World Physique

Interviewed by: Mike Hall

Nominated by Keila Selders: “Robert and I have been married for 13 years and we have three daughters, ages 8, 5, and 3 years old. I am nominating Robert for your Personal Trainer of the Month award because he has accomplished quite a bit in a short period of time. I know I’m biased, but I believe he is one of the best trainers in the world. Not only because he’s knowledgeable and is successful in helping his clients reach their goals, but also because he cares deeply for his clients and in return, they absolutely love him. He has worked hard to build a thriving business that is known in the community as the place to go if you’re really serious about getting results. His work ethic is off the charts. And although he works a lot, he still makes it his priority to spend time with me and our daughters. Because of that and the fact that I love him very much, I am nominating him for your Personal Trainer of the Month award.” ~ Keila Selders

Robert holds certifications as a Certified Fitness Trainer, ISSA; Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, NSCA; Performance Enhancement Specialist, NASM; Corrective Exercise Specialist, NASM, CrossFit Level 1 Certification, CrossFit HQ; CrossFit Gymnastics Certification, CrossFit HQ; and he is an Integrated Movement Specialist, FES/Osar Consulting.

WP: Hey, Robert! Tell our readers a little about yourself.

Thanks Mike! First, I have to say thanks for choosing me as the Personal Trainer of the Month; I’m really humbled that you guys chose me for this honor.

WP. It is all of our pleasure. We are honored.

Thanks! Well for starters, I’m not what you would call a traditional or typical personal trainer. My path has been quite the ride and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I was born in Tacoma, WA, and since my father was in the military, we moved around quite a bit with stints in California, Texas, Tennessee, and Louisiana. I call Lake Charles, LA, my hometown since it’s where we spent the majority of our time growing up as kids and it’s where my parents currently live.

I live in Texas with my amazing wife Keila and three beautiful daughters: Myah, Nina, and Ava. I own 3Q Fitness Studio, a private fitness and performance training center in Garland, TX, and we’re also a licensed CrossFit affiliate. I had worked as an engineer since 1996 and I left my corporate career as a Power Electronics Design Engineer in March 2009 to run my fitness business full-time. Prior to that, I worked part-time as a personal trainer and performance coach helping my clients reach their health, fitness, and performance goals.

WP: How long have you been in the fitness industry?

By most standards, I haven’t actually been training very long, but I’ve spent a total of nearly 30 years in some aspect of fitness as an athlete playing sports, coaching, or training. Man, that seems like a long time!

WP: What made you decide to get into the fitness industry?

Mike, this will be a long, complicated answer. I’ll give you the short answer and then fill in the details, so bear with me. The short answer to your question is to really be a difference maker in improving the quality of life for those I’ve been blessed and am meant to serve. To know how I got to this point you have to know quite a bit more. My father and many of my uncles and aunts were multi-sport athletes growing up, so being an athlete just came natural. Since I was young, I’ve participated in competitive sports and in high school, I lettered each year in football, basketball, and baseball. I went to college at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, on a full football scholarship and at the same time, I was also working towards my Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

Despite having tons of potential and getting a good bit of media attention after having broken into the starting rotation as a true freshman wide receiver, my first two seasons playing football were pretty jacked up. I never had a major injury in high school, but I tore my left ACL in my very first college football game with about 4:35 left to play in the game. I was out for the season; and rehabbed like a mad man to get back for the next season only to tear my right ACL in my third game. At that point, I figured I’d been given a hint and a half from God that maybe football wasn’t where I needed to be…that and my surgeon telling me that I might not walk straight again if I ever took a big hit to my legs.

I couldn’t sit around and just do nothing, so I walked onto the baseball team and ended up earning not only a starting position, but was also awarded a full scholarship. In my senior year, I applied to a number of graduate schools to pursue an advance engineering degree and at the same time I had been invited to attend a few professional baseball team workouts. Nothing materialized on the baseball front, but I did get accepted to attend graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. So I didn’t make it to the professional sports arena, but I did make it to what I call the “Olympics of Academia.” After graduate school, I worked for Delphi Automotive Systems as an Electrical Design Engineer for three years and then my wife and I moved to Texas where I began working as a Power Electronics Design Engineer for Lucent Technologies.

