Transcript: I Cried on a Mountain Last Week: How Should I Celebrate 1 Year of Maximum Effort?
Full transcript for this episode of More Movement Please. For Donato’s structured summary, questions, quotes, and listening profile, go back to the episode page.
6 chapters — tap to expand the full text
Ashley introduces the episode by explaining she's less than two months from her one-year fitness anniversary, describing how she went from barely 3 hours of exercise a week to averaging 13, and how she's been celebrating every milestone along the way.
I mean, what do you do to celebrate milestones? What's up you guys? Famous Asha Grant here. Welcome to More Movement Please, the podcast where I hope to inspire you to move your body more. Today I want to talk again about milestones because I am less than two months from a pretty big one. And that is my one year anniversary of what I'm calling maximum effort in fitness. And why is this such a big deal? I have told you guys before that before I got serious about fitness, I was barely working out three hours a week, like barely.
And now I'm working on an average of, I'd say about 13. And that is obviously a much bigger amount than what I was doing a year ago. And that's why I've been so adamant about celebrating every milestone. I celebrated when I hit 100 days. Hell, I celebrated when I hit 30 days. I celebrated when I hit... a hundred classes. I celebrated when I hit 200 classes, 250, 300 classes, et cetera, et cetera. And I really want to go big for the one year anniversary because it means so much to me. Like it's such a big deal. I just got back from a vacation where I was able to do some hikes to see some views that this time last year I wouldn't have been able to do. And just a couple of days ago, I went on another hike that It would have been laughable for me to even attempt to do the hike that I did because it was a lot of effort required to get up to the top of that mountain. And the view, like whenever I got up to the top and I was able
to see the overlook, I got really emotional. And it's strictly because like, yes, okay, the view was absolutely gorgeous. But the fact that I was able to get up there is what made me emotional. Because I couldn't have done that this time last year. I literally could not have done it. And so I've been thinking about how am I going to celebrate the 365th, I guess you'd call it, Day of Movement. And so Day 365 is Monday, July 13th, 2026. And that makes exactly one year from the day that I got serious. Because I got serious on Monday, July 14th, 2026. That's when I...
Ashley recounts a recent hike she completed — one she couldn't have attempted a year ago — and getting emotional at the overlook because reaching the top proved how much she's changed physically.
went balls to the wall and took so many classes that it made my head spin. And I remember that first week so clearly, like how wild it was that that first day I was like, oh, that hurts. And then I slept really, really well that night. And that week I. Barely remember eating because I was so exhausted and so like shocking my body that I just kept drinking more and more water. And I don't remember eating very much. I just remember like being bound and determined that I was going to get in as many classes as I could that week. And I did. And I was so. so damn proud of myself at the end of that week. And then the next week I went back and tried to do as many classes as I could. And then I settled into an average of 13 hours a week. And when I think back to where I was less than a year ago, it's really, I don't want to say humbling because that doesn't feel like the right word, but it's honestly jaw -dropping. It's insane to me. I
can't even wrap my head around how much has changed in a year. And when I think about it, it's like one of the things that I never in a million years would have imagined came from this was starting a fitness podcast. That wasn't even on my radar whenever all this started. And I've said before that the reason I started recording it is I felt like... I needed to have some sort of documentation of what was going on, what I was feeling, what I was going through, like a digital diary, if you will. And when my instructor let me interview her, I was like, OK, I've got to share this publicly.
Ashley recalls the chaotic first week of going all-in — barely eating, drinking water constantly, shocking her body — and how proud she felt by the end of it before settling into her 13-hours-a-week routine.
Like people need to know what I'm going through because this message matters. Like it's what it's what old Ashley really needed to hear. And some of the things that have changed since then is that I've gotten a lot more clear on where I'm headed in my career. Things that I. didn't see I see now I've been working on building my personal brand with my husband and and we've been kind of overhauling the business a little bit like I'm a I've told you guys before I'm a content creator that's that's my main bread and butter I do a lot of ghost writing for various clients and I do like social media management and all kinds of different things for for other companies but I've been really really putting in more effort into doing it for myself as well.
