Episode 104Jul 27, 2026· 8:14

The Good Kind of Sore: What a Kayaking Trip Taught Me About Getting Back in Shape

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About this episode

Famous Ashley Grant recaps a paddleboarding and kayaking trip to Lake Laurel with gym buddy Kara after celebrating 365 days of continuous movement, followed by a difficult week of medical issues limiting her to yoga and stretching. Solo kayaking for the first time in nearly 20 years revealed how out of shape she still feels — arms destroyed, outpaced by her athletic friend, skipping the paddleboard for stability…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've been dealing with some kind of physical issue or mystery pain and you're trying to push through it while also wondering if you should just go to the doctor already.

You're somewhere in the middle of getting back in shape — not a beginner, not athletic — and you had a moment recently that showed you exactly how far you still have to go.

You've been sedentary for stretches of the day — sitting at a desk, working — and you feel it in your body in a way that bothers you more than workout soreness does.

You just did something physically demanding that wrecked you — and then you went back and did it again the next day anyway, and somehow that felt right.

You've been mostly doing solo or routine workouts and you're curious what it feels like to try something completely different — something that humbles you a little.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Is it okay to keep working out when you're in pain and don't know what's wrong?

open question

Ashley keeps moving despite unresolved medical issues, hoping it will help, but openly doesn't know — her gym mom is pushing her to see a doctor, and she admits she 'might have no choice at this point.'

"was that I could, you know, basically use that as a kickstart to heal myself to feel better."

How do you handle being humbled by something physical you thought you could do?

answered

Ashley describes just sitting with the reality of it — she got outpaced by her gym buddy, used muscles she hadn't touched in years, and named plainly that she learned just how out of shape she still is.

"there. And I learned just how out of shape I still am on the water yesterday. And so like"

How do you know if the soreness after a hard workout is the good kind or a warning sign?

open question

Ashley holds both things at once — she's 'really sore' and might be 'in a coma the rest of the day,' but also calls it 'a good kind of sore and a good kind of pain,' without drawing a clear line between the two.

"I'm really sore, but it's a good kind of sore and it's a good kind of pain. And as we've talked"

Is there a difference between being broken down by movement and being built up by it?

answered

Ashley's framing, borrowed from a previous conversation with Miss Rhonda, is that she'd rather be in pain from working her body than from just sitting still — the source of the pain is what makes the difference to her.

"about on the podcast, just like Miss Rhonda, I would rather be in pain from. working my body than from just sitting still. And that's definitely"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a guide to kayaking fitness or a structured plan for getting back in shape after a long break. It's Ashley recapping a sore-armed, four-hour day on Lake Laurel with her gym buddy Kara — including getting outpaced, skipping the paddleboard out of stability concerns, and then going straight back to the gym the next morning anyway.

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.

Using movement to heal ongoing physical pain

Ashley frames the kayaking trip as a way to 'kickstart to heal myself,' yet she's simultaneously dealing with medical issues serious enough that her gym mom is telling her to see a doctor — and she admits she might have no choice.

Claim

"was that I could, you know, basically use that as a kickstart to heal myself to feel better."

but

Contradiction

"to call her, is basically telling me that I need to go to the doctor. But I'm the type of person that I try to avoid the doctor as much as humanly possible. And I might have no choice at this"

Tone & style

Ashley opens on the high of her day 365 movement celebration, then drops into a rough Tuesday-through-Thursday stretch of physical pain and medical uncertainty. The kayaking trip to Lake Laurel becomes the turning point — four hours on the water, solo-paddling for the first time, getting outpaced by Kara, and realizing how out of shape she still is. She goes back to the gym the very next day anyway, ends up sore but feeling better than all week, and closes on a cautiously hopeful but still unresolved note about what's going on with her body.

