Episode 28Jan 14, 2026· 9:47

Your Fitness Questions Answered | From Hating Workouts to Actually Craving Them

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About this episode

Ashley Grant hosts a solo Q&A episode of More Movement Please covering listener questions about her fitness journey, including how to structure three workouts per week using full-body classes like Tabata and low impact cardio and toning, her current weekly training schedule involving Zumba, abs and booty, stretch classes, and active rest, the mindset shift triggered by instructor Rhonda's phrase about busyness being…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've tried to start working out multiple times over the past year or two and it never sticks — you're not sure if the problem is willpower, schedule, or something else entirely.

You tell yourself you're too busy to work out, but somewhere in the back of your mind you suspect that's not the whole truth.

You've been avoiding a type of exercise because it feels too hard or too intense, and you're not sure if you'll ever actually like it.

You're tired of fitness content that lectures you about why you should be working out — you just want to hear what it's actually like for a real person.

You're making progress but you have days where your body feels weak and you wonder if you're going backwards.

What you’ll learn

How to structure three workouts a week if that's all you have time for

How Ashley finally got herself to commit after a year and a half of on-and-off workouts

What Ashley thinks is the biggest mistake people make when starting out

How Ashley handles days when she can't lift her usual weights

Questions this episode wrestles with

Why do I keep telling myself I'll start working out and then not do it?

answered

Ashley says she was doing the same thing for a year and a half — saying she'd work out but not fully committing — until a phrase from her instructor finally landed: 'everyone is busy, but it's a choice.' She describes it as a light bulb moment she can't fully explain, but says the shift came from actually making the decision for herself, not for anyone else.

"her say different versions of that exact same thing. But I guess where I had been working out off and on for a little over a year and a half, it it was finally like it finally clicked. It finally made sense that I wasn't doing what I needed to do to make the changes that I wanted"

Is not having time actually the real reason I avoid exercise?

answered

Ashley's instructor's phrase — 'everyone is busy, but it's a choice' — is what finally hit her. She frames it not as a time problem but as a decision problem: 'when you make the decision, I'm going to do this for me... you've got to keep making that decision over and over again until the point that it becomes a habit.'

"answer I can give is when Rhonda said that phrase to me on July 14th, the everyone is busy, but it's a choice, you know. I that was that was the light bulb moment, right? I had been hearing"

Is it failure to use lighter weights than you were using last week?

open question

Ashley holds both sides at once — she dropped back to fives and tens when she felt unwell, and she's been told that's normal, but she's also setting a goal to be on tens and twenties by March. She doesn't resolve the tension between regression and ambition, just names them both.

"just, I couldn't even handle the fifteens for a couple of days. And I'm told that that's normal, that there are going to be days where I'm still going to feel weak or feel like I just can't handle the heavy weights. But I am planning that"

Can you go from genuinely hating a workout to actually craving it?

answered

Ashley says Tabata is now the most surprising thing she looks forward to — she used to dread it and couldn't understand why anyone liked it, and now she describes it as her favorite in terms of 'actual physical ability and real training,' without being able to pinpoint exactly how that shift happened.

"to me to say it's Tabata. I used to dread Tabata like. I couldn't understand why so many people said that Tabata was their favorite. It felt like too high intensity. It felt too hard. And I actually look forward to Tabata a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I would. Because"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a structured fitness guide, expert interview, or science-backed workout program. It's Ashley answering listener questions about her own ongoing fitness journey — things like why Tabata used to feel too hard, what a specific instructor said on July 14th that finally clicked, and whether she's ready to commit to the 20-pound dumbbells yet.

Tone & style

Ashley spent a year and a half working out on and off, treating busyness as a valid excuse, until instructor Rhonda's phrase — 'everyone is busy, but it's a choice' — finally landed on July 14th. She drew a line in the sand, started putting workouts in her calendar, and is now consistently attending multiple classes a week and gradually working up to 20-pound dumbbells by March — still in progress, not resolved.

