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 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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.