Transcript: If It's Not in Your Calendar, It Won't Happen: How to Schedule Workouts That Stick
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Ashley 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.
What's up you guys, famous Ashley Grant here and welcome to More Movement Please, the podcast where I try to inspire you to move your body more. Today I wanna talk about the importance and the power of a calendar. Now, my cousin, if she hears this, she's gonna be laughing at me because she is forever making fun of me for my obsession with my calendar. The truth is that whenever it comes to my calendar, I kind of get a little bit obsessive. Every single thing I do has to go on my calendar. And the reason why is because if it's not in calendar, it doesn't exist. Maybe you're like me. Maybe you're not.
Maybe this will help you. Maybe it won't. But just sharing with what I'm going through in hopes that maybe it can help somebody. So every single week at the beginning of the week on Sunday, I take a look at what's going on for the week. And I add into my calendar all of the... gym classes that I want to attend for the week. And if there's not a gym class that I'm going to attend, but I still want to do a workout, I put that in there too. And the reason why is because I know that if it's not in the calendar, it's not going to happen. So on Monday mornings, I know that I will be doing Zumba and low impact cardio. So every Sunday night, that's what goes on my calendar for the week. On Tuesdays, I know that I will be doing low impact cardio and toning.
And then I'll be doing the cardio drumming with the stability ball. Wednesdays are typically going to be my active recovery day and on that day I will do a walk or I'll do a stretch class. Most of the times lately I've been doing both. But I at least try to do the stretch class because the stretch class is gold, y 'all. I'm obsessed with stretching because it just feels so good on my body. And if you're not doing some sort of a stretch every day or at least every few days, I highly, highly, highly recommend it.
Ashley walks through her day-by-day routine — Zumba, low impact cardio, Tabata, cardio drumming, active recovery days, and her strong enthusiasm for stretching.
I will include a link in the show notes to my favorite playlist on YouTube for stretching because, y 'all, I cannot state enough just how much I love stretches. Second to Zumba, I think it might be my favorite thing. I do love Tabata, don't get me wrong, but something about stretch just makes me feel like I can do more with my body. So I highly recommend that. So on Thursdays, I generally will do Tabata and guess what? Another stretch class because again, I love stretching.
Fridays are usually Zumba and then low impact cardio and toning. And then Saturday, I repeat that with Zumba and low impact cardio and toning. Occasionally on Sundays, I will try to get into a Zumba class. But if nothing else, that's another active recovery day where I make sure to do stretches. And I try to walk as often as I can. I mean, I do have two little doggies. And so I'm constantly trying to walk them. Their names are Bailey's and Kalua. You should check them out on Instagram.
They're the Pampered Pomchies. But I try to make sure that I... walk them as much as possible as well. So every single day I'm moving my body like that is that is my goal. That is what I love to do. I move my body as much as I can. And the thing is, I work from home. And so I get it. Some of you may be listening to this going, well, it's easy for you. You can do it because you work from home. But at the same time, 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, the gal that teaches most of the classes that I take, I mean, like 95 % of the classes I take, she also does evening classes. And if you don't like her style, there's other people that teach gym classes as well. If you're listening to this from Richmond, Kentucky, I mean, come on, you can still find some kind of a class to take.
Ashley 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.
If you're not taking classes in Richmond, Kentucky, maybe you're listening to this in, I don't know, Walla Walla, Washington, you can find classes to do as well. I'll leave some links in the show notes to some of my favorite online classes. There's so many different classes you can take from no equipment classes to Pilates to body weight classes to weightlifting classes. I've even found ones for spin. I've found some that are pretty awesome for dance fitness. They're not necessarily Zumba, but some of them are Zumba inspired. So there's so many different classes that you can take online. I just recommend that you figure out what works for you and start moving your body more. Like that's obviously the whole theme of this podcast, right? It's what I keep drilling in and saying. But what I will definitely say is if you are thinking about doing this, put it in your calendar. Like if you're the type
of person that has to write down doctor's appointments or if you write down meetings that you have with people or anything that you add into your calendar as a commitment. add in your workouts there is 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 so just putting that in your mindset that hey i have this upcoming workout that i intend to do and so you make the plan to do it so what i want you to do seriously Get yourself a calendar.
Ashley 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.
And if you already use a calendar, start adding in dates and times that you will commit to yourself. You will do the workouts. You will start moving your body more because y 'all only you can do this for yourself, right? You can't have anybody else work out for you. So make the commitment to yourself. Embrace the power of the calendar. Make these dates with yourself. Figure out what your week looks like and start adding in classes.
I don't care where you live. in the world 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 i i don't care where you live 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 your body you could be walking you could be doing squats you could be um doing wall push -ups or or or wall sits or I mean, there's so many different things that you can be doing to be moving your body. Bottom line, just get out there, move your body, make the dates with yourself. You deserve this. You must commit to yourself. Please just take care of yourself. I know I keep saying this and I'm going to keep saying this every single time you guys tune in. That's what you're going to hear. So just get it drilled into your head.
Make these dates with yourself. Make the commitments. You can do this. I believe in you. Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out today? Thank you.
Ashley 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.
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