your doctor, but always you know research, because I've had high blood pressure for as long as I could remember Hypertension. I was diagnosed with hypertension several years ago and you know I've tried different things over the years to try to help. You know, instead of taking, you know, synthetic medicines and stuff like that, because it's not I'm not worried.

Speaker 1: 41:43

I'm worried about the side effects, like kidney failure and all these things because my body, you know the side effects that this synthetic stuff can do and again, we're not trying to talk anybody into not taking what the doctors are prescribing but also do your research on things. You know red beets and things like that are really good for. On things you know red beets and and things like that are really good for, you know. You know for for blood pressure and so many other things. Um, and there's just been some research that Jana and I have done, like I've been um, you know one of the things about cold plunges, uh, the benefits of cold plunges is inflammation. You know in in how detrimental inflammation is to to the human body, and so there's, you know we cold plunge every night Jan and I both do and whenever we're traveling, it's like man, I wish they would have a cold plunge here.

Speaker 1: 42:31

It is tough, it is definitely a mindset thing, but again, we're all about, you know, putting ourselves in very uncomfortable situations until we start feeling uncomfortable with them, right?

Rachell Smith: 42:41

It's a temporary, uncomfortable right. Yeah, the longevity of it is so beneficial.

Speaker 1: 42:46

Oh, my goodness. And like you said, there are so many purposes. I mean inflammation, your skin, your hair, I mean cold water is just so good. Metabolism, blood flow, there's just, and mental clarity. I keep going back to the mental clarity thing because for me, you know, saunas, hot saunas, red light therapy, things like that.

Rachell Smith: 43:08

that's kind of my therapy yep yeah, that's where I'm like hair grow like hair growth yeah, um, we actually have, like my husband, bought one of those a little red light.

Rachell Smith: 43:18

I don't remember the company he got it from, but it it's. He did his research. He always does research on things like that. So we got one hanging up in our closet and it's supposed to help with acne and blemishes, inflammation. It helps heal. I've even done it when I, you know, kind of tweak my back a little bit and I would go in there and stand and just afterwards it would feel so much better, um, and I felt like it helped me the healing process progress a little bit better, um, but yeah, all those things. It's just funny how you know I'm sure that you know they say that came from NASA initially, like the red light stuff and the grounding and all that stuff. But, um, I haven't really looked into the grounding part of it, but I do know that I mean just stepping outside, you know, barefoot, and the sun, the sunlight, the air. It is very beneficial for people. I have a couple of girls that refuse to walk on the treadmill and I'm like go walk outside, find a friend or dog, something.

Speaker 1: 44:19

Yeah. Clear your mind sure for sure, best, best medicine ever is go for a long walk outside. Most definitely, um, okay, so inflammation how familiar are you with inflammation? I would imagine that you are like let's talk about, because I don't think it's, I think that's something that's not talked about enough. And and how, how, um, how negative it is for your body to experience inflammation and and what that causes negatively to your body oh, yeah, it.

Rachell Smith: 44:49

It mean it compromised everything. And my mom went and had some lab work done. Um, she okay. So I'm gonna use her as another example. She had so many many things going on with her when she moved in with us. She needed bilateral hip replacement. She was seeing a general practice doctor.

Rachell Smith: 45:08

Her thyroid was like off the charge. Her homeocysteine, which is your inflammatory response in your labs, wasn't even readable. It was so high and she was just in chronic pain. She felt crappy all the time. She constantly in a brain fog.

Rachell Smith: 45:25

Um, when she did get up and move around, it was just like the aches, um, and they were like oh, it's probably just because of your menopause, those random pains come with that. Your hips are bad. So there's that, um, and it's just like there was always an excuse after excuse after excuse. And I'm like there's that, um, and it's just like there was always an excuse after excuse after excuse and I'm like there's got to be something that's causing all this. Like, why is her home insisting so high? You know why? And they refused to change her off the medication. So we went to a hormone doctor, um, in fort worth.

Rachell Smith: 45:56

Um, she does all holistic stuff. So even like her thyroid medication. It's like the NP thyroid which is derived from like pigs, so she switched her to that. She put her on TMG supplement which is helps with the lower, the homeocysteine response, and like methyl guard NAD. I'm sure you've already ever heard of NAD. It's supposed to be like the um supplement to like. If you haven't heard of it, look it up. Um, I don't know the long term for it um, it's very it's a very long word, um, and it's supposed to help just kind of rejuvenate your cells. And so we put her on all those things and then, like six months later, we took her back in to check her, her, all her levels and they're almost all normal wow and so I was just like just taking medications you know supplements not, yeah, you know drugs, um, to help with that inflammatory response.

