Transcript: Real Talk on Weights, the Scale, and What a Full Week of Working Out Actually Looks Like
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Ashley walks through her current weekly workout schedule day by day — Zumba, low impact cardio, Tabata, stretch classes, and active recovery — and contrasts it with when she started over 280 days ago, barely doing two or three classes a week.
You got Q's and I got A's. 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'm going to do
another Q &A episode and if you're listening
to this, I might still be on my trip. I might
be back. I'm not actually sure, but I've got
some Q's from y 'all and so now I have some A's
and thought, you know what, I thought I'd do
another. answer session. So here we go. All right.
So the first question I got was, what does a
typical week of workouts look like for you now?
And how is it different from when you started
six months ago? Well, at this point, by the time
I am answering this question, it's been a little
bit more than six months. But yeah, let's let's
talk about it. So a typical week of workouts
for me right now, with the exception of the fact
that I'm traveling. Normally, whenever I have
my weekly workouts, it goes like this. On Sunday,
I do a longer stretch class and a walk. That's
an active recovery day of mine. On Mondays, I
typically am doing a stretch class and then Zumba
and low impact cardio and toning. Then on Tuesdays,
I do another stretch class and low impact cardio
and toning. And right now I'm doing abs and booty.
And then come Wednesday is another active recovery
day. So I do once again, the same thing I did
on Sunday, which is a longer stretch class or
yoga and walking. Then Thursdays, I typically
am trying to do an additional stretch class,
Tabata, and then a circle mobility, which is
basically just another, well, stretch class.
Fridays, I do same thing I do on Monday, which
is a stretch class, Zumba and low impact cardio
and toning. And then I repeat that again on Saturday
with stretch, Zumba, low impact cardio and toning.
So usually I typically try to do about four low
impact cardio and tonings a week and three Zumbas.
If it was up to me, I'd do Zumba pretty much
every day. Zumba is my favorite. I've said that
a bajillion times, but it's not available every
day. And I don't. particularly want to take them
online. I have considered it though, because
I do enjoy it so, so, so much. But, but yeah,
that's, that's what a typical week of workouts
looks like for me right now. Whenever I started
this though, 280 something days ago, I was barely
doing Zumba only. Like I may have done two or
three classes a week, hardly ever did any low
impact cardio and toning, hardly ever did Tabata,
hardly ever stretched. I mean, I, I was lucky
if I got three hours of exercise in. And so that's
the biggest thing that has changed is I kind
of went from zero to 60. I just really amped
things up because I knew that I wasn't moving
my body enough. And I was starting to have some
health problems. And I was starting to see how
dark things could get in terms of my health.
And it's up to us to basically choose whether
or not we do something. for our bodies with it.
I've changed a lot in that time. And I've not
just changed physically, but I've also changed
mentally, emotionally, and honestly, spiritually.
So yeah, that's what a typical week of workouts
looks like. Let's see. Another question I got
Ashley describes how people around her went from encouraging her to questioning whether she was doing too much — and how she dialed back from 19-22 hours a week to around 13 hours after her body pushed back.
kind of got me tickled. And it was, what do the
people in your personal life think about how
much you work out? Do they get it? Or do they
think that you've lost your mind? This one kind
of cracked me up because in the beginning, You
know, people were like, yeah, go, go, go. And
then, you know, later it was like, are you doing
too much? And the truth was, yeah, I probably
was doing too much for a minute there. I was
trying to go to every single class that I could
possibly fit in. And the reality is that my body
was not happy about it. I probably could have
just gotten used to it if I'd powered through.
But I felt like for my own personal. like needs
and wants and where I was at on my journey, it
made more sense to kind of dial things back a
little bit. Instead of doing 19 to 22 hours a
week, I went down to about an average of 13 hours
a week. And some people say that that's still
too much, but considering the fact that a lot
of those exercises now are stretch classes and
walking and active recovery, I feel like that's
okay. There may come a point where I feel like
I'm still doing too much, but for right now,
I'm happy with the cadence and I'm trying to
work it out to still do all the stuff in my business
and in my personal life, but also. keep going
to the gym. Another question I got that got me
very tickled was what's something you do at the
gym now that you would have laughed at if someone
told you you'd be doing it when you first started?
And that is definitely getting the 20 pound weights.
