Transcript
Can one phrase really change your life that much?
Yeah, it can, if you're ready to hear it. Here's
the one that changed mine. Everyone is busy,
but it's a choice to schedule exercise just like
anything else. These words were said to me 100
days ago, and the truth is, they stunk. But they
were 1 ,000 % true, and they're still ringing
in my ears 100 days after they were said to me.
The person who said them to me, Her name is Rhonda
Good. She's an instructor at the Telford YMCA,
and she teaches an ungodly amount of classes
each week. But this woman, she doesn't just teach
them. Oh, no. She does every move, every rep,
every single action that her students do. See,
she isn't one of those teachers that just barks
orders at you, and then you do it while she stands
there and watches you. Yeah, she's watching your
form from the mirror or she'll face us while
she's doing the classes with us. But she literally
does every single move with us. And as I watched
her for the better part of two years, I really
wanted to be more like her in terms of fitness.
And I regularly would whine to her about how
badly I wanted to be more into fitness. I'd constantly
be saying things like, I wish I could do more
workouts. I wish I could. lose weight. I wish
I could be as strong as you. All kinds of crap
that people that usually want to work out but
don't want to put in the work say. And see, Rhonda's
the type of person, she doesn't believe in excuses.
She doesn't believe in slacking. And she always
tells it like it is. And that's exactly what
she did with me on July 14th, 2025, when she
sent me that message. And I was finally ready
to hear it. It really shook me up. Because here's
the thing. When I joined the gym two years ago,
I did it because something happened in my life
that kind of blew up my life. The reality is,
I knew I needed to get in shape. I'd started
exercising more already. I had been going on
walks and hikes with my husband. But the truth
is, I was struggling so badly, not just with
exercise, but in everything I was trying to do.
I was getting winded on a flight of stairs. I
was getting winded just walking from the back
of the Kroger parking lot to the front door.
And I knew I needed a change, so I joined the
Y. I wanted to take Zumba because in my youth,
I was a dancer. I absolutely loved dancing, and
I still love dancing. Then a car accident kind
of ripped dancing away from me, and I started
doing karate and getting into all kinds of other
stuff. I started working. But the truth is, dance
has always been a love of mine. And so when I
found out... that the local YMCA here in Richmond,
Kentucky does Zumba, I was like, okay, this is
it. Yes. This is all the stars aligning telling
me that now I can finally start working out and
I can do Zumba and I'm going to get in shape.
And oh my God, y 'all, that first class was a
struggle. I mean, seriously, that first class,
I was on the struggle bus the entire time. I
think I made it 15 minutes before I had to walk
out because I was so winded. And here's the thing.
A hundred days ago, I couldn't get through an
entire Zumba class without getting winded. I
couldn't do jumping jacks. I couldn't do a plank.
I could barely get through any of the exercises.
And taking multiple classes in a day? Oh my God,
absolutely not. But today, I can take multiple
classes in a day. I can do jumping jacks. I can
hold a decent plank for about 30 seconds before
I have to drop to my knees. And I'm using higher...
weight dumbbells than I ever dreamed I could
have before. Because 100 days ago, I was using
fives for my big weights and threes for my small
weights. And today I'm using 15s and eights.
Now, the 20 pound dumbbells, those are haunting
me. I want to use the 20 pound dumbbells, but
I'm not there yet. I'll work on it. I'm not there
yet, but I'll get there. So I want to welcome
you to more movement, please. the podcast where
I basically want to inspire other people to finally
get off their butt and move. Move your body.
I'm famous Ashley Grant on the interwebs, and
you can learn more about how I got that moniker
on my other podcast, The Bloggy Friends Show.
But for this one, I want to be talking about
moving your body. That's what this podcast is
going to be all about. And if you want to know
more and you want to hang out with me on my fitness
journey, I would love to have you here. So I
hope you'll consider subscribing wherever you
get your podcasts. And I'll be posting episodes
as I get gym musings and as I get experts that
I want to talk to. Most of the episodes are going
to be about five or 10 minutes because that's
about how long it takes me to get to and from
the gym. And I kind of want to just share things
as I'm thinking of them and as I'm learning them.
So they'll be quick and easy to digest episodes.
But when I do have guests on. Those will be a
little bit longer. And I'm really hopeful that
my very first guest, once I do have guests on
this show, will be Rhonda Good. So I guess you
could say this is a public invitation, Rhonda,
if you're listening. I want to interview you.
But I think you already know that because I kind
of harassed you about it recently. Anyway, I
just wanted to say that I'm really looking forward
to seeing what happens with this. I want it to
be more than just another fitness podcast because,
let's face it, there are so many fitness podcasts
out there already. And what's going to make this
one any different? Well, first, it'll be my story,
which is what every fitness person says, right?
It'll be their story. But I don't want it to
just be a podcast. I want it to be so much more
than that. I want it to become a community. I
want it to be a movement of movement. So I hope
you'll join me on this fitness journey. I've
been in it for real 100 days because, as Rhonda
says, the first. Year and a half, it didn't count
because I didn't really move enough. But I'm
actually in it. I'm committed. I'm ready to go.
I want more of this. And I hope you enjoyed this
little teaser episode of what's coming. And I
just want to thank you for even listening right
now and listening at all. And anybody who's heard
my story so far or knows what I've been going
through these last 100 days, I can't wait to
share more with you. I can't wait to tell you
all the good things. And we'll go from there.
And so like all of my accountability posts that
I've been sharing on Instagram, I'm going to
end my podcast episodes the same way. And basically
it's like this. Onwards and upwards, my friends.
Have you worked out today?