The Work You Don't See: Mike T on Physical Health, Consistency & Mental Strength

Summary

FOR GOOD PODCAST – EPISODE SUMMARY
Episode: The Work You Don't See: Mike T on Physical Health, Consistency & Mental Strength
Host: Joseph "JoJo" Simmons
Guests: Vanessa Simmons (Co-host), Mike T. (Celebrity Trainer)
Date: March 31, 2026

---

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of For Good centers on the often unseen “work” required for true transformation—physical, mental, and emotional. Through a candid, gym-floor conversation between JoJo Simmons, his sister Vanessa, and renowned trainer Mike T., the episode explores what consistent fitness can teach us about discipline, self-mastery, legacy, and leading your family and community by example. The team dives deeply into the reality of building (and rebuilding) physical health, the importance of grace and persistence, and how individual healing sets a foundation for broader societal change.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fitness as a Teacher of Life Skills ([03:01]-[03:46])

• JoJo shares how fitness has shaped his approach to life, framing the gym as a “teacher” of patience, resistance, discipline, and consistency.
• JoJo: “If I conquer that myself, then I should be able to conquer anything else in the world, whether it’s a business deal, whether it’s a podcast interview, whether it’s being a dad, whether it’s being a husband. The gym helps me set the tone for today.”

---

2. Mike T.’s Journey: From Family Roots to Hollywood Trainer ([04:07]-[05:29])

• Mike T. recounts his early inspiration training with his uncle and cousin in Baltimore.
• Initially, he came to LA to act and model but shifted to training, gaining recognition after winning a Discovery Health Channel challenge that caught Dr. Dre’s attention.
• “That’s what God had for you…your plan B was always your plan A. You just didn’t know it.” - JoJo ([05:25])

---

3. Training Philosophy – Real Work, Real Results ([05:33]-[06:40]; [08:10]-[09:34])

• Mike T. stresses consistency and commitment as the differentiators between clients who see real change and those who don’t.
• Systems alone don’t deliver results—“It really comes down to you, how bad you want it.” ([06:40])
• For post-pregnancy or returning clients: go slow, honor your body, focus on gradual return using muscle memory.

---

4. Cardio, Strength, and The Science of ‘Steady State’ ([07:49]-[09:34])

• Mike explains the value of steady state cardio (maintaining heart rate in a target zone), especially for fat loss.
• Strength training and cardio should be combined; finishing with cardio after lifting can “lean out” the body and reveal abdominal definition.

---

5. Building from Day One – Advice for Beginners ([10:01]-[11:13])

• Start with what’s accessible—walks, home exercise, “YouTube University,” or simple consistent movement.
• Vanessa highlights Mike’s 30-day home workout program and the power of leveraging family or partner accountability.
• “We don’t get out of shape overnight, so we don’t get in shape overnight. So just start somewhere.” – Mike T. ([10:07])

---

6. Common Mistakes, Grace, and Consistency ([11:11]-[12:07])

• The biggest mistake: lack of patience and grace; expecting rapid results sets you up for frustration.
• Shift mindset: just change one thing at a time, progress is cumulative.

---

7. Morning Workouts and Mindset ([12:04]-[13:41])

• All three extol the benefits of working out early in the day for both energy and accomplishment.
• Vanessa: “It’s almost like I attract all the things I really want through [the gym].” ([12:57])
• Mike T.: “Self mastery. Your temple, your body, you only get one of these things. But having everything in alignment, your health, the mind, your well-being starts there.” ([13:10])

---

8. Balance, Moderation, and Avoiding Extremes ([14:29]-[16:28])

• Mike T. advocates for moderation rather than strict denial—one glass of wine, a “cheat meal” can make the process sustainable.
• JoJo: “I hate the word diet. Diet just means that you’re trying to eat better than what you’ve been eating. But that should be the way you always eat.”
• Focus on whole foods, cut fried and processed foods, and know that changes need mental readiness as well as practical.

---

9. Family, Community, and Setting the Household Tone ([19:39]-[21:34])

• JoJo underscores modeling healthy habits for children—“You’re setting the standard for your kids.”
• Small household choices (even snacks) can ripple to broader behavior and health.
• Community and accountability—JoJo’s group family fast and Vanessa’s acknowledgment of a health-focused support network.

---

10. Deeper Purpose and Legacy in Fitness ([24:39]-[31:38])

• Purpose: Physical health underpins family, legacy, success, and personal longevity.
• “How does helping people get healthy tie into living a life of purpose? ... A life of purpose for yourself might be, you know, being here longer, sustaining your life so you can be with your family.” – Mike T. ([24:55])
• Both Mike T. and Vanessa reflect on how fitness and self-improvement cascade into emotional health and patient, intentional parenting.
• Legacy: Mike T. wishes to be remembered as “the guy you went to for results and who cared about his clients beyond dollars and cents.” ([31:00])

---

11. Staying Positive in Adversity ([31:31]-[32:22])

• Mike T.: “Every single day you wake up above ground, you have a chance to figure it out, do better, learn something, give back…Some people can’t even get up and walk. If you have your health and your strength…it’s important. So I always find happiness and hope in that.” ([31:45]-[32:22])

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Self-Mastery:
  “You manifest what you want, you know what I’m saying? And part of it, you know, your temple, your body, you only get one of these things…but having everything in alignment, your health, the mind, your well-being starts there.” — Mike T. ([13:10])

• On Grace and Transformation:
  “We don't get out of shape overnight, so we don't get in shape overnight. Just start somewhere.” — Mike T. ([10:07])

• On Family and Modeling Wellness:
  “If they see you not being active, they're not going to be active when they get older... you’re setting the standard in the household.” — JoJo ([20:38])