Now, you can probably imagine the life of a graduate student turned career engineer is not all that active. In fact, as sedentary as my days were, I started gaining more weight even though I was “working out” at the gym. You know how life just happens. Sometimes you just don’t pay attention because you get in such a rush to move from one thing to the next and then you look up and you’re 10lbs, 20lbs, 30lbs, or much heavier than you actually realized. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me. One morning I just happened to catch a glimpse of myself as I was getting out of the shower and I said, “Oh, hell no!” I was bigger than I’d ever been and my daughter Myah had just turned a year old, so I realized that I had to do something to make sure I was around for my family.

So, I entered the AST World Championships competition sponsored by AST Sports Science. I ended up winning my class, becoming one of AST Sports Science’s sponsored athletes, meeting and training with Skip La Cour, Jeff Willet, Derik Farnsworth, spending time with Paul Delia and Paul Cribb, and connecting with Russ Yeager (then an accountant for a large accounting firm). Russ and I decided to get certified as personal trainers and get into the fitness industry as after our experiences with this competition. So Mike, I apologize for the long wided response, but you asked...and that’s the whole story of what got me started in the fitness industry.


WP: What a great story, Robert! What is your educational background? What are your certifications?

I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1993) and a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT (1996). In 2004, I earned my Master’s Degree in Exercise Science (with an emphasis on Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention) from California University of Pennsylvania in California, Pennsylvania (2004).

I have the following certifications: Certified Fitness Trainer, ISSA; Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, NSCA; Performance Enhancement Specialist, NASM; Corrective Exercise Specialist, NASM, CrossFit Level 1 Certification, CrossFit HQ; CrossFit Gymnastics Certification, CrossFit HQ; and Integrated Movement Specialist, FES/Osar Consulting.

I’ve also been to a lot of other continuing education courses, seminars, and certifications to stay on top of what’s happening in the industry and to be able to deliver the best quality service to all my clients.

WP: How long have you been a personal trainer?

I’ve been a personal trainer for 7 years.

WP: What do you feel sets you apart from all other personal trainers out there?

Mike, I think the quality of training, attention to details, and high level of customer service are all a given because we’re in a service industry. I make sure these things are a part of everything I do. But what I think that makes me a little different from other trainers is the level of care I provide to my clients and my dedication to empowering and educating them so they don’t become dependent on me long term. As the saying goes, “most people won’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

Let’s face it, making physical changes are often times rarely related to just the physical change itself. It will usually involve a more holistic approach to truly seeing the results you want to see. My goal is to always connect with my clients where they are and to let them know how much I believe in them and some times that’s just the thing they need to develop the belief in themselves. Many people intellectually know what they should do to lose weight and feel better, but I think that knowing and doing are very different things. So I work pretty diligently to teach people the skill of being fit rather than just training them to be fit. It’s sort of like that “teach a man (or woman) to fish” analogy, ya know?

WP: Where do you train your clients? Do you train them in a gym, at home, or where?

I work with the majority of my clients in our private training facility. When I’m working with sports teams or athletes, I usually work with them at their training facility or a combination of the training facility and their field/court of play.

WP: How much time per day do you typically spend with a client?

I spend anywhere from a few minutes to hours, in some cases, talking with my clients depending the kind of questions they have and where they are along their fitness journey. My goal is to really help them understand all that is involved in reaching their goals and sometimes there are other things that just require a little more time. From a training standpoint, I will spend from 30 minutes to 60 minutes with a client in a session depending on their needs and schedule.

WP: How many days do you suggest your clients to work out in a week?

The number of days I suggest a client works out will depend on several factors including their goals, time frame, family situation, career, lifestyle, movement capacity, injury potential, etc. All these things must be taken into consideration to actually customize a client’s program so that it’s tailored to meet their specific needs. With that, I usually suggest that my clients train anywhere from 2-5 days per week.

WP: What helps you get up each morning?

The thing that gets me up each morning is the fact that I know that I’m doing the work God has purposed and called me to do. Many people wander aimlessly through life trying to figure out why they are here and what they’re supposed to do. When you know that what your purpose is…the reason you were created, it makes getting up each day so much easier. Even with the daily challenges or setbacks you know you’ll endure, there’s a certain comfort in knowing you already have what you need to make it through.

WP: What motivates you?

My wife and daughters are my greatest motivators. When I think about the sacrifices they’ve made so that I can pursue my passion and do what I feel God has purposed in me, I feel totally blessed. My wife has been extremely supportive and I can’t thank her enough. Without her support, there’s no way I would be able to do the things I’ve done.

