Episode 67May 13, 2026· 8:29

Less Movement, Please? Wait, WHAT?!?

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About this episode

Ashley Grant shares a personal update about experiencing burnout and recurring illness after 300 consecutive days of high gym attendance, including head colds and menstrual cycle disruptions she wasn't experiencing before despite previously dealing with obesity, high blood pressure, and pre-diabetes concerns. She describes returning from a Florida road trip, trying to push through sickness, getting sick at the gym…

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MaryMay 22, 2026

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I found this podcast completely by accident, and now it’s my constant companion on trips.

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've built your identity around a habit or routine and your body is starting to break down, but admitting it feels like betraying who you've decided to be.

You keep pushing through obvious warning signs — getting dressed, showing up, going back the next day — until your body finally makes the decision for you.

You're afraid that pulling back on something you've publicly committed to means you've failed, and specific people in your life feel like they're watching and waiting for you to quit.

You're in a weird place where you're healthier than you've been in years but somehow getting sick more often, and you can't quite make sense of it.

You're trying to figure out how to stay true to a commitment you've made to yourself without destroying yourself in the process.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Can I still be a fitness person if I stop going to the gym as much?

answered

Ashley says yes — she's pulling back from the gym but insists that doesn't mean stopping movement: 'I fully intend to move my body every single day. That will not stop. I won't ever let that happen again.'

"I'm going to stop moving. I fully intend to move my body every single day. That will not stop. I won't ever let that happen again. but I know I do need to pull back how often I'm at the gym."

What happens to your identity when the thing you built it around starts hurting you?

open question

Ashley names the contradiction without resolving it — she describes feeling deeply committed to being 'the more movement please girl' who's supposed to be at the gym as often as possible, while also admitting her body is forcing her to stop.

"to just, you know, be the girl that was like, no, I'm the more movement please girl. I'm supposed to be at the gym as often as possible. Every day it's open. I need to be there. And that really was something that I was feeling very committed"

How do you admit you need to slow down when you're afraid of what people will think?

answered

Ashley shares that fear of judgment was a big reason she kept hiding what she was feeling, and that she finally decided the more important thing is being able to keep showing up at all — even if not in the way she was before.

"of disappointing people. I have a lot of fear of being judged by people. And the specific people who I'm afraid of being judged by, they know who they are and they know why I'm afraid that they're going to judge me. But I finally have realized that the more important thing is that I am able to keep showing up at all and I can't"

Why do I keep getting sick even though I'm exercising more than ever?

open question

Ashley observes the pattern — more head colds and physical ailments in her 300 most active days than when she was overweight and sedentary — but doesn't explain it, just sits with the strangeness of it.

"I mean, health wise, I was having issues, you know, with being overweight. I was having overweight issues of. pain and high blood pressure and and things like that there were even discussions of whether or not I was pre -diabetic and so there were lots of blood tests and all the things and um but I didn't really get like head colds a lot I I wasn't like constantly you know getting"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a guide to preventing overtraining or a structured plan for recovery — there are no expert tips, doctor consultations, or fitness protocols here. It's Ashley, recording while sick and hoarse, admitting she's been ignoring her body's signals for weeks and finally deciding to go to the gym less.

Tensions inside this episode

Moments where Famous Ashley Grant names something — and contradicts it inside the same episode. Both quotes are verbatim from the transcript.

I am the more movement please girl

Ashley holds a firm identity as someone who must be at the gym as often as possible, yet her body has forced her to announce a four-week experiment of pulling back from the gym entirely.

Claim

"for a while, but I tried to ignore it. I tried to just, you know, be the girl that was like, no, I'm the more movement please girl. I'm supposed to be at the gym as often as possible. Every day it's open. I need to be there. And that really"

but

Contradiction

"body. But I think right now I don't really have a choice in the fact that I need to stop going to the gym as much. But again, I want to reiterate,"

Tone & style

Ashley starts from a position of believing she should be at the gym every day it's open — 'I'm the more movement please girl' — gets forced to confront that belief after recurring illness culminates in being bedridden all Sunday. The turning point is getting sick at the door before Tabata on Thursday. She pivots to a four-week experiment cutting gym days to three and filling the rest with yoga, walking, and hiking — but the experiment is ongoing and unresolved, and she's still audibly afraid of being judged.