• On Mindset Shift:
  “You’ve changed your mindset about working out, right? …It’s not a chore for you. No, it’s a part of your lifestyle.” — Mike T. ([28:28])

• On Legacy:
  “Just a trainer that came out here and wanted to help people as individuals towards their goal. ... I’ve always gone after the results and the change.” — Mike T. ([31:00])

---

Key Timestamps of Important Segments

• JoJo on Fitness and Life Discipline – [03:01]
• Mike T.’s Origin Story – [04:07]
• Difference Between Results & Non-Results – [06:40]
• Steady State Cardio Explained – [08:10]
• Advice for Beginners – [10:01]
• Mistakes When Returning to Fitness – [11:11]
• Morning Workouts & Mindset – [12:04]
• Balance, Moderation, Diet Philosophy – [14:29]
• Building Healthy Family Habits – [19:39]
• On Patient Progress – [21:57]
• Burning Fat vs Burning Calories – [24:01]
• Purpose & Legacy Reflections – [24:39]; [31:00]
• Positivity and Perspective – [31:31]

---

Episode Tone

The conversation is warm, family-oriented, honest, and pragmatic—with an underpinning of mutual support and an emphasis on internal transformation for ripple effects through family and community. There’s frequent teasing (especially between Vanessa and JoJo) and genuine appreciation for Mike T.’s influence. The language is open and accessible, avoiding jargon, and deeply encouraging for listeners at any stage of their wellness journey.

---

In Summary

This episode positions health and self-discipline as acts of service—not just to oneself, but to one’s family and community. Whether sharing practical workouts, demystifying progress plateaus, or reflecting on legacy, JoJo, Vanessa, and Mike T. create an inviting space for listeners to start (or re-start) their own journeys. Healing, in this framework, is lifelong and collective: “You might not see the work—but the work you do matters. For you, for your kids, for your community.”

Transcript

[Howie Mandel]

The Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We do it gaming team take on Gilly the king and wallow $267 million gaming in an epic global Gaming league video game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right [e-mail] that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo.

[Vanessa Simmons]

What advice would you give to somebody who feels like they've been doing everything but nothing's working? They're not seeing the results, maybe fast enough.

[Mike T.]

So you have to look at it like this.

[JoJo Simmons]

Tell me a workout that you think everybody's doing that they shouldn't be doing. That's kind of pointless to you.

[Mike T.]

Your eating is a big part of it. You know, the more fat your body carries, it's harder your organs and, you know, your internal workings. A life of purpose for yourself might be, you know, being here longer, you know, sustaining your life so you can be with your family.

[JoJo Simmons]

What's good, everybody? It's your guy, JoJo Simmons. And welcome back to the For Good podcast where we focus on the good, never the bad. And we're measured by what we do, not what we have today is a special episode. We are in the gym today with my co host, my big sister, Vanessa Simmons. We are here at the gym today with somebody who's been holding our family down in health and fitness and wellness for a while now, especially with you and Ambla. He's trained you, he's trained Amla, trained a couple other people in our family. So this one's kind of a personal one for you. It's Mike T. From Force Fitness. How you feeling about being here in your old stomping grounds? You ain't been here?

[Vanessa Simmons]

No, no, no, no, no. Okay. I was in in November. Back on track.

[JoJo Simmons]

We're in February.

[Vanessa Simmons]

I'm leaving, but I've still been working out.

[JoJo Simmons]

Okay, I'm listening.

[Vanessa Simmons]

You see what I have to put. But anyway, we are here with Mike T. Who is more than just a trainer to us. He is our family. He's been training us for years. And he's worked with everyone from Taraji P. Henson to Megan Good. And he has the most excellent reputation in Hollywood in building real results from fitness. No shortcuts, no gimmicks, just work. And so I'm excited to be here with him today and give you guys some real deal information on how to maintain mind, body, and soul, and they

[JoJo Simmons]

keep it real to you. We've never worked out together, so this is going to be our first time working out together on camera for the for good community, showing them workouts, talking to Mike about things in health and wellness that people may not know and people may need to know or want to know how to kind of get on their journey of health and wellness and fitness. So as we're here today, we're going to be talking about Mike's journey, his philosophy, and we're getting some real gain from him, whether you can use it starting out or you're trying to get back into shape. So we're going to bring Mike T. Out on the 4Good podcast as we walk over to this treadmill.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Yeah, we're going to do it like I do.

[JoJo Simmons]

He told me when I walked in, Mike said, you guys start on the treadmill and I'm going to meet you guys. So I'm going to listen to. I got to listen to coach. You know what I mean? I got to listen to Coach. So we're going to head over to the. We're going to head over to the treadmills.

[Vanessa Simmons]

You have completely transformed your body and life through fitness.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, I mean, fitness is a huge part of my life. I think it plays into everything that I. That I put into my. My life, my career. I think the gym is a very good teacher of all things. It's a teacher of patience. It's a teacher of resistance. It's a teacher of discipline. It's a teacher of consistency. So that's why I've learned to love the gym, is because. And especially I go to the gym every morning because it helps me set the tone for the day. It helps me say, okay, if I conquer that myself, then I should be able to conquer anything else in the world, whether it's a business deal, whether it's a podcast interview, whether it's being a dad, whether it's being a husband. The gym helps me set the tone for today. Oh, there he is. What's up, my brother? How you been? You got me on the treadmill, man. Yeah, you made it.

[Vanessa Simmons]

We made it.

[Mike T.]

Usually want to warm about 16 to 20 minutes just for the creps, like

[JoJo Simmons]

you want us to do. 16 to 20 minutes normally, that's what

[Vanessa Simmons]

gets the fat burning.

[JoJo Simmons]

Right. I'm about to say we don't get half the interview done, but nest. No, no, that's.

