Keep Moving Forward: The Inspiring Story Of Randy Herring! -

Fitness professionals understand better than most people the value of following a fitness lifestyle. Not only do they experience it themselves but they also get to help others and observe the often dramatic positive changes that making the right choices and putting in the consistent effort can bring. But sometimes, even when you do the correct things and follow the right path, the direction you can find yourself going will contain many unwanted challenges.

For Randy Herring, his challenges have included multiple battles with cancer. Instead of allowing that to destroy his fitness, he used his 45 years of knowledge, experience, and dedication to fitness to continue striving to be the best possible version of himself. Working through these challenges has given Randy an even deeper perspective on just how important health, fitness, and wellness truly are and that they are things to not only never take for granted, but to pursue passionately to the best of your ability!

Name: Randy Herring

Occupation: Fitness Mindset Coach, Personal Trainer, Educator, Author

Bodysport: Where are you from and where do you live now?

Randy: I was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in Gresham. I moved to Spokane, Washington in 1994 to raise a family after living overseas (the Middle East and Japan) for six years.

Bodysport: Did you play any sports growing up?

Randy: My step-dad got me involved in Farm League Baseball. He was an assistant baseball coach. I played for Abby’s Pizza. My positions were pitcher and first baseman. My step-dad practiced with me in a nearby field where I lived to hone my baseball skills, to improve coordination, and boost my self-confidence. I enjoyed practice time with my step-dad. And I did pretty well during the games. The teamwork was great and all, but the competition got to be too much for me. So, I dropped out. After that, I didn’t play any sports in junior high or high school. I was shy, skinny, and lacked self-confidence.

Bodysport: How did you first become interested in fitness?

Randy: When I was a sophomore in high school in the late 70s, I took notice of the sophomore princess. She was pretty and popular, but also very modest. It seemed like she could make friends with anyone, even me, I thought, a shy, skinny, unpopular kid. Her name was Jane. I wanted to ask her out on a date. The day before, I built up my courage and confidence to ask her. I approached Jane at her locker one school morning wearing my blue cord jacket and pants. I asked her if she wanted to go out on a date with me. She politely turned me down. I thought if I was ugly, then I couldn’t help that. But I thought I could help improve my physical appearance to make myself more attractive looking. And just maybe, Jane would say yes.

I bought a set of weights and started working out in the garage at home. Around this same time, I was still determined to win a date with Jane. One evening my mom, brother, and I went Christmas shopping for gifts for one another. I came out with one item: a necklace for Jane. I gave the necklace to her the next day. The following day, while I was in art class with her, Jane was showing off her necklace to everyone. She didn’t feel the least embarrassed about showing off the gift that a shy, skinny, and unpopular kid like myself gave to her. What I liked about Jane was her thankful and modest heart. I finally got my date with her…11 years later after high school graduation! I took her and her two kids out for lunch.

Bodysport: What was/is it about fitness that caused it to become such an important part of your life?

Randy: Utilizing resistance training to become fit increases self-confidence. In my first serious year of training (following my story about Jane), and investing in two different training and nutrition plans (one to gain both fat and muscle and one to lose fat), I gained 30 pounds of lean muscle while training at home. Resistance training, in particular, got me stronger, gave me a better appearance, and boosted my self-confidence. Resistance training to improve both my body and mind have continued to be my Rock to sustain my confidence and to help others do the same.

Bodysport: Can you tell everyone about what you’ve had to go through and how you’re doing now?

Randy: I am a 3-time testicular cancer survivor. Rewind 12 years to 2009. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had my left testicle removed. Fast forward 10 years to 2019. I was struck down with a second recurrence of testicular cancer and had my right testicle removed. At this time, since I had no testosterone, I had to undergo testosterone replacement therapy and give myself an injection every week. During this time, I had my regular CT scan follow-ups.

But in October 2021, a large mass was revealed in the back of my abdominal cavity. My heart sunk. I was struck down with a third recurrence of testicular cancer. I had to undergo 10 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy by following a one week on, and two weeks off chemotherapy regimen. I continued to exercise when and as I could.

Then I had to deal with the side effects of chemotherapy: (1) an enlarged prostate, (2) blood clots, (3) decreased oxygen blood levels, (4) estrogen regulating my body, (5) fat gain around the belly (due to 4), and (6) multiple hot and cold flashes throughout the day. I had to adjust my training variables to accommodate this change and exercise nearly every day to counteract this unwanted change to stay on the path.