Personal experience and opinion throughout. Ashley frames recommendations as what worked for her and explicitly defers to others on things she's uncertain about ('I'm told that's normal').

toneCandid & conversational

focusAshley answers listener questions by sharing what's actually working for her right now — her weekly schedule, the July 14th moment that made her finally commit, and her complicated relationship with Tabata and 20-pound dumbbells.

stylepersonal_confession

energymedium

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturehonest, self-aware, lightly enthusiastic

Notable quotes

"to me on July 14th, the everyone is busy, but it's a choice, you know. I that was that was"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"to me to say it's Tabata. I used to dread Tabata like. I couldn't understand why so many people said that Tabata was their favorite. It felt like too high intensity. It felt too hard. And I actually look forward to Tabata a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I would. Because"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"Zumba. I will not, this is the hell I will die"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"I did go down to the fives and tens because I just, I couldn't even handle the fifteens for"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"think that. One of the things that I see too often with fitness podcasts is people just trying to cram it down your throat, all the reasons that you need to be doing it. And yes, those"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 6 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:101. Intro and Three-Workouts-a-Week QuestionAshley introduces the Q&A format and answers a listener question about how to structure only three workouts per week, recommending full-body classes like low impact cardio and toning and Tabata, plus at least one lifting session.2:102. Ashley's Typical Training WeekAshley walks through her current weekly schedule — Zumba, low impact cardio, abs and booty, Tabata, stretch classes, and active rest on Wednesdays — noting it's slightly different this week because her favorite instructor is covering extra classes.3:063. The Mindset Shift That Changed EverythingAshley describes the July 14th moment when instructor Rhonda's phrase — 'everyone is busy, but it's a choice' — finally clicked after a year and a half of on-and-off workouts, and how drawing a line in the sand and deciding to do it for herself made the difference.4:554. Biggest Mistake People Make Starting OutAshley says the most common mistake she sees is not fully committing — saying you'll work out and then not showing up — and shares that putting workouts in her calendar and making a weekly plan was what changed things for her.5:555. From Dreading Tabata to Craving ItAshley answers a question about which physical activity surprised her most, admitting she used to dread Tabata for feeling too intense but now looks forward to it more than almost anything else, while still declaring Zumba her all-time favorite.7:436. The 20-Pound Dumbbells and Closing ThoughtsAshley gives an update on her progress with heavier dumbbells — occasionally using the 20s but dropping back to fives and tens on days she felt unwell — sets a goal to consistently use tens and twenties by March, and closes by explaining why she values honest, real-account fitness storytelling over motivational lecturing.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personRhonda

Ashley's fitness instructor whose phrase 'everyone is busy, but it's a choice,' said on July 14th, was the turning point that finally made Ashley fully commit to working out.

placeTampa

City where Ashley used to live and first attended Zumba classes, mentioned as context for how long she has loved Zumba.

websiteYouTube

Ashley points listeners to YouTube as a source for full-body workout videos when they can't access in-person classes, noting options with no equipment, dumbbells, or resistance bands.

Key themes

structuring workouts with limited time

Ashley answers a listener question about fitting fitness into only three days a week, recommending full-body classes and at least one lifting session.

the July 14th turning point

Ashley describes the specific moment when her instructor Rhonda's phrase — 'everyone is busy, but it's a choice' — finally clicked after a year and a half of on-and-off workouts.

doing it for yourself, not anyone else

Ashley says the shift only stuck when she made the decision to work out for herself, and frames that as something you have to keep deciding over and over until it becomes a habit.

not committing as the core mistake

Ashley identifies not fully committing — saying you'll work out and then not showing up — as the biggest mistake she sees, and describes putting workouts in her calendar as what changed things for her.

going from dreading Tabata to craving it

Ashley admits she used to find Tabata too intense and couldn't understand why people loved it, but now looks forward to it more than almost any other class.

Zumba as the hill she'll die on

Even as Tabata has grown on her, Ashley insists Zumba is and always has been her favorite, tracing it back to classes she attended in Tampa.

the 20-pound dumbbell goal

Ashley gives an honest update on her weight progression — occasionally using the 20s but dropping back to fives and tens on days she felt unwell — and sets a goal to consistently use tens and twenties by March.

honest real-account fitness storytelling over motivational lecturing

Ashley closes by explaining why she values sharing what she's actually going through over the style of fitness content that 'crams it down your throat' with reasons you should be working out.

active rest vs. complete rest

Ashley describes her Wednesday rest day as active rest — stretching and walking — rather than doing nothing, as part of her weekly routine.

Connected episodes

Shared experience

Progress toward 20-pound dumbbell goal

#44The Real Reason You're Not Losing Weight in Your 40s (Hint: It's Not Cardio)

Contrast

Zumba vs. Tabata as favorite class

#72I Caved (And I'd Do It Again): What Happened When My Workout Plan Went Out the Window

Contrast

External vs. internal motivation to keep going

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