Rachell Smith: 46:56

It's crazy, but yeah, it affects, affects every minute. It affects your organs, affects your everyday life. It makes people agitated, um, it causes depression, it causes anxiety, you know. And then what do we do when we go in and we get on you know medications for it? Because we can't, we can't tolerate it. Um, gut health is another big one. Along with the inflammation, um, it causes severe gut issues. I mean, our microbiome and our guts are crap most of the time and you'd be amazed, on whenever you get your gut health in order, how, like all that stuff, and then your inflammation, it, it changes everything. I've, no, I didn't realize how much like gut health was so important to how you feel and it really, I mean you think about having, you know, get a bug, actually had one over the weekend and it puts you down and out Like it's the most uncomfortable thing ever, and you can imagine people that live with that all the time and they don't even realize how crappy they feel.

Speaker 1: 47:58

Yeah, yeah, mentally especially.

Rachell Smith: 48:01

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 48:02

Yeah, no, no, I agree and I'm glad. I'm glad you brought up everything that you brought up because, again, I don't think inflammation, I don't think anybody thinks about it. You go to a doctor and they're treating the symptoms, but they're not investigating the root cause of inflammation. What is it From, I don't know? Arthritis, a sprained ankle, whatever the case might be, and honestly, half the aches and pains I think that we feel it's due to inflammation.

Rachell Smith: 48:28

Yeah, lack of nutrients, micronutrients yeah.

Speaker 1: 48:32

Yeah, yeah, no, and that's why Jen and I both at least for me started to really get into cold plunges. We did it a couple of years ago but we didn't do it as much as we do it now, like it is been. It's not just a game changer, it's a life changer. I mean, it really is getting into and we get it. We get the water down to about 40, 40, 42 degrees. They say 50 and below is fine, but of course 50 is kind of like are you freaking kidding me? We got well water here, you know, yeah. So I, we freaking kidding me, we got well water here, you know, yeah, so I, we needed to be down a little bit more.

Speaker 1: 49:08

And uh, man, I'm telling you, um, I was having some, some sciatic nerve issues. Um, all stemmed from my hip. I was playing football and somehow my, my pelvic got, I don't know, twisted somehow in in my body and created one of my legs to be an inch shorter than my other leg and this goes back to misalignment. So this happened like two years ago. So I've been like living with this, this hip thing, you know like, where I just feel like it's clicking, like something's not right there, and so I started to go see a specialist about it, a chiropractor and I don't know, you know, and he, there's this thing out there now it's called soft wave and it's just amazing where he gets in there and does that. But I'll notice if I'm out swinging the golf club too much or if I'm, you know, bending over lifting weights. You know, probably practicing things wrong and using too much of my back. But if I get into a cold plunge, literally like when I get out, like most I'd say 90% if it's really bad, 90% of my back pain goes away. If it's not too bad, I'll get in for two minutes, I'll get out and my back pain is gone and, honestly, the swelling's down, the inflammation's down and that's where like things are in there, irritated and they're swelling and they inflame. And that's where like things are in there, irritated and they're swelling and they inflame, and that's where, like, the pain comes in, whether it's pressure against my spine, pressure against my hip, whatever, whatever that root causes. And then the other thing that I have found that is that has helped me is, uh and I always say it wrong, but um, uh, chermic, like a really good high potency, the pierce form. I, I hope I have it. I think I'm taking the most purest form from where I can find anyhow is.

Speaker 1: 50:47

I take it every day seven 30 in the morning, and again it's. It's a habit, I know, at seven 30 in the morning I get my shaker out and I crack it up. It's called the shot. It's got some other things in it zinc, asparagus but it's pretty. You got to be careful with it because it'll stay in your clothes, it'll stay in the countertop, like it's such good stuff. But I've been taking that for probably close to two years or actually probably longer than that, cause I always tell everybody that's why I never ended up getting COVID and I'm knocking on wood right now. But you know, just taking everybody to get through and fight things off and that, that mental toughness. But you know, just taking everybody to get through and fight things off, and that mental toughness, working, pushing through it, grinding through stuff, you know is really what this is all about for me. You know, if I can push myself in the gym, I should be able to push myself at work and taking care of my body so I can take care of other people.

Rachell Smith: 51:38

Yeah, it's about priorities. Yeah, it's really that's what I tell people, and if you make excuses, the the reason why not. You're not ready no, exactly there'll be a come. There'll be a time when they are and hopefully it's, it'll be sooner than when they have like an ailment that's forcing them to do it totally, you're absolutely right. Great, great little nugget there um I always tell people, it's you know consistency. So I guess, like discipline builds consistency, your consistency builds your habits, your habits shape your mindset and then your mindset determines your success.