[Mike T.]

No, she knows that's the vibes. So you normally want to stay in about 16, 20 minutes. They give you the crep cycle, which is when your body converts stored fat into fuel. So we're not doing that today cuz we're on a time schedule. But it's good that you guys are starting with a warm up.

[JoJo Simmons]

So Mike, I would love to know you're a celebrity trainer for you, right? You're a go to guy for to the stars out here in Hollywood, la. You know, who is Mike T? Where do you come from and how did you get into fitness? Like how did you become that go to trainer in Hollywood?

[Mike T.]

Well, to be honest, I have to take it all the way back to my youth. My uncle was actually training in the gym years ago when I was like 5 and 6. So he had me working out with him in the basement. I think you know that story. That's how I got inspired. So him and my cousin, actually his, his son is also trained in Baltimore, so he's the go to guy in Baltimore. I'm out in California. I got to California actually to act the model originally and you know, as LA happened, just dabble a little bit of this and that. But I actually had my certifications back on the east coast when I was in college. So I transitioned from college working as a personal trainer and came out here acting a little bit. And then that took a little.

[JoJo Simmons]

You was an acting first. A little bit. I wasn't on level with this one

[Mike T.]

right here, like, you know what I'm saying?

[JoJo Simmons]

Okay.

[Mike T.]

I tried to the Hollywood shuffle for a little bit. Didn't quite work out.

[JoJo Simmons]

Had headshots, did the whole run, did

[Mike T.]

the castings, auditions and all. But this was a staple, man. I actually did a Discovery Health Channel challenge that I won on television.

[JoJo Simmons]

Wow.

[Mike T.]

And Dr. Dre saw that and he brought me over to his gym and that history.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So that's the gym we used to work out at.

[Mike T.]

Dr. Dre had a team in William Hills, California. So.

[JoJo Simmons]

So that's where you were.

[Mike T.]

That's when you started.

[JoJo Simmons]

That's when you started. That's really cool.

[Mike T.]

So kind of like a little, you know, plan B.

[JoJo Simmons]

That's what's up. Plan B. Your plan B was always your plan A. You just didn't know it.

[Mike T.]

My brother.

[JoJo Simmons]

That's what God had for you, you know what I mean? That's what God had for you. And look at you now out here rocking and rolling.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Everyone in my family, Ming me, Angela, Jojo, Diggy, my dad, even a few times, my stepmom who's the hardest worker.

[Mike T.]

Wow, that's a tough one.

[JoJo Simmons]

You put me on the spot. Well, you ain't never trained me, so you wouldn't knew the answer. Don't train me. I can't include you in this question, but I have to be honest.

[Mike T.]

I'd say you and Angela obviously both had the most time with very hard workers. You committed, very consistent throughout the years. Now, see, life is changing, evolving today. But it's a good reminder of how long I've been in the game, you know, thanks for making me feel old. All the generations of the Simmons family, right?

[Vanessa Simmons]

You've done us all. It's been amazing.

[JoJo Simmons]

You've completed the Infinity Stone. Because I'm here now. Exactly. It's your last guy, Jojo, the gig here. Everybody else, mom, dad.

[Mike T.]

So you're here now. Diggy, everybody.

[JoJo Simmons]

So more than just training my family. Vanessa, Angela, Diggy, mom, dad, celebrity. You just told me Nick Cannon just left this morning. Right. Cavity. Just dropped that name like it was nothing. Right. For a list. Celebrities who have to stay camera ready. What's the biggest difference between someone who gets results and someone who just doesn't get those results that they're looking for?

[Mike T.]

Honestly, just a commitment, you know, to be eating the cardio. The systems that I put in place. Because, I mean, it's one thing to have a trainer to give you the systems. There's nothing to do with following it. It really comes down to you how bad you want it. Some people want it more than others. You know, one other question.

[JoJo Simmons]

How much time do we give you for rest? Between 30, 40 seconds. So I gotta jump in the kick.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So you've trained me through all the different stages of my life, trained me in post pregnancy.

[JoJo Simmons]

Right.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So how do you approach someone's body after childbirth versus who's just someone who's trying to lose weight or get in shape? Is there, like, a difference in the training?

[Mike T.]

Absolutely. Well, you just want to start easy. You want to give yourself grades. You've taken time off to give birth. Your body goes through changes, hormone changes. And also, it's just a process. It's based on the individual. But you just take it nice and slow and work back to where you were. In your case, you have muscle memory. You've worked out for years. It's just like getting on the trail and you just start back slow.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Do you suggest any type of, like, special, like, foods or anything that women should be eating to, like, get the full nourishment after having baked or anything like that?

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, just, you know, you Want to cut out processed food.

[Mike T.]

Processed food, you know, and with your breastfeeding, right. Hopefully you're breastfeeding after giving birth. Processed food needs to go. Sugar needs to go as much as you can, relative and just hydrate, you know, eat healthy as you can.

[JoJo Simmons]

All right, get to your set. I got my question. Get to your set, girl. You was. It sound like you was dragging that question out. You said not to get to her set. No, you know, it's just calling. So you started off with treadmill here, obviously, because, you know, you said you were talking about a lot about fat burning and cardio, right. And I see that you mix heavy strength training with cardio intervals. What's the philosophy behind that approach and why does it work?

[Mike T.]

So we do what's called steady state cardio. Most of my clients, they all know what steady state cardio is, right, Ness?

[Vanessa Simmons]

What? Yeah.

