Ashley Grant admits gym burnout after 300 days of daily movement, describes recurring illness, and outlines a 4-week plan to reduce gym visits while staying active.
Transcript
Admitting Burnout After 300 Days of Movement
Ashley reluctantly admits she is burning out, describing a pattern of increased illness — head colds and menstrual issues — over her 300-day fitness streak, culminating in getting fully sick after a Florida trip.
Okay, fine. I guess I have to admit it. I am
burning out. What's up, you guys? Famous Ashley
Grant here. Welcome to More Movement, Please,
the podcast where I hope to inspire you to move
your body more. So this is a topic I didn't intend
to discuss. Hell, I was trying to ignore it completely
and just hope that maybe I was just being a little
dramatic and that I needed to just, you know,
grin and bear it, as they say. But I told you
guys I was going to keep it raw and real. And
so I have to address a situation that I'm dealing
with. I had recently said that, you know, I was
happy with the cadence of how many times I was
going to the gym. And while that is still accurate,
the truth is that my body is starting to revolt
a little bit. And I've realized that I kind of
don't have a choice but to pull back a little
bit. And here's what I mean by that. Over the
past, you know, I just recently hit 300 days
of more movement than I've ever done probably
in my whole life. And the reality is that I've
gotten like head colds and other issues more
in the past 300 days than I have in a long time.
I mean, health wise, I was having issues, you
know, with being overweight. I was having overweight
issues of. pain and high blood pressure and and
things like that there were even discussions
of whether or not I was pre -diabetic and so
there were lots of blood tests and all the things
and um but I didn't really get like head colds
a lot I I wasn't like constantly you know getting
sick but the weird thing is that I've noticed
that in the past 300 days I've had different
physical ailments And they've mainly been like
me getting head colds and issues with my menstrual
cycle and things like that. And so it's, you
know, I went on a seven day trip with my husband
and we went to Florida and back. And as we were
on our way back, we were stopping at different
places and we were enjoying the sunshine and
the outdoors and all that. And I was really loving
it. And then when I got home, I could feel that
I was getting sick again. But I was trying to
ignore it and trying to power through as I typically
do. And on Thursday morning, my plan was to go
to Tabata as I normally would. I got home on
Wednesday. And so the plan was, you know, go
back to Tabata on Thursday. I got dressed and
I was ready to go out the door. And as soon as
I got to the door, I got very sick. And I was
like, OK, that's a sign from the universe. Don't
go to the gym. So I didn't. Instead, I did stretching
and walking and things like that. But then Friday,
I went back, you know, as if everything was fine,
but I could still feel, you know, that familiar
tickle in my throat that something wasn't right.
And come Saturday night, I was full -blown sick,
like full -blown, could not get up, could not
get out of bed. And so I spent all Sunday in
bed and didn't do any movement. And today is
Monday. Yeah, today is Monday. And I'm still...
feeling like I'm being put through the ringer.
And so it's been prompting conversations about,
The New Four-Week Gym Experiment
Ashley outlines her plan to reduce gym visits to three days a week while filling the remaining days with yoga, walking, and hiking, emphasizing she is not stopping movement — just adjusting intensity.
you know, do I need to take a step back? And
I think I do. So I think what I'm going to do,
and I announced this yesterday on Instagram.
Today's the 11th, the day that I'm recording
this. I announced this yesterday that my plan
for the next four weeks is kind of an experiment,
is I'm going to go to the gym on Mondays, Fridays,
and Saturdays because Zumba's my favorite. And
I don't want to stop doing the weightlifting
stuff, so I'll still do low -impact cardio and
toning. But on the other four days, I am going
to do a lot more yoga, a lot more stretching,
a lot more walking, a lot more hiking, and not
push myself to get to the gym as much as I have
been. And so this is in no way me saying that
I'm going to stop moving. I fully intend to move
my body every single day. That will not stop.
I won't ever let that happen again. but I know
I do need to pull back how often I'm at the gym.
And it sucks to say that. I've felt this coming
for a while, but I tried to ignore it. I tried
to just, you know, be the girl that was like,
no, I'm the more movement please girl. I'm supposed
to be at the gym as often as possible. Every
day it's open. I need to be there. And that really
was something that I was feeling very committed
to and very drawn to. And the truth is, I love
being at the gym. I love working out with other
people. Group activities is one of my favorite
things in the whole world. And it's honestly
one of the big reasons I've been so inspired
to keep going to the gym and to keep moving my
body. But I think right now I don't really have
a choice in the fact that I need to stop going
to the gym as much. But again, I want to reiterate,
that does not mean I'm going to stop moving.
I have no intention of stopping the movement.
Because I am the more movement, please, girl.
That is my goal is to get people to move their
bodies every day. And that's why it kills me
anytime that I can't move. And so I think it's
just right now a moment of trying to reexamine
where I'm at in my health journey. And no, this
isn't coming from a place of I spoke to a bunch
of doctors. No, this isn't, you know, anything
like that. It's just me trying to do what I've
told you guys about before. And that is listen
to my body. I've said before, I'm not a girl
that subscribes to diets and I'm still not. But
I definitely can feel something's off and it's
bugging me. And so I'm trying to experiment and
evaluate. And and the goal is to continue telling
you guys what's going on with me, because with
any workout program, you know, you've got to
do what's best for you. And so that's kind of
what's going on. And I just wanted to share this
with you all, because like I said, I. want to
be transparent. And I know that if I kept hiding
Overcoming Fear of Judgment to Stay Honest
Ashley reflects on why she delayed admitting her burnout, citing fear of disappointing and being judged by others, and encourages listeners to prioritize their own health over external expectations.
what I was feeling, that I could make myself
worse and I could get to a point where I can't
move for a while. And that's definitely not something
I ever want to have to deal with. So that's where
I'm at. Just wanted to share this little update
with you guys. I'll keep you guys posted as to
what happens and what I'm feeling because I feel
like it's really important to tell the truth
about what's really going on. And so I hope this
was inspiring in some way or at least makes you
examine your own situation. If you feel like
the way that you're moving isn't working, then
do something about it. Don't just keep trying
to show up just because you feel like you have
to or you're afraid you're going to disappoint
somebody. Because it's definitely one of the
big reasons that I didn't want to admit this
to myself is I definitely have a lot of fear
of disappointing people. I have a lot of fear
of being judged by people. And the specific people
who I'm afraid of being judged by, they know
who they are and they know why I'm afraid that
they're going to judge me. But I finally have
realized that the more important thing is that
I am able to keep showing up at all and I can't
do it in the way that I was before. So I'm sure
you can hear it in my voice. I'm very hoarse
right now. I'm incredibly hoarse because, you
know, I've been dealing with this sickness. But
that's where I'm at and what my current plan
is, my current experimental goal. We'll see how
it goes. I'll keep you guys posted as to what
happens. And if you want to share what's going
on in your fitness journey, I'd love to hear
from y 'all. Go to famousashleygrant .com backslash
fitness. Or if you are in the fitness industry
yourself and you have advice you want to share.
Um, I want to hear from you too. FamousashaGrad
.com backslash fitness. Thank you guys so much
for tuning in and listening to my story and my
journey. I appreciate you guys more than you
know. And onwards and upwards, my friends. Have
you worked out today?