Speaker 1: 52:11

Amen.

Rachell Smith: 52:11

Just stop. It's like oh, I need to get my mind right. You know I need to like. You don't wait for to be to get your mind right. You don't wait to be like I don't have the motivation. Your motivation comes after you get the results, because that's what pushes you. So you just go and you just do. The days that you don't want to do it are the days that you should do it, because you never regret going to the gym. You never regret eating healthy. The days that you don't are the ones that you are like man, I should have done that now. Stop doing it. Stop getting your get out of your head. Just go eight minutes for 20 minutes.

Speaker 1: 52:46

Just do it go, just do it. That's right. That's especially. You're absolutely right, and I'm glad you said that, because the days that I don't want to do it, that's actually where the the change happens for me, you know, I mean, it's that extra day. It's like, oh, you know, I've worked out for two days in a row. Well, you know what I mean. I'm trying to talk myself into not working out that third day, but that's where I see the results, that's where I see, you know, especially in those days, and especially if I'm not in a good mental spot, that's the days I'm supposed to be working out. That's the whole point Not the whole point, but it's at least 50% of the point of me wanting to work out is is to, you know, to decompress, to, to remove that negative thoughts or those thinking that thinking, because if I go a day or two without working out, that's really when things really start to bother me.

Speaker 1: 53:34

I'm more anxious, I'm, I'm, I suffer from neurosis. I'm a very neurotic person to begin with anyhow, so, like that, I feel like it just kind of keeps me on an on an even keel here. But um, um, we're getting close to our hour mark. Here Is there, before we get off here. Is there anything that a gold nugget that you just want to leave us with, or kind of sum up everything that, that that you explained to us today?

Rachell Smith: 54:00

I know. I just, I guess for me it's just you know, getting just like what I just said. I guess for me it's just you know, getting just like I just said I guess is the mindset people have, just like this If you need help, reach out. There's so many people out there that are willing to help. And granted, yes, there's lots of people that don't, right, because you're going to have those people that don't understand it, right, they don't get why you're going to the gym or why you're meal prepping or why you don't want to go out drinking, but those aren't your people, you know. You've got to find those people that want to, that praise you in your success and for all those little accomplishments, and get those people on your side.

Rachell Smith: 54:40

I had a friend tell me once, a long time ago, that look at the five closest people around you. Those are the people that you're going to be like, and so if you hang out with a bunch of partiers, you're going to eventually be that person, even if you aren't now. So look at those five people and if they're negative, change it, because it'll affect you eventually. So, um, reach out, ask for help, find a friend, find a coach. At least get you started.

Speaker 1: 55:15

Um, and you can do it, everybody can do it, no doubt no doubt you are the sum of the five people you have surrounded yourself with. No doubt, no doubt so. Do you take on clients that aren't in your local area, like if I, if if I wanted to reach out to you and you, would you work with me?

Rachell Smith: 55:34

yeah, so I do virtual. I use the trainerize app, um, so I do like my assessment, something like that, and do weekly check-ins, um, and then I build a plan, a nutrition plan, in my app for them, um, and they and they can reach out at any time. And then, of course, I do the one-on-ones in my local gym, but about half my clients are virtual.

Speaker 1: 55:51

Okay, what is the easiest way for someone to contact you?

Rachell Smith: 55:55

Um, I have a website. It's Ray Smith fitness. R A E Smith fitnesscom. Um, and I'm on social media with the exact same name Instagram, facebook. Um, my phone number is on there as well. They can always text or email.

Speaker 1: 56:07

Awesome.

Rachell Smith: 56:08

Um, so yeah that's good.

Speaker 1: 56:11

So Ray Smith fitnesscom, we'll put that in the comments there. And basically to sum this up is you don't need a six pack ab, you just need a backbone and it starts one day workout.

Speaker 1: 56:27

That's good stuff. Thank you so much for joining us. This has been a pleasure, an eyeopening experience for me. I know for a fact that it will impact somebody's life out there. If there's somebody watching and they think this show will benefit somebody, please share this with them and, by all means, if they are ready to start on a new journey, a fitness journey, please reach out to raysmithfitnesscom. Rachel Smith, thank you so much for joining us today.

Rachell Smith: 56:56

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 56:57

Such a pleasure. So next week, everybody, we will see you. Next week, I believe, we'll be live in studio and I'll probably be solo.