Transcript: I Caved (And I'd Do It Again): What Happened When My Workout Plan Went Out the Window
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Ashley explains that she had committed to hiking on Thursdays as part of a new three-days-a-week gym schedule, but bad weather pushed her back to the gym instead — which she calls 'caving.'
This will surprise exactly no one. I caved. What's
up, you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here. Welcome
to More Movement, Please, the podcast where I
hope to inspire you to move your body more. Today,
I want to talk about caving because that's exactly
what I did. I caved. Oh, if you've been listening
to this podcast for a while, you know I've been
trying to be as transparent as possible on my
journey. And one of the things I said recently
was that I was going to cut back from five days
a week to three days a week at the gym. But it
didn't mean I was going to stop moving my body.
I was going to move my body every day. And the
plan was that on Thursdays I was going to be
hiking. Well, today it is really gross out. And
yeah, so I'm caving. I'm going to the gym. I'm
headed there right now. On the one hand, it feels
like I'm caving in the sense that I was trying
to commit to a full month of switching to this
new schedule. But on the other hand, it's like,
well, if the weather is not so great and I can't
do the outdoor activity I had planned, well,
shouldn't I still do something? And I kind of
feel like, yes. So that's what I'm doing. I'm
heading to the gym and it just so happens that
my. instructor is subbing for another teacher.
So she will be teaching an additional class.
So I will be doing two and a half hours worth
of workouts instead of just one and a half, which
is what usually happens on Thursday. But I'm
excited about it. I'm excited to see if I can
still handle all that she's about to throw at
me. And I will report back as soon as I'm done
with the brutal torture that is about to be thrust
upon me that I signed up for. Okay, I am back
Ashley reports back after completing a Pilates class and a Tabata class — more than her usual Thursday workout — and reflects on why staying active every day still matters even when the plan changes.
from my Pilates and Tabata classes that I took
today. I normally would stay for stretch, but
I simply do not have time. I have to get back
home because I have to take care of some work.
But I am glad I was able to take these classes
today. Like I said, I normally hike on Thursdays
now, and that was the plan. But since the weather's
yucky and the grounds are gross, I was like,
all right, I'm going to take the Pilates class
that's being subbed and then do Tabata. And it
felt good. I did struggle with one exercise,
and I'm glad it was only one exercise. But other
than that, I got through it just fine, and I'm
very happy that I was able to do it. So that's
why it's so important to me that I continue moving
every single day, even though I'm not going to
the gym as much as I was. I mean, the whole point
of not going to the gym as often was simply to
try to have a little bit more balance. Try to
do additional activities outside of the gym.
Part of the reason that I did this is because
I wanted to start working out with my husband
more. We wanted to go on some hikes. We enjoyed
our road trip so much that I wanted to start
doing some hikes. And we have a lot of amazing
trails right around the area that I live in.
And so that was the plan. But I think that any
time that the weather's yucky or I can't. go
hiking for any reason, I think I'll try to make
a point to at least still do something a little
bit more active than just walking, stretching,
yoga, Pilates, etc. There is something truly
special about Tabata. I absolutely love that
class. It's kind of become my second favorite.
My favorite still remains Zumba. I think I will
forever be a Zumba girly, but in terms of the
Ashley shares her class rankings — Zumba first, Tabata second — and talks about her daily morning stretch habit, plus a tip she's heard about bedtime stretches for better sleep.
full body workout plus weightlifting, Tabata
is definitely my second favorite. I truly, truly
enjoy it. In terms of mobility, I mean, I've
told you guys before, I absolutely love the stretch
classes that I've been doing. Those have become
like my necessary thing that I do. And I do them
pretty much every morning. Anytime I don't do
it, it's either that I woke up late or something
has happened and I couldn't do it first thing
in the morning because that is my favorite time
to stretch is first thing in the morning. I think
there's something important about doing it first
thing in the morning because it wakes up the
rest of your muscles. It tells your body it's
time to go. And it also helps you to just move
throughout the day. And some people have actually
been recommending to me lately that I start doing
bedtime stretches that apparently there are certain
stretches you can do that will help you sleep
better. So I think I'm actually going to start
implementing that as well. If you guys have heard
of any really good bedtime stretches, I'd love
to hear from you. Hit me up at famousashtagrant
.com backslash fitness. I love hearing from you
guys. I'm about to do another round of reaching
out to fitness experts to get their opinions
on things and find out all the things, learn
more, because that's what this whole thing is
for me is it's a learning journey. And as much
as it is a fitness journey, it's a learning journey.
And I know I've got a lot to learn. I know I've
still got... so much work to do in terms of getting
to my weight loss goals and my fitness goals.
But I'm still loving what I'm doing. And I'm
really grateful that I have the ability to kind
of change my schedule whenever I need to. And
yeah, so. So, yeah, if in the event that I can't
for some reason do a hike, I will be going to
the gym, most like I'm not I'm not sure how often
this will be. I fully intend to try to commit
to my plan of. only doing the gym three days
a week, but we'll see how it goes. I'm really
not sure what the future holds, honestly, but
I'm excited and I'm grateful that I was only
struggling, like I said, with one exercise today.
And other than that, I was able to get through
it and I still used my 20 pound weights and I'm
happy actually, because, you know, using those
20 pound dumbbells shows me that I'm, I'm finally
getting stronger and finally able to handle more
than I was able to handle before. So, um, we're
done upwards, my friends. Have you worked out
today? Thank you.