In the last week of March 2022, I had an ultrasound of my right leg to check the size of the blood clots and a PSA check of my prostate. The good news is that my prostrate is down from 11 to 0.84! My blood clots are still present but decreasing. And my oxygen blood levels are slowly rising. Once my blood clots have dissipated, I can restart my testosterone replacement therapy.

Bodysport: It would be an understatement for me to say that you’ve experienced more than your share of health challenges.

Randy: I don’t know. When I think about my own life and health challenges I think about the words of the Greek philosopher Democritus, “One should be happy at the thought of the others, comparing one’s life with that of those who are faring worse, and should congratulate oneself when one thinks of what they are suffering, and how much better one is doing and living than they are.”

Bodysport: I have long felt that there has always been an interrelationship between illness, wellness, fitness, and health that has been largely ignored in society. From your experiences and perspective, how do you see it?

Randy: Sickness is 95% mental. Illness is 50% biological. Health, wellness, and fitness are 50% priority and 50% attitude. Changing a bad habit of inactivity to a good habit of exercising is 100% mindset.

Bodysport: Can you tell everyone about your book, The Fitness Mindset: 7 Habits For Peak Performance, what it’s all about, and what motivated you to write it?

Randy: First, 74% of American adults over 20 years are overweight and obese and have not made physical exercise a part of their lives because of not knowing where to start and might be thinking that it is too late and, therefore, cannot find a “why” to go with the how. And second, 25% of American adults are either infrequent to exercise, withdrawn from exercise, or ignorant of exercising, all of whom appear to be going through the motions, rather than being the 1% engaged in exercising to improve physical fitness.

The Fitness Mindset is a self-help guide that gives you a considerable amount of informational support. This includes exercise modalities and biomechanics; training methods, systems, routines, and variables; exercise motivation and goal setting; exercise strategies to enhance focus; nutrition and post-exercise nutrition, recuperation, and adaptation; injury prevention; and the benefits of exercising that go beyond a physical transformation.

I wrote The Fitness Mindset during the COVID-19 2020-21 Pandemic and continued training throughout it. The book is a culmination of my natural 45 years of training knowledge and experience that combines a science-based and common-sense approach to getting strong, lean, and fit. It includes over 50 images, charts, diagrams, and more than 150 endnotes for additional informational support.

The book is written for three reasons. First, involving yourself in resistance training can set you on a path for better health and fitness and give you the ability to manage your mind. Second, learning to exercise well can give you the skills to train at the best of your ability and perform at a peak level and master your mind. And third, engaging yourself in physical exercise can help you adapt to stressful challenges in life and give you a resilient mind to overcome setbacks and conquer everyday obstacles and make you strong again.

Bodysport: What advice would you give to the younger crowd about the value of a fitness lifestyle?

Randy: Social networks are quite successful at arousing the emotions of the (younger) crowd with a trendy name, social group, or following. Don’t fall prey to social media and jump on the bandwagon and look to the admiration of athletes for having a muscular and ripped physique. The reasoning is to look like someone you admire, you must buy the supplements he or she takes, eat what he or she eats, and train the way he or she trains. But just because you do what he or she does, doesn’t mean you will look like him or her. Stick to the basics and a progressive resistance training program that you can and will follow successfully.

Bodysport: What advice would you give to the 40-50-plus crowd about fitness and health?

Randy: Don’t let age be your excuse not to exercise and become healthy and fit. I have been exercising without testosterone for three months and have gained both strength and muscle. This cannot be an illusion or muscle memory because I wouldn’t be able to do more reps with the same weight. Strength gains abound with heavy weights and low reps. Muscle gains abound with moderate weight and high reps. Fad diets are quite successful at arousing the emotions of the (older) crowd. So, don’t jump on a bandwagon and fall prey to marketing tactics that sell magic formulas, such as, “Lose weight fast, guaranteed!” You won’t be able to follow a formula for long, which is why, for example, there are so many different diet and fitness programs and supplements being sold, generally to the same people. Stick to the basics and a progressive resistance training program that you can and will follow successfully.

Bodysport: As you look to the future, where do you hope to see yourself?

Randy: My response to this question is philosophical. I think I will always see myself as a rebel for a cause trying to break the mold of social conventions and always believing in the existential idea of the free authentic self. I quote Camus, “The only original rule of life today: to learn to live and to die, and, in order to be a man [or woman], to refuse to be a god.”