Episode 10Nov 24, 2025· 5:11

Stop Skipping Workouts When You're Running Late: Why Showing Up Matters Most

▸ Show notes from the creator

No show notes.

About this episode

Host Ashley Grant reflects on using being late as an excuse to skip gym workouts, describing how arriving 5-10 minutes late to a fitness class used to be enough reason to not go at all. She talks about the mindset pattern of giving the brain permission to skip when conditions aren't perfect, how repeated exceptions erode commitment and turn goals into vague "someday" intentions, and why showing up late is still…

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 been using 'I was almost late anyway' as a reason to skip, and you know deep down you're just looking for an out.

You've made and broken the same fitness commitment so many times that it's starting to feel like a 'someday' fantasy rather than something real.

You're the kind of person who won't walk into a class late because you don't want to be seen as that person — and that self-consciousness is costing you workouts.

You're in a stretch where nothing is going perfectly to plan and you keep letting imperfect conditions be the reason you don't show up for yourself.

You've recently started putting yourself first again after a period of not doing that, and you're looking for someone to remind you to keep going.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Is being late to the gym actually a reason not to go, or am I just looking for an out?

answered

Ashley says it's an excuse, not a reason — she used to let 5-10 minutes late become a full skip, and her take is: if you are serious about working out, go anyway.

"allow that to be an excuse to not go to the gym. And I know that's one of those things where when you feel like you're running late and you feel like you're going to walk into a class that's optional. you don't want to walk in. You just feel like, okay, well, this was just a sign or a reason that I shouldn't be going into the gym because you don't want to be that person that"

Why does running late feel like permission to skip entirely?

answered

Ashley's framing is that every time you give your brain an excuse, you're training it that skipping is okay — so the feeling of permission is something you've been teaching yourself.

"you give your brain excuses to do something different, you're training your brain that it's okay. So those days that I'm running late, if I allow myself to just stay home or talk myself out of going to the gym, that means every time something's not going exactly perfectly to plan, I'm training my mindset that it's okay. I'm allowed to skip"

At what point does skipping workouts mean I'm not actually committed?

answered

Ashley describes it as a gradual erosion — whenever you pick away at a commitment, at some point it stops being a commitment and becomes a "someday."

"commitments when you break down those walls of being committed to something. At some point, it's no longer a commitment. It's just something that you say will be your someday. Someday I'll be on time. Someday I'll start going to the gym"

Is it worth going to the gym if I can only stay for 20 minutes?

answered

Ashley says yes — getting a little bit of a workout is better than none, and if you only get 20 minutes of class you can stay longer and use other equipment like dumbbells, the bike, or the stair climber.

"minutes late. Getting a little bit of a workout is better than getting no workout at all. And here's the thing. If you are running a little bit late and you get into gym class and you only get about 20 minutes of workout, well, you could stay a little bit longer and maybe work on some dumbbells, maybe use the bike machine, maybe use the stair climber or some other thing. So"

Does a short or partial workout even count if I missed the beginning?

answered

Ashley's view is that it counts because it signals to your brain that you still intend to follow through — "I still intend to do this" is what you're teaching yourself by showing up at all.

"at least then you're showing your brain and teaching your brain. I still intend to do this. Yeah, today I slipped up a little bit. But I am committed. I still want to work out. I still want to show up for myself every day. Because... When you"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a structured guide to workout scheduling, time management, or fitness optimization. It's a short personal pep talk from Ashley about her own habit of using lateness as an excuse to skip the gym entirely, and why she stopped doing that.

Tone & style

Ashley starts from the position that running late is a valid reason to skip, catches herself using that excuse repeatedly over recent days, realizes she was training her brain that skipping is acceptable, and resolves to show up anyway — even 15–20 minutes late — connecting it to a broader personal commitment she made in 2025 to choose herself.

