Transcript: I Cried on a Mountain Last Week: How Should I Celebrate 1 Year of Maximum Effort?
Full transcript for this episode of More Movement Please. For Donato’s structured summary, questions, quotes, and listening profile, go back to the episode page.
6 chapters — tap to expand the full text
Ashley introduces the episode by explaining she's less than two months from her one-year fitness anniversary, describing how she went from barely 3 hours of exercise a week to averaging 13, and how she's been celebrating every milestone along the way.
I mean, what do you do to celebrate milestones?
What's up you guys? Famous Asha 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 again about milestones because
I am less than two months from a pretty big one.
And that is my one year anniversary of what I'm
calling maximum effort in fitness. And why is
this such a big deal? I have told you guys before
that before I got serious about fitness, I was
barely working out three hours a week, like barely.
And now I'm working on an average of, I'd say
about 13. And that is obviously a much bigger
amount than what I was doing a year ago. And
that's why I've been so adamant about celebrating
every milestone. I celebrated when I hit 100
days. Hell, I celebrated when I hit 30 days.
I celebrated when I hit... a hundred classes.
I celebrated when I hit 200 classes, 250, 300
classes, et cetera, et cetera. And I really want
to go big for the one year anniversary because
it means so much to me. Like it's such a big
deal. I just got back from a vacation where I
was able to do some hikes to see some views that
this time last year I wouldn't have been able
to do. And just a couple of days ago, I went
on another hike that It would have been laughable
for me to even attempt to do the hike that I
did because it was a lot of effort required to
get up to the top of that mountain. And the view,
like whenever I got up to the top and I was able
to see the overlook, I got really emotional.
And it's strictly because like, yes, okay, the
view was absolutely gorgeous. But the fact that
I was able to get up there is what made me emotional.
Because I couldn't have done that this time last
Ashley recounts a recent hike she completed — one she couldn't have attempted a year ago — and getting emotional at the overlook because reaching the top proved how much she's changed physically.
year. I literally could not have done it. And
so I've been thinking about how am I going to
celebrate the 365th, I guess you'd call it, Day
of Movement. And so Day 365 is Monday, July 13th,
2026. And that makes exactly one year from the
day that I got serious. Because I got serious
on Monday, July 14th, 2026. That's when I...
went balls to the wall and took so many classes
that it made my head spin. And I remember that
first week so clearly, like how wild it was that
that first day I was like, oh, that hurts. And
then I slept really, really well that night.
And that week I. Barely remember eating because
I was so exhausted and so like shocking my body
that I just kept drinking more and more water.
And I don't remember eating very much. I just
remember like being bound and determined that
I was going to get in as many classes as I could
that week. And I did. And I was so. so damn proud
of myself at the end of that week. And then the
next week I went back and tried to do as many
classes as I could. And then I settled into an
average of 13 hours a week. And when I think
back to where I was less than a year ago, it's
really, I don't want to say humbling because
that doesn't feel like the right word, but it's
honestly jaw -dropping. It's insane to me. I
can't even wrap my head around how much has changed
Ashley recalls the chaotic first week of going all-in — barely eating, drinking water constantly, shocking her body — and how proud she felt by the end of it before settling into her 13-hours-a-week routine.
in a year. And when I think about it, it's like
one of the things that I never in a million years
would have imagined came from this was starting
a fitness podcast. That wasn't even on my radar
whenever all this started. And I've said before
that the reason I started recording it is I felt
like... I needed to have some sort of documentation
of what was going on, what I was feeling, what
I was going through, like a digital diary, if
you will. And when my instructor let me interview
her, I was like, OK, I've got to share this publicly.
Like people need to know what I'm going through
because this message matters. Like it's what
it's what old Ashley really needed to hear. And
some of the things that have changed since then
is that I've gotten a lot more clear on where
I'm headed in my career. Things that I. didn't
see I see now I've been working on building my
personal brand with my husband and and we've
been kind of overhauling the business a little
bit like I'm a I've told you guys before I'm
a content creator that's that's my main bread
and butter I do a lot of ghost writing for various
clients and I do like social media management
and all kinds of different things for for other
companies but I've been really really putting
in more effort into doing it for myself as well.
There's been a joke a lot of times that I'm like
the cobbler who doesn't have shoes, because I
do so much for other people that like, I don't
do much for my own, my own brand. But I've been
really actively working on changing that, not
just through this podcast, but you know, through
the through the last year, like as I'm getting
clear on what I want to do and where I'm headed.