[JoJo Simmons]

Be so focused. So steady state cardio is where you

[Mike T.]

want your heart rate to be in a certain zone. It goes by your age based on your age. So steady state cardio actually taps into stored fat for fuel. So when you want to lean out, you know, most women want to lean out their body fat. You want to tap into that. So we do that cardio system like that. And then strength training is going to be resistant training, like you said, where you actually can weights to grow. If you want to grow your muscles, like in your case, your shoulders are pretty big, pretty strong chest, so you

[JoJo Simmons]

want to build a little bit.

[Mike T.]

In women's case, they want to tone tight, the waistline, all those things. So just to compare the combination of those two gets you to your goal.

[JoJo Simmons]

Let me ask you a question, because I do this because I've also been trying to find a balance, and it's a personal question, right? So I usually strengthen at the end of the workout. I'll do like 20 minutes of just like on the treadmill incline, a decent speed. Does that help? Or should I be doing the intervals or should I start off with it? What's the best. What is the best option for somebody that's like, all right, I got my muscles, but I want to make sure I keep my abs up tight. I want to make sure I keep that fat loss, you know, going on. What's. What's the. What do you think of the best option? That's the best.

[Mike T.]

Because what you're going to do is you're going to start with your warm up, loosen up, get your muscle crying. You do your workout. So your body's already activated, you've worked Your muscles even more. Weight training, I'm assuming, right? Yeah. To do your weights now, you finish off the cardio, your body's already heated up, you know what I'm saying? So you have to go that warm up phase. So now you start to do cardio, you lean out, your abs will start to show because you have abs that

[JoJo Simmons]

they're hidden under, under that fat.

[Mike T.]

Some of them.

[JoJo Simmons]

Not.

[Mike T.]

Not you, you have. Absolutely. But most of them have a little extra work, you know.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, yeah. Appreciate that.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So this question is for somebody who is watching, who hasn't worked out in months or maybe even years, and they want to know what's the first thing they should do? Like literally tomorrow say they're they, you know, down, out, ready to get in shape, ready to commit. Tomorrow's day one. What should they do?

[JoJo Simmons]

The first thing I do is try

[Mike T.]

to find something in your neighborhood. If you don't have access to a gym, if you have access to a

[JoJo Simmons]

gym, do some cardio.

[Mike T.]

Just start to move your body, you know, give yourself time to get back into it. We don't get out of shape overnight, so we don't get in shape overnight. So just start somewhere.

[Vanessa Simmons]

What are some little things you can do at home? Because like I. In times when I can't come to you, I refer to your 30 days program and just do things that I can do at home. What would you suggest to somebody who's

[Mike T.]

just starting university, YouTube, university, everything. Not to cut you off, but everyone has access to information now, so it really comes down to you. Design, know what you desire to do, but you can find information out there. But if you don't have a gym, exercise outside, go for a hike, you know, find a family member and team up, you know, but stay consistent doing something with your body.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, I love that you said YouTube because that's how my journey started. Like, I didn't have you no knowledge. I just wanted muscles at first. Yeah. I want to be everybody. Every guy I think starts off, I want to be big and bad. I want to be. But I started youtubing how to do certain workouts, what I should be eating, calorie deficits, all that stuff. And like literally you find out how to do stuff from home, you know what I mean? I do a bunch of crunches from home. I have little dumbbells where I do my, you know, my curls in. So like a lot of people don't understand. You could get in amazing shape from.

[Mike T.]

From home.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah. You know what I mean?

[Vanessa Simmons]

It doesn't have to cost you A lot of money.

[Mike T.]

Everybody can't afford a trainer. We're understanding that. So even though you don't have access to it, but you can definitely find out information. Yeah.

[JoJo Simmons]

So as we get into these lap pull downs, what is the biggest mistake people make when they're trying to get back in shape? Because, you know, some people have been in shape when they were athletes as kids or high school, and they kind of lost it. They became a dad. They got that dad body, father figure, like I like to call it. What's the biggest mistake people make when they're trying to get back into things when it comes to their health and fitness?

[Mike T.]

Start getting so grace, you know, like I mentioned to Ness earlier, you know, we don't take doesn't. It's not overnight that we get out of shape. So it's not overnight we get back in shape. Right. So just day by day of consistency, changing one thing leads to a healthier lifestyle. But you got to just bit by bit, continue. Go to the gym workout. Start with something basic, your cardio. You know, add a little bit of resistance training to that later on when you have time. Obviously, it's based on your schedule, but you can go before work, after work, depending on what you want to do.

[JoJo Simmons]

What's your favorite thing before? Like the morning workouts.

[Mike T.]

I'm a morning guy.

[JoJo Simmons]

Me too. Why is that? I was explaining to Vanessa I'm a morning workout guy because it helps me feel like I set the phone for the day. Right. If I can accomplish myself, my body, why can't I go accomplish anything else? When I go outside, it makes me feel like that mentally, a gym is such a mental thing for me that it's become way beyond physical for me. Right. It's become mental. It's become. If I miss it, I feel like I've missed out on bettering myself. You know what I mean? You ever felt that way?

[Mike T.]

Thousand percent. And it goes into what you're saying. You start your day right, you know, you have your energy flowing, you got your workout in, you got something accomplished for the day. Now you accomplish every single thing else. So for me personally, I like to start it.

[JoJo Simmons]

Another thing is, you know, a lot

[Mike T.]

of people, you know, they get busier in the day. You know, you have your work, come home, you might have kids, you have responsibility. So getting it out the way is primary.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So I want to add to that anytime, anytime I have committed to a 5am schedule with you or someone at Force Fitness.

[JoJo Simmons]

Right.

[Vanessa Simmons]

It's almost like I attract all the things I really want through doing it. Like it's, it's definitely mindset. So what, what is that about? Like just. Is it that you're vibrating on that frequency?

[Mike T.]

Thousand percent self mastery.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Like what, what is it about that? I thought my best roles when I've been coming in consistently.