WP: What forms of exercise do you find to be the most effective over all?

Mike, the best way I can answer your question based on where I am today is to say that I’ve been out of the bodybuilding game per se for quite some time. And while there’s nothing wrong with pursuing bodybuilding, my focus has been more on helping people get fit for life, as well as helping athletes reach their desired performance goals. I’ve learned form truly follows function and have found, after years of trying many different training methods, that using a CrossFit approach (constantly varied functional movement performed at a high level of intensity) seems to be the most efficient and effective way to accomplish gaining mass, losing weight, and cutting. It gives you many different paths for programming to provide the right stimulus at the right times to produce the desired results when combined with the right nutritional strategies and adequate recovery, whether you’re looking to put on size, lose weight, or get ripped.

WP: What are your strengths and weaknesses?

One of the things I’ve been able to cultivate is the ability to focus on a task and see it through to completion. My father taught me the value of that and so I have a very strong work ethic. This can also get me in a bit of hot water from time to time with my wife because I will work crazy hours just to get something done once I get started. So I guess a weakness would be that I sometimes get so focused that things become slightly imbalanced. That’s the great thing about having strong family ties and open, honest communication. My family helps keep me grounded so those “all-nighters” are few and far between.

WP: What problems have you had as far as staying motivated and disciplined to stick with your workouts?

When I’m in a training mode, I have to say that I’m pretty self-motivated and disciplined and rarely deviate from my training plan unless absolutely necessary. The most challenging thing for me now is learning how to train smarter. With going full time as a fitness business owner, the time that I actually have to train is limited, so I have to make the most of what I do and get the biggest bang for my “time” buck.

WP: What problems did you have to overcome in order to stay on track with your fitness program?

The biggest challenge to date in staying on track is finding the right balance between all the things I have to juggle on a daily basis. When you’re wearing multiple hats, you can get pulled in many directions. I’ve found that having accountability outside of my facility (with other coaches I trust and respect) has allowed me to continue making progress towards one goal I have of competing in the CrossFit Games.

WP: What keeps fitness interesting to you?

The fact that every client I work with presents with their own unique set of challenges and we have to work with them to come up with effective and efficient ways to help them get the results they want while also giving them all the things that they need. While it’s not rocket science, it is science nonetheless and when you see your clients making great progress and reaching their goals based on a plan you’ve worked with them to develop...it’s a beautiful thing!

WP: Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows. It’s just between us, no one else will know. Ha-ha.

My family knows this and I’ve recently shared this with my clients, but a little known fact about me that not many other people know is that I was one of 32 finalists for the cast of Survivor 6. I was a huge Survivor fan then and had already decided what my immunity strategy was going to be. I just knew I could win it all. Although I didn’t get chosen as a cast member, I learned (the hard way) one of the most valuable lessons in life,”Always be you no matter what!”

WP: How have you changed over the years?

I used to think that everyone who contacted me and shared their interest in reaching their health, fitness, or weight loss goals was as committed towards achieving them as I was committed to helping them. I expended a great amount of effort early on in my career, and I still do for my clients who work diligently towards the goals they’ve set. However, I’ve learned that when it comes to making physical changes and quality of life improvements, people have to be ready and willing to put in the work to make it happen. I use a saying with my clients (and any prospective clients) as it relates to this and that saying is “it is what it is” and you can’t make it what it’s not. No matter how much you desire change for a person, they ultimately have to show up and put in the work, or else it’s just not gonna happen.

WP: Any shout outs?

I thank God for all that He’s blessed me with. I give a shout out to my wife Keila and my daughters for their never-ending support. And of course, big props to my parents, sister, brother, in-laws, extended family, friends, my clients, and all the wonderful mentors and other people in the industry who are all about being a solution to our nation’s healthcare crisis.

WP: Explain your workouts to me. What is your diet?

I’ll answer two questions with one response CrossFit; constantly varied functional movements done at a high level of intensity! Just about every day I “eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, cleans, squats, presses, clean and jerks, and snatches. I work to master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climbs, push-ups, sit-ups, and presses to handstands, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. I bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mixing these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is my enemy. I keep my workouts short and intense. Regularly learning and playing new and different sports." - Adapted from Greg Glassman, CrossFit HQ.