Personal experience and opinion. Ashley shares what she noticed about her own habits and what she decided to do differently — not research or structured advice.

toneWarm & motivational

focusAshley reflects on how she used to let running late become a reason to skip the gym entirely, and why she stopped letting that excuse win.

stylesolo_monologue

energymedium_high

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Textureencouraging, candid, personal

Notable quotes

"allow that to be an excuse to not go to the gym."

— Famous Ashley Grant

"It's really good. But in 2025, I started choosing myself again. And in 2026, I'm doubling down on this. And friends, I really hope that you'll"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

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

0:131. Intro and Shoutout to Rhonda Good's Interview SeriesAshley opens the episode and enthusiastically recommends listeners check out last week's three-part interview series with her instructor Rhonda Good, describing it as raw, real, and vulnerable.0:502. Running Late Used to Be an Excuse Not to GoAshley contrasts arriving 12 minutes early today with recent days of showing up 5-10 minutes late, and reflects on how she used to let being late become a reason to skip the gym entirely.2:023. Why Showing Up Late Is Still Better Than Not Showing UpAshley argues that giving your brain excuses to skip trains your mindset that skipping is acceptable, and that repeatedly breaking commitments turns them into 'someday' goals — so she urges listeners to go anyway, even 15-20 minutes late, and make up missed time on other equipment.3:364. Choosing Yourself in 2025 and 2026Ashley closes by connecting showing up for workouts to a broader personal commitment she made in 2025 to choose herself, references James Altucher's book 'Choose Yourself,' and encourages listeners to double down on that same commitment going into 2026.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personRhonda Good

Ashley's fitness instructor who was the subject of a three-part interview series on the podcast the previous week, which Ashley describes as 'raw, real, and vulnerable.'

personJames Altucher

Author of 'Choose Yourself,' a book Ashley recommends and connects to her personal commitment to prioritize herself starting in 2025.

bookChoose Yourself

Book by James Altucher that Ashley recommends and links to in the show notes, citing it in relation to her decision to start 'choosing herself again' in 2025.

websiteFacebook

Platform where Ashley posted about her commitment to choosing herself in 2025, which she references while closing the episode.

Key themes

Running late as an excuse to skip

Ashley reflects on how she used to let arriving 5-10 minutes late to the gym become a reason to not go at all, framing lateness as a 'sign' she shouldn't be there.

Showing up anyway, even late

Ashley's central argument is that going to the gym 15-20 minutes late is better than not going, and that a partial workout can be supplemented on other equipment.

Training your brain by not making exceptions

Ashley describes how each time she lets herself skip because something isn't going perfectly to plan, she's teaching her brain that skipping is acceptable.

Commitments eroding into 'someday' goals

Ashley warns that repeatedly breaking small commitments chips away at them until they stop being commitments and become vague future intentions — 'someday I'll start going to the gym again.'

Choosing yourself as a personal commitment

Ashley connects showing up for workouts to a broader decision she made in 2025 to 'choose herself again,' which she says she's doubling down on in 2026.

Being early vs. being late — Ashley's own pattern

Ashley opens by contrasting arriving 12 minutes early today with recent days of arriving 5-10 minutes late, grounding the episode in her own lived inconsistency rather than abstract advice.

Reference to Rhonda Good's interview series

Ashley opens by enthusiastically recommending last week's three-part interview with her instructor Rhonda Good, describing it as raw, real, and vulnerable.

James Altucher's 'Choose Yourself' book mention

Ashley briefly references James Altucher's book 'Choose Yourself' as connected to her personal theme of prioritizing herself, with a link promised in the show notes.

Connected episodes

Contrast

Partial effort: half-ass vs. show up late

#3I Wasted 18 Months Half-Assing Fitness | Why Going All-In Is the Only Way to See Results

Contrast

When to skip vs. show up anyway

#43When Your Body Says No: Giving Yourself Grace Without Losing Your Momentum

Contrast

Fitness for self vs. for others

#31We're All Gonna Die Anyway: Why Mortality Should Motivate Your Fitness

Shared experience

Consistency when gym access is limited

#1917 Fitness Gifts That Actually Get Used | Expert Recommendations for Every Budget