Episode 34Jan 30, 2026· 5:17

Snowed In for a Week - How I Kept My Workout Streak Alive Without Leaving Home

▸ Show notes from the creator

No show notes.

About this episode

Ashley Grant recounts a week of being snowed in due to black ice and refreezing conditions that made her street impassable, and walks through her day-by-day home workout log including a Facebook Live class, walking-in-place YouTube videos, Zumba and low-impact cardio with pandemic-era recordings from her instructor Rhonda, a Tabata class, and daily stretch sessions. Recorded from her car at 18 degrees, the episode…

Listener reactions

💡0

🤝0

🔥0

😄0

0 reactions

Share your reaction

Pick how this episode landed — then leave a public review or a private note to the host.

You

Your name will appear with your review

0/300 Visible to everyone

Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've built your workout routine around going somewhere specific, and something outside your control has suddenly made that impossible — and you're anxious about losing momentum.

You're skeptical of at-home workout alternatives — they feel like a lesser substitute — but you're curious whether they might actually be worth trying.

You love group fitness classes specifically — the energy, the people, the instructor — and working out alone at home just doesn't feel the same to you.

You're snowed in or otherwise stuck at home right now and you're looking for something that will actually get you moving today.

You find it easier to stay consistent when you follow a real person's lead — someone who's figuring it out alongside you, not just prescribing a plan.

What makes this episode interesting

what did someone actually do to keep working out during a snowstorm

answered

Ashley worked out every single day of her snow-in week — Sunday through Friday — cycling through Facebook Live classes, stretch classes, walking-in-place YouTube videos, Zumba, low-impact cardio, and a Tabata class, all from home.

"Just because I have not been going to the gym does not mean I have not been working out. I have. Every single day I have been working out."

are walking in place workout videos actually good

answered

Ashley tried them skeptically after seeing them pop up in her YouTube feed and was genuinely surprised — she says the music was great and she really enjoyed them, enough to link the specific ones in the show notes.

"hour long class. So I tried a couple of them and I got to say, I was actually pretty surprised. I really enjoyed them. It was cool to be able to get that much movement in. The music was really great and I really enjoyed them. So I'll leave"

what are those YouTube walk a mile in place videos like

answered

Ashley describes them as classes that promise things like walking a mile in eight minutes, hitting 2,500 steps, or getting your ten thousand steps done in an hour — and she found the music great and the movement surprisingly satisfying.

"curious because they'll say things like walk a mile in eight minutes or, you know, get twenty five hundred steps and blah, blah, blah. Like it's just like all these different things or walk your ten thousand steps of the day in an hour long class. So I tried a couple of them"

why do people love in-person workout classes so much

answered

Ashley doesn't fully explain it, but she names it as a kind of magic — something online workouts, even ones she loved, simply can't replicate.

"can still work out online, there is nothing quite like the magic of working out with people in person in the group exercise classes. You guys know how much I talk about it all the time, how obsessed I am with it. So that's all I've got"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a guide to building a home workout routine or a structured plan for exercising without a gym. It's Ashley talking from her freezing car about the specific online classes she did each day that week because black ice trapped her at home.

Tone & style

Ashley starts with her normal gym routine completely blocked by black ice and refreezing snow. She skeptically tries walking-in-place YouTube classes and is genuinely surprised she enjoys them. She works out every day at home using Facebook Live, YouTube Zumba, Tabata, and stretch classes — but the episode ends unresolved, with her still snowed in and looking forward to getting back to in-person group classes.

Personal experience and day-by-day workout log. Ashley describes what she did and how she felt about it — not a guide or recommendation.

toneLighthearted & personal

focusAshley's day-by-day account of keeping her workout streak alive while snowed in, recorded spontaneously from her frozen car.

stylepersonal_confession

energymedium

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturelighthearted, enthusiastic, mildly nostalgic

Notable quotes

"Just because I have not been going to the gym does not mean I have not been working out. I have. Every single day I have been working out."

— Famous Ashley Grant

"My entire like street is an ice skating rink. And I know this because whenever I came out here to try to record this, I was slipping and sliding"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"did another walk in place class. I really, really cannot believe how much I enjoyed them. And then"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"can still work out online, there is nothing quite like the magic of working out with people in person in the group exercise classes. You guys"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 3 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. Recording from a Frozen CarAshley explains she's been stuck at home for several days due to black ice and refreezing snow, and is recording this episode from her car at 18 degrees while taking photos for an article about her podcast setup.2:082. Working Out Every Day Without the GymAshley runs through her day-by-day home workout log — Facebook Live classes with Rhonda, walking-in-place YouTube videos, Zumba, Tabata, and daily stretch classes — noting she was genuinely surprised by how much she enjoyed the walking-in-place classes.5:173. Looking Forward to Getting Back to the GymAshley wraps up by saying next week looks snowy but rain may clear things out, and that while online workouts have worked, nothing replaces the feeling of group exercise classes in person.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personRhonda

Ashley's favorite fitness instructor, who taught a Facebook Live variety class on Sunday and had recorded Zumba and low impact cardio videos during the pandemic that Ashley used throughout the week.

websiteYouTube

Where Ashley had been seeing walking-in-place workout classes pop up in her feed, which she tried and ended up enjoying during the snow-in week.

websiteFacebook

Platform where Rhonda taught a live variety workout class that Ashley joined on Sunday while stuck at home.

Key themes

Keeping the workout streak alive despite being snowed in

Ashley describes working out every single day despite being unable to leave her neighborhood due to black ice, running through a day-by-day log of what she did at home.

Icy road conditions trapping her at home

Ashley paints a specific picture of her street as an ice skating rink — tires encased in ice, black ice, refreezing melt — explaining why she hasn't been able to drive the seven minutes to the gym.

Walking-in-place classes as a surprise discovery

Ashley tried YouTube walking-in-place classes she'd been seeing in her feed and was genuinely surprised she enjoyed them, mentioning the music and the step counts.

Rhonda's recorded pandemic videos still being useful

Ashley leans on Zumba and cardio videos her favorite instructor Rhonda recorded during the pandemic and still has up, using them across multiple days of her snow week.

Online workouts vs. in-person group classes

Ashley says that while online workouts have worked fine during the snow week, nothing replaces the feeling of working out with people in person in group exercise classes.

Recording the podcast from her car in 18-degree weather

Ashley is sitting in her car at 18 degrees outside, originally there to take a photo for an article about starting her podcast from a car, and decides to record an episode while she's at it.

Zumba as her absolute favorite

Ashley reaffirms her well-established love of Zumba, noting she's said it many times on the podcast and was glad Rhonda's Zumba videos were available during the week.

Day-by-day home workout log

Ashley walks through exactly what she did each day — Sunday through Friday — naming specific class types like Tabata, stretch, Facebook Live, and walking-in-place.

Connected episodes

Shared experience

Zumba as favorite workout

#76What Happens After Day 365? My Plan to Keep Moving

Shared experience

In-person group fitness is irreplaceable

#37The 10,000 Steps Scam: How a Marketing Campaign Became Fitness "Fact"

Contrast

Snow as excuse vs. obstacle to overcome

#16What 150 Days of Consistent Workouts Actually Looks Like | Real Beginner Fitness Transformation