WP: Who had the most impact on you in your life thus far?

I have to say that the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross has had the greatest impact on my life so far. Having experienced grace and continuing to experience it daily knowing that I’m not all I should be nor have I done all that I should do, serves as a constant reminder of how far I’ve come and at the same time how far I have to go.

WP: What were you like in high school?

I considered myself a total nerd when I was in the 8th grade. The summer before my freshman year of high school, it seemed like I grew about 4-6 inches and I went through my very own “milk does a body good” commercial, as my sister says. I was still a complete nerd and very shy, but now I had a more athletic body which boosted my confidence and allowed me to compete in sports at a higher, more physical level than before; and that’s when things got interesting.

WP: What are your hobbies outside of fitness?

I like playing golf, traveling, and meeting people. I don’t know if this really qualifies as a hobby, but I love to eat!

WP: I am with you on the eating, man! What type of music do you listen to?

I like a wide variety of music from R&B, Hip Hop, Smooth Jazz, Techno, House, etc. It depends on what I’m doing that determines what I listen to.

WP: Tell me about your family.

My wife Keila and I live in Rowlett, TX with our daughters Myah, Nina, and Ava. I met my wife at church our first month when we were in graduate school, but I’ll save that story for another time. My family is very close knit. My brother Michael and his family also live in Texas about 20 minutes from us. My parents and my sister Sonja and her family live in Louisiana with the majority of my extended family. My parents-in-laws, my wife’s aunt, and uncle lives in South Carolina. I have a brother and sister-in-law who live in New York and a sister-in-law that lives in North Carolina. It’s funny how some people can’t wait to get away from their family. I feel truly blessed because we can hardly wait to spend time with each other. I love and appreciate the relationship I have with my family very much. When we get together, there’s never a dull moment; and we always have a lot of fun.

WP: What supplements do you take and why?

Right now I’m taking Glucosamine Hydrochloride and a ton of Carlson’s Fish Oil. I primarily get what I need nutrition wise from whole food sources, but there are occasions when my schedule gets hectic and I need to get more calories in quickly. That’s when I turn to Max Muscle’s Core 5 Products: Max Pro Whey Protein, Max EFAs, GlutaMatrix, Max Greens Synergy, and Vit-A-Cell.

WP: What are your future projects?
My current projects are to complete updating my 3Q Fitness Studio website with new content and more useful information for visitors. I’m also in the process of having our CrossFit site created. When it’s done, you can visit it at www.CrossfitGarland.com. In addition to these website projects, I’m planning to create a few educational DVD’s and other products that focus on helping people learn the practical skills of getting and staying fit.

WP: What accomplishments have you achieved thus far in your life that you are proud of?

Mike, I’m always proud when I see my daughters participate in sports and they’re having fun while also using things I’ve taught them when we play around in the yard. I also get excited when I see the “lights turn on” for my clients in terms of them being able to perform a movement correctly or “connect the dots” to see where we’re going with their training. They get excited about the results they’re experiencing and so do I.

WP: How would you like to improve, if any?

I’ve personally adopted the philosophy of Kaizen, a Japanese term that refers to “constant, steady improvement” or as I like to think of it, “sharpening your saw.” I’m always looking for more efficient ways to integrate the things I learn into my training business as well as more effective ways to provide a higher level of service and care for my clients to help them reach their goals much quicker. Many times, this requires honest reflection and having people in your life that may not always tell you what you want to hear, but who are willing and committed to telling you what you need to hear. So I want to improve my ability to build and cultivate those kind of relationships so that I’ll continue to grow personally and professionally.

WP: Anything you would like to mention before we close?

I would just like to thank you once again for the selecting me as the Personal Trainer of the Month. I feel being recognized for a great honor such as this just reaffirms that I’m moving in the right direction. When you pursue your passion and purpose, there will always be naysayers and haters. Just looking around, you’ll encounter people at every turn who allow fear of success or fear of failure to paralyze and keep them from moving towards their dreams. Don’t be one of them; surround yourself with doers and people who will be committed to supporting you no matter what.

One of the quotes I read that helped me get over myself and the fear of moving forward when I got ready to leave my engineering career was one by Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Computers). He said “…Almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

WP: It's been a pleasure interviewing you and we’re honored to have you as our Personal Trainer of the Month.