[JoJo Simmons]

You need to stop.

[Vanessa Simmons]

I was. Mike saw me after my last film.

[Mike T.]

Yeah, she got here last week. Give her grace though, you know, she got the little ones.

[JoJo Simmons]

But no, I do believe that you

[Mike T.]

manifest what you want, you know what I'm saying? And part of it, you know, your temple, your body, you only get one of these things. But having everything in alignment, your health, the mind, you know, your well being starts there. So all these things work together in my opinion. It's one of the things that I also teach is just having your temple.

[JoJo Simmons]

Right, Right.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So let's say someone has 30 minutes three times a week over what are some things they should focus on to see some real results?

[Mike T.]

30 minutes a day. Get you a set of dumbbells.

[JoJo Simmons]

It doesn't have to be a lot,

[Mike T.]

you know, sit five to ten pounds, do some curls, you know, do a couple push ups. You can do the guy version, a girl version, you know, you cross your feet over your knees and doing push ups. It's always good. You do something from a chair. Even if you have a chair in your living room, you do tricep dips off of the chair. It's a lot of exercise. You just do in a spare time if you want to go.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So what you're saying is hotel room, anywhere. It's just about the mindset and the motivation. Go forward and you'll start.

[Mike T.]

You want to do it. And again, YouTube University. Find out anything you need. Home workouts, gym workouts, whatever you're looking for.

[JoJo Simmons]

I don't know about y', all, but when I'm in the gym, I'm drinking Van Damme, the most luxury energy drink in the market. Stay woke.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Stay woke.

[JoJo Simmons]

It's black owned too.

[Vanessa Simmons]

I love my wine. And you let your clients have a glass of wine a week to stay motivated.

[Mike T.]

Right.

[Vanessa Simmons]

You allow that. You're like, you can have your one glass. So what is your advice to give to somebody who is trying to find the balance in the discipline? Like, you know, like what is, like what should we do? How should we approach the balance of it all?

[Mike T.]

So that's something that actually we talk about evolving. I used to be very strict with my clients and their eating had to be by the book and it's just not realistic for that person. Especially as you get older in life, to not enjoy, enjoy their life as they're working out. So that's the balance. If you have a little bit of a cheat meal, cheat day, it helps you to do the long term process, you know, instead of just trying to be so restricted. So that's my method to that, not being so restrictive, lying and have that one vice.

[JoJo Simmons]

Right. Yeah, I was, you know, I was talking to somebody about that earlier, you know, because I went through a lot of different motions in my fitness journey of trying to figure out how to eat and what to eat. And ultimately I realized moderation was the best thing, being intentional, what I'm putting in my body. So making sure that if I'm looking at my meal, I'm like, am I getting my fiber? Am I getting my carbs? Am I getting my protein? Am I getting this? But also knowing some days I want a slice of pizza or two, Because I know that I've been intentional with all my other meals throughout the week. And it shouldn't even feel like a diet. I hate the word diet. Diet just means that you're trying to eat better than what you've been eating. But that should be the way you always eat, in my opinion, when it comes to health and not even just when it comes to losing weight, when it comes to having a cognitive brain, when it comes to having, you know, energy, all these foods serve those purposes for us. Right. They say food is energy. But the thing is, I think a lot of people feed themselves fried foods and things like that. And it's, it's messing up with our brain, it's messing with our gut, it's messing with everything. And ultimately it makes people not chase after being more fit or more healthy. So for like a listener listening right now, or watcher watching, what's one nutritional change somebody could make to make a difference right now in their life?

[Mike T.]

Well, like you said, the fried foods, getting rid of those fried foods and things, eating more whole foods, whole foods being fruit, vegetation, things that actually can help heal your body and also give you energy. The same energy you can get from sugar, but natural energy. Those are the biggest changes. If you want to just lose, you know, inches around your waist, just cut the sugars out. Preservatives. Yeah.

[Vanessa Simmons]

And you can feel the difference in your body when you're eating fruit, fruits and vegetables and stuff. You just automatically feel better.

[Mike T.]

Clarity.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah.

[Vanessa Simmons]

It's more of a lifestyle than it is a temporary diet to get into something that.

[JoJo Simmons]

Let me tell you something real quick. I know this looks like, it's lightweight. When you do enough reps, you're gonna feel them triceps. I don't know how many, but I'm doing it to feel. I know he only said 12, but I did it to feel the triceps, and it don't matter. That's what I like. I want people to know about the gym.

[Mike T.]

There's nothing hiding under this.

[JoJo Simmons]

I can see that pump on there

[Mike T.]

is hoodie, you know,

[JoJo Simmons]

he's coming out, he got the tank, you know, So I might take off later on the segments coming up. Sure. But, yeah, I want people to know. Like, some people think they have to go in the gym and lift heavy automatically, but a lot of reps in lower weight would do just as much difference as heavy weight and low reps, in my opinion. Like what? Like, of course, I go heavier on

[Mike T.]

this when I'm actually really working out.

[JoJo Simmons]

But we're talking. We're doing this. But I was realizing that what I'm doing, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go past 12. I'm getting to 20. And I'm like, okay, I'm feeling that same burn as if I was on the fifth one of 140.

[Mike T.]

You know what I mean?

[JoJo Simmons]

So I love that about that thousand percent. Tell me a workout that you think everybody's doing that they shouldn't be doing that's kind of pointless to you.

[Mike T.]

So I wouldn't say there's a lot of pointless exercise. Everything has a purpose and a point. Safety in your form is the main thing. So I see a lot of exercise in the gym. I'm sure you've seen them. You know, we talk about it often. We're in a gym environment with other people, people not performing things safely. Like a squat. Like, deadlift is the number one way to hurt your back. And if you're not doing it properly in the right form.

