Transcript: When Every Rep Feels Wrong: Showing Up on Your Worst Gym Day
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Ashley opens by admitting she's exhausted, sore, and didn't want to come to the gym today — but came anyway. She describes having a rough workout: missing Zumba moves, struggling with weights, and even getting called out by the instructor.
I guess it's true that a bad workout is better
than no workout. What's up my movers and shakers?
Famous Ashley Grant here. Welcome to More Movement
Please, the podcast where I hope to inspire you
to move your body more. So today I am dragon,
like hella dragon. And I am tired. I am sore.
I am just having one of those days where... I
honestly like did not want to get out of bed
and did not want to come to the gym. And I came
anyway, because that's what I tell y 'all is
even when you don't want to come, you should
come. And I'll be honest with you. I did not
have a very good workout. I didn't do the moves
as well as I wanted to. I didn't like hit the
mark on most of the Zumba dances. I was struggling
with the weights and even the instructor noticed
and said, come on, Ashley. Part of it may be
because I got like zero sleep last night. Part
of it could be because of the health issues I'm
still dealing with. Whatever the case may be,
my workout sucked like bad. But I'm still glad
I did it. And I'm thinking back to way back when,
whenever I started this for real in 2023, August
2023. I'm thinking back to that crazy day that
I tried that first Zumba class and I had to walk
out within 15 minutes. There were moments today
where I kind of just wanted to walk out again.
And it wasn't so much that I couldn't breathe
the way that it was that first time I took a
Zimba class, but it was difficult. And I did
power through. I did stick around. I did take
about a couple minutes to kind of regroup in
Ashley connects today's struggle to her first Zumba class in August 2023, when she had to walk out within 15 minutes. She reflects on how far she's come since returning to movement after two decades of being sedentary.
the hallway and get my mind right, I guess, as
it were. Yeah, just it's got me thinking about
just how hard it was to work out whenever I first
started. And and for the record, when I say first
started, I mean, whenever I first brought movement
back into my life after two decades of being
sedentary. So I'm really glad that I'm doing
stuff even when I don't feel like it, because
it beats the hell out of not doing anything.
Because like Rhonda says, I'd rather be sore
from working my body than sore from lack of movement.
And even though I had a rough workout and I didn't
do a very good job in my opinion, like I'm definitely
not winning any form awards, I feel a little
bit better. I feel like, well, hey, at least
I accomplished something. At least I did something
to move the needle and move my fitness goals
along. So I just wanted to share this because...
Too many people, they do what I used to do. If
they don't feel like it, they're just like, eh,
I'll just skip today. And the thing is, the more
days that you give yourself to skip the gym,
the more you're telling your brain, it doesn't
matter. You don't need to go. And then you set
yourself in this pattern where you just stop
going. And it's way too easy to stop going. And
so if you are feeling like I'm feeling and just
dragging ass today, Go work out anyway. Put in
some kind of movement because if you at least
move your body even just a little bit, just a
little, you will feel better or at least more
proud that you accomplished something. And that
is a win that is worth celebrating because it's
so much better than the alternative. Like I said,
Ashley shares her view that every skipped workout tells your brain the gym doesn't matter, making it easier and easier to just stop going altogether — something she says she used to do herself.
it's just way too easy to just stop. And I don't
want you to do that. I don't want you to stop.
I want you to keep moving, move your body every
single day, even when it sucks, even when you
don't have the best workout. Because it's like
I've been saying, the only bad workout is the
one you don't do at all. And I'm not saying go
and injure yourself. I'm not saying go and overwork
yourself. But at least do something that gets
you out of your chair and moving your body. because
it really does matter. And even on the days that
it's not a great workout, it still adds up. It
still has that forward momentum. It's still training
your brain that I matter and I have to work out.
I have to do this for myself because only you
can. I've said this so many times on this podcast
that only you can save yourself. Only you can
put in the work. You can't rely on a pill to
do it. You can't rely on a machine to do it.
You have to actually be the one to put in the
work. So if you haven't worked out today, work
out today. Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have
you worked out today?