Strong by Ash B, Alma, MO (2025)

11/18/2025

As I'm just restarting the 52 Hike Challenge (this was Hike #2) I got to thinking about why this activity is such a positive role in my life.

There's the obvious, of course.

The movement...

The Vitamin D...

The accomplishment of finishing a trail or hitting a milage goal for the day...

These all come into play.

But what I think is one of the biggest factors in how doing this impacts my life is the fact that it pushes me to look for the good when I could easily see the negative.

On Sundays I pull up the weather and look for the best weather for the week...

The best weather could be 20°, and under normal circumstances I would not enjoy it, but given that it's the best for the week, I'm grateful for it.

It pushes me to look for the best trail for that weather...

That trail might only be 1 mile one that's rocky or it might be 7 miles of hills, but if that's the best one for the weather that day, then I'm grateful for it.

It pushes me to look for the best options for food around that trail. I might have to drive a little ways or take some time to pack the foods I need to support the work I do that day...

Either way, I'm grateful for it.

It pushes me to listen to books, or podcasts, or music that inspires me...

And if I have a long drive on top of the already lengthy hike, I know I have the time to dig into something I normally tell myself I don't have time for, and I'm grateful for it.

I know we hear about gratitude all the time and how we should prioritize it in our lives...

And that's true, we should.

All the big and small blessings.

But if you have the chance to do something that's uncomfortable, inconvenient, or takes time and it pushes you into that gratitude...

You should do that.

Taking something hard and seeing it as a blessing can change everything 🫶

11/18/2025

🎉Shouting HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the queen of intentional movement! 🎉

Thanks for keeping us grounded and flexible! 🧘‍♀️

Hope your day is as awesome as you are, Angel! 🫶

11/17/2025

"It's never too late..."

This was the topic that our "Ash Talk" was based on during today's workout.

The talk was centered around beginning something, even when you feel like it may be "too late."

And for our check-in, I asked the member's to let me know when they began this program...

And here are some of the ages they began at...

30, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 44, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 56, 61, 63, 67, 68...

While reading through these answers I felt this overwhelming gratitude that these women not only picked this program, but also, that many of them have stuck with it for years.

I wondered what made them want to join and give it a real shot at a more mature age...

And here's what I think happened.

I think they are over the bulls**t.

I think they're tired of the fads and diets, and being told how they should look.

I think they're ready to let go of the low self-worth and self-confidence that has been placed on them after years/decades of being told that they aren't good enough.

I think they're ready to have the strength they need to tackle any goal they have.

And I think they are ready to put in the work.

So if you've been watching, and you want to start working on yourself too...

Mind and body...

But you have this idea that you are too old (or overweight, or too far gone, or too ___________(fill in the blank)), I need you to hear this...

You are not too much of anything to begin here.

I've had people join that have never picked up a weight in their life, and be successful.

I've had women who have tried so many things without success, join. They then learned to love the woman they are and the body they are in right now, while still working towards their goals.

I've had women join after kicking cancer's ass and build their strength back up.

Divorce, injuries, disordered eating habits, alcohol, self-doubt.

I have seen it all...

But one thing that remains true is that none of it matters... your past, your age, your weight.

As long as you are ready to work for the woman you want to be.

The only thing you have to do is begin...

Begin in November.
Begin on Thursday.
Begin in the evening.
Begin at 40.
Just begin. 🫶

AshBFit.com

11/14/2025

"You're so positive!"

I used to hear this a lot.

And it felt good to be complimented like that.

But here was the part many people didn't know...

I used positivity as a way to remove myself from any feeling that wasn't happiness.

Sad? I can't! Be positive! I need to be happy!

Angry? I don't like the way that feels. Be positive! I like being happy!

Anxious? No time for that. Be positive! I should be happy!

I was taking on the "fake it til you make it" mindset.

And you know what happened?

Those feelings didn't really go away.

They would rear their ugly head the moment I had some drinks or took off the mask that I thought everyone wanted me to wear.

I felt like my nervous system was constantly on edge from trying to hold everything in all the time.

And I would wonder why I was never, at my core, legitimately happy.

Why I was stuck in endless cycles of using alcohol and food to cope.

And heres the truth...

Expecting reality to be something other than what it was was the source of my unhappiness.

I learned that I had to stop trying to just feel better and get better at feeling.

The point, I found out, was to experience everything.

And to be grateful for the good that comes from it all...

And THAT is when I started to feel actual genuine peace with food and alcohol.

That's when I started to feel true happiness.

So if you too want to start living and not just existing "positively"

You have to let yourself FEEL, friend.

All. Of. It.

And it might change everything for you, too 🫶

11/11/2025

I've been at this for 6 1/2 years...

And when you do something for that long, you end up trying a lot of s**t.

Different challenges. Different formats. Different ways to stay accountable. Different tactics.

Some things stick and some things don't.

And sometimes you get to a point where you get far enough away from where you started, you don't know where to go next.

Yes, after several years things should look different...

But they should feel *right*

And I haven't felt that way in quite a long time.

So lately I've been thinking about the program and the last time I felt like I was TRULY helping people.

Before I started chasing this or that...

Before I started getting drug around by all the different ways I thought I had to be better, do more, or be competitive.

And it's back at the beginning.

It's AshBFit.

It's the program for the beginners, the people who feel like there's no space for them in the fitness world, the overtired moms, the women who feel like it might be "too late" for them, and the ones who want to show up and live life WELL 🫶

That's what feels right to me.