[JoJo Simmons]

So deadlifts are one of those exercises

[Mike T.]

that a lot of people perform wrong and they injure their back frequently. So that's one of the exercises that I wouldn't do. If you're not. If you don't know how to do it properly.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I don't really like deadlifts that much because I do see that people. There is potential to hurt your back. And you know what I do love that you kind of said, and I want to piggyback off of is form and technique. And I think a lot of people go in the gym and when their first time or newcomers, they're embarrassed or they don't want to take advice from people. What I've. But what I've learned has helped me personally is I take advice from everybody in the gym, especially the OGs. Sometimes everybody says, wrong, I'll look it up. Or someone be like, fix what I'm like, this last guy just told me to do it that way. Right. But I love how the fitness community is. Everybody just wants to help each other get to the next step. Right. There's always somebody that you think is further than you, but they started exactly where you started. And that's what I love about the gym community is just like we were talking about earlier. I didn't, wasn't into this five years ago, right? I was playing around, goofing around, didn't even know how to use any of this. Now I could probably tell you how to do a lot of this stuff inside and out, because I cared about it and I care about it. And now I know why people get so mad when people aren't in shape or aren't healthy. Because we've seen the potential of what we can do to ourselves. And we know that our friend, neighbor, family can do the same.

[Mike T.]

Exactly.

[JoJo Simmons]

And that is like, it's so funny when you get into shape, you want everybody to get into, cuz you're like, bro, we can all do this.

[Mike T.]

You know what I mean?

[JoJo Simmons]

So that's just something that I go, it's really cool.

[Mike T.]

And then you'll raise your kids the same way. Give them something earlier than you started.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I set the tone in the house. I say this all the time. Like I always realized when I start putting the heavy snacks and stuff, being fat toes, and we all start looking

[Vanessa Simmons]

a little bit more lazy.

[JoJo Simmons]

But then when I'm intentional, I'm like, okay, fruits, veggies, you'll still get a little donuts and cookies every now and then. But like I'm gonna be intentional. And I realize that my whole house becomes. It's instantly contagious. My wife's dropped a bunch of weight. Now everybody wants to. My daughter wants to get on the treadmill every day and do a couple minutes. My son runs around anyway, so he's. He's cardio all day.

[Vanessa Simmons]

That's so cute. Mia gets on the treadmill.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, you know, we have a treadmill and you know, she, she gets on the treadmill every. We try to do every day. Some days she doesn't do it, but she usually gets like a mile in, you know, she'll walk a mile a while and we just started out with a mouth. She's only 9, my daughter's 9, turning 10. But that's the thing, though, and I want parents to know this. You're setting the standard in the look for your kids in this household. In your household. If they see you not doing, being active, they're not going to be active

[Mike T.]

when they get older.

[JoJo Simmons]

Or they may use that and say, I want to be opposite. But nine times out of 10, if they watch their parents doing something, they're going to follow suit. That's why my daughter wants to do it. You know, me and my wife, we did a 5k, and Mia was training with us. Mia got interested in running more. Mia wanted to run more. She saw that sense of accomplishment that my wife and I hadn't had when we came home with our medals from that 5K. And we did a really, you know, good job. And we were so proud. You know, it really set the tone for our kids to say, I want to be just like my parents. I want to be active. I want to. I want to. That looks cool. We make it look cool.

[Mike T.]

So you take it back to the beginning, the of conversation. I told you, when I was young, my uncle had me in the basement lifting weights. Me, my cousin. My cousin owns a gym in Baltimore now. It's Reflex Functional Fitness in Baltimore.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, there you go.

[Mike T.]

You know, that's Maurice. So, yeah, so it does make an impression at a young age. And look at Tiger woods, started three

[JoJo Simmons]

or four years old and look where

[Mike T.]

he got, you know, so investing your kids, the same thing, man, they take it within the rest of their lives.

[JoJo Simmons]

I agree.

[Vanessa Simmons]

What advice would you give to somebody who feels like they've been doing everything but nothing's working? They're not seeing the results maybe fast enough. I know for me myself, it takes a while for the weight to actually start dropping off. I could be working out for two months and not see any real results to, like, that third month. And I'm like, oh, so what advice would you give to somebody who feels like they've tried everything and nothing's working?

[Mike T.]

So you have to look at it like this. It's all relative. So based on what you're saying, how fast? So fast means you have a barometer for how something is changing. You're just patient and keep with the process consistently, you're eventually going to see change. If you're eating properly, you're doing your cardio, it's impossible not to get changed. It's just impossible. So relative to how much work and effort you're putting in, and that might need to change. Maybe you need to look at how hard you're working, what you're eating, how many calories you're spending a day. If you're trying to lose weight, but you just have to be consistently doing something and then eventually it's going to kick in for sure.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Fat loss. What do you suggest most? Cardio over weight training, or is it a mix?

[Mike T.]

Steady state? That steady state cardio is the best. You're burning as many calories as you can. But the trick is this. So if you start your day, you're burning calories through your whole day actively. You don't even include that into like your calorie burn, like the gym. So that is going to be a deficit in your day if you're not consuming excess calories. So let's say for you, 2500, 2000, 1500, somewhere in that pocket, I'd say year round, 18, 1800 to 2000 calories. Okay, so if in the course of a day you're eating 1800 calories, you're working out, that's 500 calories, you're doing cardio, it's 300 calories, 800, and you're burning all those calories in your day, you're gonna be in a deficit unless you're eating 3,000, 4,000 calories. So every day, if you're in a deficit, you're gonna lose weight. That's your goal.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Starting at the beginning of the day helps you to be able to burn calories consistently throughout the day.

[Mike T.]

