Episode 14Dec 8, 2025· 7:05

If It's Not in Your Calendar, It Won't Happen: How to Schedule Workouts That Stick

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About this episode

Ashley Grant describes her personal system of scheduling every workout into her calendar every Sunday, treating gym classes and solo workouts as non-negotiable appointments. She shares her full weekly routine including Zumba, low impact cardio, cardio drumming with a stability ball, Tabata, active recovery days, stretching classes, and dog walks. She addresses the work-from-home context, noting that intentional…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You keep meaning to work out but the week just fills up and suddenly it's Sunday again and nothing happened.

You work from home and the line between 'I'll do it later' and never doing it has completely dissolved.

You've been treating workouts as optional extras you'll get to if there's time, and you're tired of feeling like you're always deprioritizing yourself.

You feel like you don't have access to the right gym or classes and use that as a reason not to start.

You're someone who stays on top of every other commitment in your life but somehow never makes one to your own body.

What you’ll learn

Schedule workouts on Sunday for the entire week ahead

Treat workout slots the same way you treat doctor's appointments — non-negotiable

Deliberately block workout time even when working from home, because the day will fill up otherwise

Build in active recovery days rather than treating rest as skipping

Questions this episode helps answer

How do I actually stick to a workout schedule?

answered

Ashley's practice is to treat workouts like any other appointment — put them in the calendar, because 'if it's not in the calendar, it doesn't exist,' and that makes them non-negotiable.

"is because if it's not in calendar, it doesn't exist. Maybe you're like me. Maybe you're not."

Why do I keep skipping workouts even when I plan to do them?

answered

Ashley's experience is that planning without scheduling doesn't hold — there's something powerful about knowing a workout is an appointment, 'something that is not negotiable, it is something that you have to show up for.'

"something so powerful about knowing that it is an appointment it is something that is not negotiable it is something that you have to show up for"

How do I work out consistently when I work from home?

answered

Ashley acknowledges the work-from-home trap directly — she says she actively chose to put workouts in her calendar because 'it's very easy, especially working from home, to fill up my day with everything but working out.'

"it's that I actively have chosen to put these things in my calendar because it's very easy, especially working from home, to fill up my day with everything but working out. The thing is,"

How do I find fitness classes if I don't live near a good gym?

answered

Ashley says it doesn't matter where you live — 'whether it is richmond kentucky like me and you have a local gym that you can go to or if you live in walla walla washington and you only can take classes online... there are classes available that you can take.'

"there are classes available that you can take and if you don't want to take classes then you can at least do something where you're moving"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a structured productivity system or a deep dive into time-management frameworks for fitness. It's Ashley talking through her personal calendar habit — specifically how she blocks out Zumba, Tabata, and stretch classes every Sunday night so they actually happen during the week.

Tone & style

Personal experience and habit-sharing. Ashley frames this explicitly as 'just sharing what I'm going through in hopes that maybe it can help somebody,' not as a prescribed method.

toneUpbeat & practical

focusAshley shares her personal rule — if it's not in the calendar, it doesn't exist — and walks through how she applies it to scheduling workouts every Sunday.

stylesolo_monologue

energymedium_high

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Textureenthusiastic, encouraging, casual

Notable quotes

"is because if it's not in calendar, it doesn't exist. Maybe you're like me. Maybe you're not."

— Famous Ashley Grant

"the stretch class is gold, y 'all. I'm obsessed with stretching because it just feels so good"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 5 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:111. Ashley's Calendar ObsessionAshley introduces her personal rule that if something isn't on her calendar, it doesn't exist, and explains how she schedules workouts every Sunday for the week ahead.1:402. Her Weekly Workout ScheduleAshley walks through her day-by-day routine — Zumba, low impact cardio, Tabata, cardio drumming, active recovery days, and her strong enthusiasm for stretching.3:053. Working From Home and Filling the CalendarAshley acknowledges the work-from-home advantage but pushes back on the idea it makes things easy, noting how deliberately scheduling workouts prevents the day from filling up with everything else.5:054. Finding Classes No Matter Where You LiveAshley points to the range of online and local class options — from Pilates to dance fitness to no-equipment workouts — and encourages listeners to find what works for them.7:055. Treating Workouts as Non-Negotiable AppointmentsAshley closes by urging listeners to put workouts in their calendar the same way they would a doctor's appointment, framing it as a commitment to themselves that nobody else can fulfill.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personFamous Ashley Grant

The host of More Movement Please, sharing her personal calendar-based approach to scheduling workouts each week.

placeRichmond, Kentucky

Ashley mentions this as her own location, using it as an example of a place where local gym classes are available.

placeWalla Walla, Washington

Used by Ashley as a hypothetical example of a remote location where listeners might still find online classes to take.

websiteYouTube

Ashley says she will link her favorite stretching playlist on YouTube in the show notes.

productthe Pampered Pomchies

Ashley's Instagram account for her two dogs, Bailey's and Kalua, which she mentions as part of her daily walking routine.

Key themes

Calendar as the only thing that makes workouts real

Ashley runs her entire fitness life on the rule that if something isn't in the calendar, it doesn't exist — she schedules every workout every Sunday for the week ahead.

Weekly Sunday planning ritual

Every Sunday Ashley reviews the coming week and manually adds each gym class or workout to her calendar before the week starts.

Her specific day-by-day workout routine

Ashley walks through exactly what she does each day — Zumba and low impact cardio on Mondays, Tabata and stretching on Thursdays, active recovery walks and stretch classes on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Obsession with stretching

Ashley repeatedly singles out stretching as something she loves almost as much as Zumba, saying it makes her feel like she can do more with her body and recommending it to everyone.

Working from home doesn't make it easier

Ashley pushes back on the assumption that working from home makes fitting in workouts simple, saying it's actually easy to fill the day with everything but working out.

Treating workouts as non-negotiable appointments

Ashley frames putting a workout in the calendar the same way you'd add a doctor's appointment — something you have to show up for, not something optional.

Finding classes no matter where you live

Ashley argues that whether you're in Richmond, Kentucky or Walla Walla, Washington, there are local or online classes available — from Pilates to dance fitness to no-equipment workouts.

Making dates with yourself

Ashley repeatedly uses the phrase 'make dates with yourself' to describe scheduling workouts, framing it as a personal commitment that only you can fulfill for yourself.

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Are workouts truly non-negotiable?