I am now regularly reaching for the 20 pound
dumbbells as my big weights for the classes that
I'm taking. And when I'm not doing the big weights,
I'm now officially doing the 10 pound weights
as my small weights. And so that's been going
on for a few days now and I'm, I'm really enjoying
Ashley shares that she's now regularly reaching for 20-pound dumbbells as her heavy weights and 10-pound weights as her light weights — something she says she would have laughed at if told when she first started.
it. I'm really liking it. So even though I'm
struggling, I think it's a good struggle. And
so, yeah, I would have laughed. I would have
laughed really hard if someone told me that I
was going to be able to lift the tens and twenties
the way that I am now. So that, that definitely,
that's definitely a big change that I'm very
proud of and hope to continue building on that
strength. Another question I got, what's your
honest relationship with the scale right now?
It's a love hate relationship, honestly, because,
you know, the numbers aren't what I want them
to be. But I'm trying to remember that I'm still
losing inches and I am gaining muscle and muscle
does weigh more than fat. And so I'm trying to
focus on the non -scale victories because, you
know, those are the things that. are really mattering
right now, like my clothes fitting better and
and feeling more confident in my skin. That's
more important to me. I'm not gonna lie, though,
it's still really hard sometimes to look at the
scale and not get annoyed that the number is
what it is. But, you know, I'm just going to
keep going and keep doing what I know I need
to do to get stronger and healthier. And as long
as as long as my my pants, but I guess I'm good
to go. But yeah, one of the non -scale victories
that really surprised me and or I guess you'd
say caught me off guard was the day that I put
on my wedding ring for the first time in, I think,
Ashley describes a love-hate relationship with the scale — the numbers aren't where she wants them, but she's focusing on non-scale victories like losing four pant sizes, fitting into her wedding ring for the first time in about 10 years, and feeling more confident.
like 10 years and it fit. And that was just like
it was such a happy moment because, you know,
though I don't really subscribe to feeling like
you have to wear a wedding ring if you're married.
I, you know, in fact, I'm not even wearing one
right now. I hardly ever wear it now, even not
even though now I can fit into it. When I put
it on and it slid on no problem and was actually
loose, that was kind of crazy. I was very surprised
by that. And the day that I put on the mediums
for the first time, I didn't expect it to happen
as quickly as it did. And so just the fact that
I lost four pant sizes as fast as I did, I was
very surprised and very happy to have to go spend
more money on pants. One of the questions I got
was, what would you say to someone who keeps
telling themselves they'll start on Monday? I
actually did an episode about this and I would
say, don't wait till Monday. Start now. Why are
you waiting? If you keep waiting on an arbitrary
date, you may never do it. Because what happens
if you get to Monday and you start your period
or you get to Monday and you get in an argument
with someone or you have a bad day or something
just goes wrong and you can't get to the gym
or you can't do whatever it was that you had
planned to do? Do you then wait another week?
Don't wait for an arbitrary day. Just start.
Like, just start. One of the questions I got
was, how has being part of the YMCA community
specifically changed your experience? Well, I
honestly can say that working out at the Y is
better than some of the other gyms that I tried
in the area. because of the group fitness classes.
That was kind of a deal breaker for me as to
why I wanted to join the Y versus like there's
a Planet Fitness in town and there's a Get Fit
in town. But at least it was called Get Fit.
I don't even know what it's called anymore, to
be honest with you. But yeah, the only place
that really had the group fitness classes that
I was looking for was the local YMCA. And, you
Ashley responds to the question about people who keep telling themselves they'll start on Monday, arguing that waiting for an arbitrary date means you may never actually begin.
know, the fact that it was Zumba and the classes
that are being held. Every single one of those
I absolutely love. There are a couple of classes
that I am not as excited about, but the ones
that I'm taking right now, I'm pretty happy with.
There are days that I'm like, should I, you know,
instead of doing abs and booty, do something
else. But that class might not be available forever.
I'm actually not sure. But the most important
thing to me about working out at the Y specifically
is that. working out with people like that that
is the biggest thing like no matter where I work
out I have to work out with other people because
it makes such a huge difference to me to have
that camaraderie to have other people that are
also working out with me so that's what I got
for you today I hope you guys enjoyed this episode
if you want to leave a question for me head to
famousashleygrant .com backslash fitness. There's
all kinds of ways there that you can get in touch
with me. If you want to leave a voice note, if
you're in the fitness industry and you want to
tell my movers and shakers what they should be
doing, or if you have some tips and tricks for
weight loss and strength training, or if you
want to share your journey, I would love to hear
from you. So thank you guys so much for sending
in questions. And I always love getting your
questions because they're really fun to answer
and to kind of reflect on where I'm at in my
own journey and where things are going. So I
Ashley explains why she chose the YMCA over Planet Fitness and other local gyms — specifically the group fitness classes and the camaraderie of working out with other people, which she says is essential to her experience.
really appreciate it. Yeah, that's what I've
got for you. So onwards and upwards, my friends.
Have you worked out today?