So as you're active, you burn calories just thinking, talking, working, not actively lifting weights or being in the gym, you burn calories.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So what about that nighttime? Because sometimes I, you know, miss the whole day and I still get in the gym at night. How does that, like working out at night as opposed to the morning affect, like your body and the cycle.

[Mike T.]

And it all goes into it. It all goes into it until you're resting and your body's, you know, asleep, you're burning calories, you know, your metabolism slows all the way down. Your rest, you wake up, you start again, but that processing process is included all the way till you go to bed. So you're burning calories the whole time. You just want to be in as great a deficit as you can daily. And that's the key for somebody trying to lose weight. A deficit every day being a caloric deficit. You can do it on your diet and doing your activities or be in a deficit every day.

[JoJo Simmons]

So the difference between burning fat and burning calories, you know, I hear that you do burn fat in your sleep, but you don't burn calories in your sleep. What's the difference between the two?

[Mike T.]

So contrary to probably most people don't realize that just want to burn calories, period. When you have excessive calories, it's stores its fat. So it might go on your midsection, might go on your arms, your back when they get in their legs a lot of times. So you really just want to focus on burning calories overall. But when your body has excessive calories, like I just explained to Ness, if you're not burning enough in the course of the day, you're going to get more fat. So you want to concentrate on cardio for burning body fat, steady state carbs, the best. And if you want to just burn calories, you burn calories. Lifting weights, you burn calories. Just being active, being alive, working, doing the things that you do, playing with your kids, you're burning calories.

[JoJo Simmons]

Now, you know this, this is called the For Good podcast and we appreciate you coming on, but we always ask all our guests this question. On this podcast we talk about doing good. That's why it's called the For Good podcast. It's about being good, doing good, living good. How does helping people get healthy tie into living a life of purpose, in your opinion?

[Mike T.]

What I do is this. So this is my purpose. A life of purpose for yourself might be, you know, being here longer, you know, sustaining your life so you can be with your family, you know, having a healthy lifestyle so you can be successful, have the energy, have the strength and, you know, longevity in your lifespan. So all these things are part of it. Your eating is a big part of it. You know, the more fat your body carries, it's hard on your organs and, you know, your internal working. So you want to make sure that all these things are hand in hand. So for me, purpose, it goes hand in hand with whatever you do, you know, whatever activities you have, whatever work you have, be a businessman, office, eating healthy, choosing better food options if you're sitting all day. Or you'd be somebody active athlete that needs it, obviously to perform a core for the field. You know, all this ties into each other.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah, I was like I was saying earlier, it all goes hand in hand. It's part of the mental, it's part of the physical, it's part of your lifestyle. You know, like it all goes hand in hand. It's all part of your discipline and your mindset of how you approach life. You Know what I mean? And I feel like the gym, it starts in the gym.

[Mike T.]

You sound like you've turned your whole family around. You got the whole mentality now.

[JoJo Simmons]

So I'm trying to. I'm still working on a couple of things, couple people in the family. But if I'm. If I have to be that shining light, I know Angela's very, you know, fitness forward, Vanessa's very fitness forward. But if I have to continue to be that shining light, I will be like. I tried to put my family on

[Mike T.]

a fast last year.

[JoJo Simmons]

Not everybody was with it, but shout out to my mom, mama, Justine. She did it for. There was no desserts, there was no snakes. It was like 30 days. It was a birthday cleanse for me, okay. Because I personally, if I'm being real, I think smoke cannabis. So I took a 30 day break from everything. Okay. It was from the weed, I don't drink. It was a fast of things that I felt weren't breakthrough. Not the things I don't want to enjoy. When I came back, I had some French fries. Right? Right. But I was like, it was more. What is my discipline? Can I say no to things? Right. Why do I have to let either the weed or the food control my decisions of what I want? Yeah, I may want a burger, but that's, that's now controlling me because I can't choose better for myself. So I wanted to see for 30 days, could I choose better for myself? Could I have. Can I control my life? Could I say, I don't need that vice, I don't need that food. I'm gonna have a clear mind. And it gave me a clear mind for 30 days for sure. I had a couple friends do it with me as well. Not everybody did it the whole time, but that wasn't the point I was trying to get across. I would have loved everybody to do the whole 30 days with me, but people that would tell me they only did seven days. It's hard to get. Give up everything, you know, everything you grew up on. When it comes to the junk foods in the fries, in the burgers, in the pizzas, in the seed oils and everything that we have been eating growing up, it is hard to adjust, you know what I mean? And you have to mentally get there. I think anything, even with the gym, with eating healthy, you can't force anybody to come to it until they are mentally there for themselves, is what I learned. I have a friend that's been working out way longer than me. Shout out my brother Keys. He's a Monster, he does marathons, bikes, all that. And for years, Joe getting the gym. Joe getting the gym. I'm not mentally there, bro. I used to be real with him. I ain't got my money, right. I'm not mentally. And I shouldn't have never had it that way. But I wasn't mentally there to commit. But now that I'm mentally there to commit, I get why some people don't want to do it. It's because they're not mentally ready to say, you know what? On days when I don't want to go, I'm gonna go on. I'm gonna wake up and make this a part of my. My lifestyle. I'm gonna make. I'm gonna wake up and make this a part of my routine. Like, it's so bad that I wake up and I have to go.

[Mike T.]

Yeah.

[JoJo Simmons]

You know, my wife's like, geez, like, you don't take a day off. And it's like, I almost feel like I'm gonna get in trouble now. You know, I mean, with myself. Does that make sense? Like, you know what I'm saying?

[Mike T.]

But you've changed your mindset mentality to working out, right? So now you're not doing it. It's not a chore for you. No, it's a part of your. Your lifestyle. You're making healthier choices in your eating, your family, everything. So these tie hand in hand. Ness, you've been doing this since. I mean, what do we actually mean? This is the real story.