And, and so that's why I've been so serious about
Ashley reflects on unexpected changes over the past year, including starting this podcast as a digital diary, getting clearer on her career direction, and actively building her own personal brand after years of doing it for others.
celebrating all these milestones. I celebrate
every single milestone because it matters. Like
it really matters to, to show up for yourself.
You don't want it to become a complacent thing.
You don't want it to be something where you lose
momentum. You want to keep like enjoying those
moments because It's it's what fuels me. It's
it's what makes me be like, damn, like, look
at everything I've done. And when I look back
on all the things that have happened, you know,
dropping four pants sizes and and losing a significant
amount of weight and getting stronger to the
point that I can hold, you know, 10 pound dumbbells
and 20 pound dumbbells for my small and big weights.
And when I think back to the fact that I was
using threes and fives whenever I started, it's.
It's mind blowing to me. And I'm just so incredibly
grateful. So I had posted on Facebook asking
people like, hey, how do you think I should celebrate?
And some of the answers that have come in already
have been kind of funny to me. One person said
that I should have some ice cream. And I commented
back that if I was going to celebrate, I was
thinking espresso martini and tiramisu cheesecake
because that's like that's like a favorite dessert
of mine that I very rarely indulge in. Another
person said that I should do 365 squats, 365
pushups, 365 of everything. And that got me tickled.
And maybe I will do something like that. I definitely
intend since that is a Monday and I will be at
the gym, I fully intend to have a full day of
movement. That is my that is my plan. I will
be doing Zumba and low impact cardio and toning.
And then I don't know what other classes happen
on Monday, but whatever they are, I fully intend
to to be moving. Yeah. So that's one thing that
I'm thinking. But I'm curious. I want to hear
from y 'all. What do you think? What should I
do to celebrate this big milestone? Because like
I said, I really want to keep adding fuel to
the fire. And I want to keep being the person
who is trying to inspire others to move their
bodies more. And I think that's why it's so important
that I keep building things up and keep I don't
want to say bragging, but showing off that I
am showing up because, you know, I had one person
tell me earlier this week that because of this
podcast, they were fueled and motivated to start
really putting in their own maximum effort. And
that just, when I tell you that made my day in
a way that I wasn't expecting, it really did.
It's why I want more from this podcast. It's
why I want more from this movement of movement.
I want to see this become so much more than it
currently is. I already have plans that I've
been working on for creating a fitness planner.
I've been talking about a book. I've been, you
know, I've been, I've been discussing all kinds
of different possibilities of, of things I can
do to make this so much more than just a podcast,
because I really want to, I want to inspire people.
Like I really want to inspire people to move.
And when I think of how much it's changed my
own life, I want that for others. So, so hit
Ashley shares responses she got on Facebook about how to celebrate Day 365 — including ice cream, 365 squats, and her own idea of an espresso martini and tiramisu cheesecake — and confirms she plans a full day of movement at the gym.
me up at famousashagrant .com backslash fitness.
You will find all kinds of stuff on there where
you can check out. past episodes, but you can
also reach out to me. You can send me your feedback
as to what you think about the show. You can
send me your own fitness journey. If you want
to be on the show, you can drop a voice note.
Or if you're in the fitness industry, I'd love
to hear from you too. What are your tips? What
are your ways of continuing movement? It's so
crazy to me that I'm looking at my workout sheet
right now, and I've had more than 700 workouts
since I started this less than a year ago. My
running total classes is 624. That's nuts to
me. That's wild. And I want this for other people.
I really, really do. So hit me up, famousashlagrant
.com backslash fitness. Tell me all the things.
How would you celebrate? How's your fitness journey
going? And what are you doing to keep yourself
motivated? And what are your milestones? What's
going on with you? I can't wait to hear from
y 'all. And I can't wait to share what I'm officially
going to do for my one year milestone myself.
And thank you so much for listening. I appreciate
every single one of you. You guys are the absolute
best, like the messages and the voice notes and
the comments and the shares. I appreciate everybody.
And onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you
worked out today?
Ashley explains why she keeps publicly showing up — someone told her this podcast motivated them to start their own maximum effort — and shares plans for a fitness planner, a book, and growing the show beyond a podcast, before inviting listeners to reach out.
No transcript lines in this chapter.