There's been a joke a lot of times that I'm like the cobbler who doesn't have shoes, because I do so much for other people that like, I don't do much for my own, my own brand. But I've been really actively working on changing that, not just through this podcast, but you know, through the through the last year, like as I'm getting clear on what I want to do and where I'm headed. And, and so that's why I've been so serious about celebrating all these milestones. I celebrate every single milestone because it matters. Like it really matters to, to show up for yourself.
Ashley reflects on unexpected changes over the past year, including starting this podcast as a digital diary, getting clearer on her career direction, and actively building her own personal brand after years of doing it for others.
You don't want it to become a complacent thing. You don't want it to be something where you lose momentum. You want to keep like enjoying those moments because It's it's what fuels me. It's it's what makes me be like, damn, like, look at everything I've done. And when I look back on all the things that have happened, you know, dropping four pants sizes and and losing a significant amount of weight and getting stronger to the point that I can hold, you know, 10 pound dumbbells and 20 pound dumbbells for my small and big weights.
And when I think back to the fact that I was using threes and fives whenever I started, it's. It's mind blowing to me. And I'm just so incredibly grateful. So I had posted on Facebook asking people like, hey, how do you think I should celebrate? And some of the answers that have come in already have been kind of funny to me. One person said that I should have some ice cream. And I commented back that if I was going to celebrate, I was thinking espresso martini and tiramisu cheesecake because that's like that's like a favorite dessert of mine that I very rarely indulge in. Another person said that I should do 365 squats, 365 pushups, 365 of everything. And that got me tickled.
And maybe I will do something like that. I definitely intend since that is a Monday and I will be at the gym, I fully intend to have a full day of movement. That is my that is my plan. I will be doing Zumba and low impact cardio and toning. And then I don't know what other classes happen on Monday, but whatever they are, I fully intend to to be moving. Yeah. So that's one thing that I'm thinking. But I'm curious. I want to hear from y 'all. What do you think? What should I do to celebrate this big milestone? Because like I said, I really want to keep adding fuel to the fire. And I want to keep being the person who is trying to inspire others to move their bodies more. And I think that's why it's so important that I keep building things up and keep I don't want to say bragging, but showing off that I am showing up because, you know, I had one person tell me earlier this week that because of this
podcast, they were fueled and motivated to start really putting in their own maximum effort. And that just, when I tell you that made my day in a way that I wasn't expecting, it really did. It's why I want more from this podcast. It's why I want more from this movement of movement. I want to see this become so much more than it currently is. I already have plans that I've been working on for creating a fitness planner.
I've been talking about a book. I've been, you know, I've been, I've been discussing all kinds of different possibilities of, of things I can do to make this so much more than just a podcast, because I really want to, I want to inspire people. Like I really want to inspire people to move. And when I think of how much it's changed my own life, I want that for others. So, so hit me up at famousashagrant .com backslash fitness.
Ashley shares responses she got on Facebook about how to celebrate Day 365 — including ice cream, 365 squats, and her own idea of an espresso martini and tiramisu cheesecake — and confirms she plans a full day of movement at the gym.
You will find all kinds of stuff on there where you can check out. past episodes, but you can also reach out to me. You can send me your feedback as to what you think about the show. You can send me your own fitness journey. If you want to be on the show, you can drop a voice note. Or if you're in the fitness industry, I'd love to hear from you too. What are your tips? What are your ways of continuing movement? It's so crazy to me that I'm looking at my workout sheet right now, and I've had more than 700 workouts since I started this less than a year ago. My running total classes is 624. That's nuts to me. That's wild. And I want this for other people.
I really, really do. So hit me up, famousashlagrant.com backslash fitness. Tell me all the things. How would you celebrate? How's your fitness journey going? And what are you doing to keep yourself motivated? And what are your milestones? What's going on with you? I can't wait to hear from y 'all. And I can't wait to share what I'm officially going to do for my one year milestone myself. And thank you so much for listening. I appreciate every single one of you. You guys are the absolute best, like the messages and the voice notes and the comments and the shares. I appreciate everybody.
And onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out today?
Ashley explains why she keeps publicly showing up — someone told her this podcast motivated them to start their own maximum effort — and shares plans for a fitness planner, a book, and growing the show beyond a podcast, before inviting listeners to reach out.
No transcript lines in this chapter.