Personal experience and lived reflection. Ashley narrates her own week without prescribing anything for listeners to follow.

toneWarm & candid

focusAshley recaps a wild week — a day 365 milestone, a rough stretch of medical pain, and a four-hour kayaking trip that made her arms scream — and reflects on what 'the good kind of sore' feels like.

stylesolo_monologue

energymedium

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturewarm, self-deprecating, hopeful, unresolved

Notable quotes

"I'm really sore, but it's a good kind of sore and it's a good kind of pain. And as we've talked about on the podcast, just like Miss Rhonda, I would rather be in pain from. working my body than from just sitting still. And that's definitely"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"I'm grateful that I didn't die once again. That's kind of become a running joke at this point that"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"there. And I learned just how out of shape I still am on the water yesterday. And so like"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"listening to this, my arms are... absolutely killing me right now. And as you said, I did"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"in almost 20 years and yeah it felt like a first"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

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

0:001. Day 365 Celebration and a Rough WeekAshley recaps the day 365 continuous movement celebration on Monday, then describes struggling Tuesday through Thursday with physical/medical issues that limited her to yoga and stretching.1:312. A Day on the Lake: Kayaking After 20 YearsAshley describes the paddleboarding and kayaking trip to Lake Laurel with gym buddy Kara, realizing how out of shape she is after solo-paddling a kayak for the first time and getting outpaced by Kara.3:423. Back at the Gym the Next Day and Looking AheadDespite being very sore, Ashley went back to the gym the following day for Zumba, low-impact cardio, toning, and yoga, and reflects on how two days of constant movement have her feeling better and hopeful she's on the mend.5:044. Podcast Handover and Patreon AnnouncementAshley announces she's handing the mic over to guest hosts for a takeover series for a couple of weeks, and promotes the newly launched Patreon with free and paid tiers including bootcamps, worksheets, and exclusive content with Rhonda.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personKara

Ashley's gym buddy who organized the kayaking trip to Lake Laurel and outpaced Ashley on the water, described as athletic and someone who 'loves to suffer.'

placeLake Laurel

The lake where Ashley and Kara went paddleboarding and kayaking for about four hours.

personRhonda

A recurring figure on the podcast, referred to as 'Miss Rhonda,' who is contributing bootcamps and exclusive content to the Patreon.

eventGen Con

An upcoming convention Ashley is preparing for, where attendees reportedly walk around 11,000 steps a day across a full four-day stretch.

websitefamousastrogrant.com/group

Ashley's community site where listeners are invited to join for accountability and community around movement.

Key themes

good kind of sore vs. bad kind of pain

Ashley distinguishes between the soreness from working hard on the lake and gym versus the pain from sitting still and ongoing medical issues, preferring the former.

realizing how out of shape she still is

Solo-paddling a kayak for the first time in nearly 20 years, Ashley gets outpaced by Kara and feels muscles she hasn't used in forever, confronting where she actually is fitness-wise.

pushing through a rough week to get back moving

After struggling Tuesday through Thursday with physical issues and being limited to yoga and stretching, Ashley uses the lake trip as a deliberate kickstart to feel better.

avoiding the doctor despite ongoing medical issues

Ashley mentions her gym mom is pushing her to see a doctor, but she admits she tries to avoid it as much as humanly possible even as the pain worsens.

going back to the gym the day after anyway

After four hours on the water and half a Zumba class, Ashley goes straight back to the gym the next day for Zumba, low-impact cardio, toning, and yoga, calling herself 'a crazy person' for doing it.

day 365 of continuous movement

Ashley briefly recaps hitting day 365 of continuous movement on Monday as a milestone that kicked off this particular week.

training toward Gen Con walking demands

Ashley mentions needing to build up walking capacity because people are telling her to expect 11,000 steps a day across a full four-day stretch at Gen Con.

handing the mic over for a guest takeover series

Ashley announces she's stepping back from solo hosting for a couple of weeks to let others take over, framing it as part of her original vision for the podcast to be a broader movement of movement, not just her diary.

building community and accountability through Patreon

Ashley promotes the newly launched Patreon with free and paid tiers, framing it around community and accountability rather than just content delivery.