[Vanessa Simmons]

So the real story is Angela was 18.

[Mike T.]

So you were.

[Vanessa Simmons]

I'm four years, which means I was

[JoJo Simmons]

16 years old, almost four years old.

[Mike T.]

All this time, you've been working out actively and doing these things. And how does that relate to what JoJo sing as far as the purpose goes behind these things?

[Vanessa Simmons]

I mean, honestly, it gives your day purpose. I feel like when I'm in the gym, when I'm working out, when I'm focusing on bettering myself, then I get a better result in life for the things that I'm looking to accomplish and just feel better able to, you know, talk with my daughter in a more calm and patient manner. It just really. It really helps you on all different levels, and I love that. When Jojo, when you were doing the fast, you wrote the family group chat, and you tried to get us all involved, and, you know it all. It really speaks to building that community for yourself. That's also really important when you're trying to make a transformation. Now, everyone may not be there mentally and ready to do that, but the people that you do grab, like, it's important to hold on and keep each other for accountability and just like push and motivate each other. So I love that you did that. Let us all know what you was doing and what you were on so that, you know, when we were ready and had that motivation to do it, we could jump in. So I think community is a really important part of it, and that's something that you've built here for me in la. Working out with you, working out with Force Fitness, working out with the different trainers that are under you. Like, you've helped create a community around health and wellness. I can go anytime. I know I need, like a refresher and I need to go like, you guys always get me there. And so, yeah, I'm really thankful for, you know, everything you built with Force Fitness.

[Mike T.]

Listen back to that original question too. How did I get to be the go to guy? You and Angela, man, you have to. Have to take my hat off to you guys. You guys started with me. You guys are the first celebrity clients I have in Haddenville, California. You know, out here hitting the bricks, you know, 18 or 20, driving to Calabasas, driving to at one time here in West Hollywood. So all these things are part of my journey. The Simmons family is a huge part of my journey, myself, success. So I appreciate you guys.

[Vanessa Simmons]

We appreciate you.

[JoJo Simmons]

Appreciate.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Well, I want to end the, end the chat with this. I. Maybe you want to think about it. What do you want your legacy to be? Not just being a trainer, but someone who has, like, transformed lives. And I can speak to that personally. What do you want your legacy to be?

[Mike T.]

Just a trainer that came out here and wanted to help people as individuals towards their goal. It's very rewarding when you see people achieve what they're. They're trying to accomplish. Obviously, when you're in TV and film, it's important. It's a part of your toolbox. You know, when you get out there and feel confident on camera, everything else works for you. You become the greatest you can be. So for me, just having a smart part of that, I want to leave that legacy that I was that guy that you went to for that. And I care about my clients beyond just the dollars and cents of that comes. I've always gone after the results and the change.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Yeah, when people say Mike T, they know exactly who he talks about out here in these streets.

[JoJo Simmons]

And I know when you walked in, you would tell, you were saying, like, man, you always got a positive mindset. You're always saying positive stuff. You want to speak a little bit on there, like, you just being so

[Mike T.]

positive and how you're able to remain

[JoJo Simmons]

positive in this space, especially in la,

[Vanessa Simmons]

where it gets the best. He can get me out of rocks.

[Mike T.]

But we're here, we're alive. You know, you have your strength. There are people who aren't here today, you know, not to get really, you know, deep or sensitive, but it's the truth. And so every single day you wake up above ground, you have a chance to figure it out, do better, learn something, something, give back, you know, receive. It's important to me. So how could you really, you know, get down to yourself when some people can't even get up and walk? You know, you have your. Your help and your strength and all different levels. If you have an ailment, things like that, you still have most of your health and speaking for ourselves, so, you know, I always find, you know, happiness and hope in that. And you just keep working the rest into God's hands, right? So do the best you can. Thank you guys.

[JoJo Simmons]

Appreciate you, brother, for coming on. Mike. Anytime. Before we get out of here, I need you to let people know where they can find you. What you got going on?

[Mike T.]

Find me at Instagram Force Fitness, Inc. And, yeah, so you'll see more of me, hopefully.

[JoJo Simmons]

I love this show.

[Mike T.]

It's really great. It's really positive.

[JoJo Simmons]

Thank you.

[Mike T.]

Part of it, guys. Appreciate it. Had a good time today, guys.

[JoJo Simmons]

For good podcast. We're about to get out of here. I want to remind you guys to hit that subscribe button. Drop some comments, let us know what you thought about this podcast. It's our first podcast where we were kind of remote. We came to a gym, we worked out, we got some really great answers from Mike T. He's been a trainer to the stars for years. Started out with my sisters, and now he just trains every big name in the business. It's really been an amazing episode. I'm here with my big sister, Vanessa. Thank you for inviting me to work out with Mike, man.

[Vanessa Simmons]

You guys can come see what I do when I come into this.

[JoJo Simmons]

Man, this is a really good gym. I really enjoyed it. Till next time, guys. This is the four Good podcast. Your guy, Jojo Simmons, Vanessa, Mike T. Where we focus on the good, never the bad. And we're measured by what we do, not what we have. I gotta finish this corset. Till next time. Peace.

[Vanessa Simmons]

Signing out.

[Instacart Announcer]

Instacart understands that not all bananas are created equal. Some people want them green, some want them ripe, some want them ready right now. With Instacart's Preference Picker, now available at most retailers, you can choose how you like certain items like banana ripeness, deli thickness, even avocados before your shopper even starts. So instead of crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, you get groceries picked the way you would pick them. It's a small thing, but it makes a big difference. Download the app and get bananas just how you like. With Instacart.