Personal lived experience and self-reflection. Ashley explicitly says this is not based on medical advice — 'it's just me trying to listen to my body.'

toneRaw & confessional

focusAshley admitting — out loud, while sick — that 300 days of pushing hard at the gym has started to break her body down, and announcing a four-week experiment to pull back.

stylepersonal_confession

energymedium_low

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturereluctantly honest, slightly vulnerable, self-aware

Notable quotes

"Okay, fine. I guess I have to admit it. I am"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"gotten like head colds and other issues more in the past 300 days than I have in a long time."

— Famous Ashley Grant

"I was ready to go out the door. And as soon as I got to the door, I got very sick. And I was"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"for a while, but I tried to ignore it. I tried to just, you know, be the girl that was like, no, I'm the more movement please girl. I'm supposed to be at the gym as often as possible. Every"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"to myself is I definitely have a lot of fear of disappointing people. I have a lot of fear of being judged by people. And the specific people who I'm afraid of being judged by, they know who they are and they know why I'm afraid that they're going to judge me. But I finally have"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 4 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. Admitting the BurnoutAshley admits she has been trying to ignore signs of burnout and explains that her body has started to revolt after 300 days of more movement than ever before, including recurring head colds and menstrual cycle issues she didn't experience when she was overweight.1:392. Getting Sick After the Florida TripAshley describes returning from a seven-day Florida road trip, feeling sick but trying to power through, getting dressed for Tabata and then getting sick at the door, going back to the gym on Friday anyway, and ending up completely bedridden by Sunday.3:303. The Four-Week ExperimentAshley outlines her plan to cut gym days to Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, filling the other four days with yoga, stretching, walking, and hiking — while making clear she has no intention of stopping daily movement altogether.5:294. Fear of Disappointing PeopleAshley reflects on why she resisted admitting this for so long — fear of judgment and disappointing specific people — and closes by inviting listeners to share their own fitness journeys at famousashleygrant.com/fitness.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personFamous Ashley Grant

The host of the podcast, sharing her personal experience of burning out after 300 days of increased movement and deciding to pull back her gym frequency.

placeFlorida

Destination of Ashley's seven-day road trip with her husband, after which she returned home feeling sick.

websitefamousashleygrant.com/fitness

Ashley's website page where she invites listeners to share their own fitness journeys or offer advice if they're in the fitness industry.

productTabata

The gym class Ashley normally attends, which she got dressed for but couldn't make it to after returning sick from the Florida trip.

productZumba

Ashley's favorite gym class, cited as the reason she chose Saturdays as one of her three remaining gym days in her four-week experiment.

websiteInstagram

Platform where Ashley announced her four-week reduced gym schedule the day before recording this episode.

Key themes

Admitting burnout

Ashley describes trying to ignore and dismiss signs of burnout for a while, hoping she was 'just being a little dramatic' before finally acknowledging it out loud.

Body revolting after 300 days of movement

Ashley notices she has gotten more head colds and menstrual cycle issues in the 300 days of heavy gym attendance than she did when she was overweight and sedentary.

Powering through illness anyway

Ashley describes getting dressed for Tabata while already feeling sick, going back to the gym on Friday despite still feeling off, and ending up completely bedridden by Sunday.

The four-week experiment

Ashley announces a plan to cut gym days to Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays and fill the other four days with yoga, stretching, walking, and hiking instead of pushing for maximum gym attendance.

Daily movement vs. gym frequency

Ashley repeatedly insists she is not stopping movement altogether, only reducing gym visits, drawing a clear line between the two in her own mind.

Fear of disappointing people

Ashley says fear of judgment from specific people she doesn't name was a big reason she resisted admitting she needed to pull back.

Identity tied to being 'the more movement please girl'

Ashley describes feeling like she was supposed to be at the gym every day it was open because that is who she is as the host of this podcast, making it harder to admit she needed to stop.

Listening to her body without a doctor's input

Ashley clarifies this decision is not coming from medical advice but from her own sense that something feels off and her stated practice of listening to her body.

Transparency as a commitment

Ashley frames sharing this update as something she feels obligated to do because she promised to keep it 'raw and real,' and worries that hiding it could make things worse.

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