That's what feels like home.

Now, not everything will go back to the way it was before.

It can't.

There are some aspects of myself and the program that has changed for good...

(I'm not going back out to that shed 😅)

But I asked our members what they would bring back if they could, and let's just say the hit the nail on the head 👏

2026 is going so good, friends.

Let's go back to the beginning...

But better 💪

11/08/2025

And if I start over, pivot or re-direct myself a million times on this journey...

Whoopty doo!

And you can too, friend.

No one is watching you as much as you think they are...

And what a shame it would be if you were to get to the end of your life a realized you could have done what you wanted all along 🫶

11/04/2025

While I try to be real and transparent, I still find myself posting highlight reel type s**t pretty often...

So let's balance it out with some behind the scenes, because social media isn't real.

11/02/2025

I am, by far the strongest I have ever been in my life, and yet, I can feel the affects of age.

I've noticed it happening slowly over time.

Just little things here and there that remind me that time is passing and I don't quite move like I used to.

Normally, I don't let it bother me too bad, but recently it's really been rubbing me the wrong way.

And that is never more evident than when I play volleyball.

I've loved the sport my whole life, and I still enjoy playing it...

But I often find myself frustrated with my inability to show up the way I used to.

The thing is, I don't expect to play the same way I did in high school.

I not naive enough to hope for that.

But the struggle is that in my mind, I know what I need to do.

What I should do.

What I want my body to do.

And I just...

Can't.

That gets really frustrating.

And at times, I wonder if it's worth doing anymore if I can't physically show up the way I want to.

But I was reminded recently that even though something isn't what it once was, doesn't mean it can't still be good.

Just because I can't move the way I used to, doesn't mean that I can't still move well by using the good mobility I still have.

And probably the most important one...

Sometimes it's not about focusing on what I can no longer do, but what I CAN still do...

Which is a hell of a lot.

And that's a blessing denied to many.

So, it's time to move on from that s**tty mentality...

It's a waste of the time and ability I have 🫶

10/31/2025

Long afloat on shipless oceans
I did all my best to smile
'Til your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving to your isle

And you sang
Sail to me
Sail to me, let me enfold you
Here I am
Here I am
Waiting to hold you

🌊🎶🧜‍♀️

10/29/2025

Workouts are getting done.

Protein goals are getting hit.

Steps are getting stepped... 😂

But nothing extra is happening.

Because it's Halloween week, and if you're new around here, my daughter and I go all out with our costumes.

And this year?

This is the most challenging costumes and makeup to date.

So I'll be here with "I Know What You Did Last Summer" on the TV and glue gun in hand.

Normal activities and post will resume next week.

Can't wait for you all to see! 😁🌊

10/27/2025

Every year around this time, I tend to struggle with my body image.

This is because during the fall/winter months, I take myself out of a calorie deficit in order to 1) give my body a break and 2) try to build some strength and muscle...

But with a building phase also comes extra weight/fat.

I understand this on a fundamental level. I know this will happen every time I do this.

But that doesn't mean I don't get in my head about it at times.

And this year, I'm even more in my head about it because this building phase is twice as long as any I have done in the past.

If I'm being honest, right now the thought of quitting and going back to fat loss sounds really good.

This is mostly because my clothes getting tighter is a huge trigger for me mentally.

You see, for a long time I built my identity around being skinny.

And while I know I'm still a lean person, it's not the type of lean that I've been in the past...

If you're thinking, "Isn't that the point? You're trying to build right?"

The answer is "yes", but even though I logically understand that I'm succeeding in what I'm trying to do, the illogical part of my brain is freaking out.

It's saying nasty things to me about my hips and stomach.

It's picking me apart for the extra calories and not bumping up the number of steps I'm walking daily.

It's telling me that if I'm not super lean year round then you all will think I'm not good at my job, or that you won't want to work with me.

Sometimes it gets exhausting to fight thinking this way.

But even though the thought of quitting sounds good in the short term, I know I'll be bummed if I tap out on it now.

I got 103 days down.

I got 97 to go.

And I know that if I allow myself to trust the process, the payoff will come...

That's the key, friends.

No matter what your goal is...

When your brain starts playing tricks on you.

When the short term payoff of quitting is sounding good.

When the thought of becoming someone different starts to scare you...

That's the time to dig your heels in.

Because working towards want you want MOST over what you want in the moment can, and will change everything.

10/24/2025

Today I am officially half way through my 200 day building phase, and it's got me thinking a lot about my journey with health, fitness, my body, my nutrition habit and just life in general...

And I just wanted to take a minute to remind you...

🫶It is not your life's purpose to lose weight.

It's fine to want/need to lose weight, but you are not a better person when you weigh less.

🫶It doesn't have to be your goal to lose weight.

You can build muscle/strength or even just maintain at any point in your journey. You have options.

🫶If a weight is a nightmare to maintain, it's not the right weight for you.

Strong and healthy is always better than trying to upkeep some arbitrary number on the scale.

🫶Lastly, You can't hate yourself into lasting change, but you can love yourself into evolution.

Life is so much better when you eat, move and think like you love yourself.

Being healthy is a decision, and there's no one way to "look" healthy.

So, I hope you decide a way that brings you joy 🩶

Strong by Ash B

11/18/2025

11/18/2025

11/17/2025

11/14/2025

11/11/2025

11/08/2025

11/04/2025

11/02/2025

10/31/2025

10/29/2025

10/27/2025

10/24/2025

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