Coach Ashleigh Jones

In light of Mother’s Day coming up a friendly reminder that while everything in your life does and will change when you have kids, you can still find your way back to yourself. For me it looked and felt drastically different pre having my son and while it was/still is a battle in itself to make space for myself alongside parenting, I’ve never felt quicker, stronger, emotionally more regulated, motivated and dedicated.

It took a good 2 years to feel this way and while it may not sit well with some people I don’t believe I have to drop everything to raise Layne the best I can. I think there’s something great in showing Layne I can be both things at once. Ashleigh who is ride or die by my hobbies, taking the work seriously but never myself, working because it brings me purpose, spending time with friends because I value friendship and pouring into my own cup because I am privileged enough to be able to do so. All alongside being Laynes mum and nurturing & developing him into the sweet, funny, cheeky and kind boy that he is shaping up to be.

Happy Mothers Day 🩵 extra love to those who are mums in all different ways, the dog mums, the best aunty mums, the best friend mums, the single mums, the mums to be, the mums that were, the mums that want to be (a special love sent to you).

You’re welcome
It could’ve taken a turn for the worst & that ought to be celebrated….no? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Not me trying to film a day in the life & across the day this is all I got 🤣It’s not all running, Muay Thai and training…
It’s the early early morning wake ups to get as much work done before Layne is up, finishing work when he goes to bed, squeezing in work on the weekends on any play dates he has with my mum and sometimes (I try to minimise laptop work as much as possible) urgent work when I’m with Layne.
But I love it, it’s chaos, it’s fulfilling, it’s busy, it’s juggling things constantly, and feeling like you suck at all of them. Then having a small win, a client who tells you how much they appreciate you or a meaningful interaction with the team and suddenly you feel like you don’t suck anymore.
Ebbs and flows 🤗

Considering I’ve spent the most part of the last 8 years either in pain, recovering from surgery, building a business, being pregnant & then postpartum, yeah…I am going to spend the limited free time I have being competitive and completely self indulged in performance, sorry but you’ll either love it or hate it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Hear me out….
I’m a big believer in any form of movement is better than no physical activity at all but if you’re someone who genuinely seeks out physical performance/improvement/strength gains/body composition changes, longevity (insert any goal that requires a high level of out put), you need to be training with intensity and intention.
It is not enough to go to the gym twice a week and float around for an hour expecting it’s going to drastically change you. Totally fine if it’s for your mental health and movement is a part of your wellness routine, but it’s a completely different story if you’re wanting more from it. Likewise if you’re training hard 2-3 times a week and then literally sitting on your ass doing nothing for movement outside of your training sessions.

Walking, Pilates (sorry don’t come for me but this isn’t strength training), yoga, swimming, leisurely bike riding, they’re all forms of movement which in an ideal world, everyone should be doing movement every 👏🏼 damn 👏🏼 day 👏🏼
We are literally engineered to move our bodies so if you are privileged enough to occupy a body that can move with no restrictions, wtf are you doing if you’re not?????
It’s so backwards to me that people think a 20 minute walk is major exercise when a 20 minute walk used to be a convenient work commute for some back in the day (still is depending on where you live / your socioeconomic position etc).

If strength training isn’t your vibe, so be it, but you best believe you gotta find a form of exercise that is not just a walk in the park (literally & figuratively) and is going to build some muscle.

If you are a gym person who trains 2-3 hours a week and you avoid going for walks, taking the stairs, running around with your kids, walking to the shops, bike riding around the neighbourhood, it’s not because you hate cardio or because you don’t want it to kill your gains or you don’t have time, it’s because you’re lazy & you’ve gotten a bit too comfortable with convenience. I said what I said 🤷🏼‍♀️

Just curious

Normal managers bonding with their employees: let’s grab coffee I’d love to learn more about you
Me: oh you like activities too? Say less, I’ve booked us a 2 on 1 Muay Thai class

My favourite people are yes people and are just as obsessed with random activities as me

Nah, this is literally it. Your “I’ll be happy when______” doesn’t exist.
Like my good mate Billy Joel says in one of my favourite songs “don’t you know that only fools are satisfied”.

This week I had such a wholesome chat with & where we all agreed on the below:

1. It’s just time & what you do with it. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of “I’ll take my training seriously when work isn’t so hectic”, “I’ll focus on my health when this busy season is over and I have more time”. Plot twist, those times rarely come & even if they do, 9/10 there’s another excuse in the way of why you’re still not doing it.

2. You get to choose your hard. & and I are both mums and work. Sure do we have our preferred time to train & get things done? Absolutely. Do we always get to train & work during those times? Absolutely not.
It’s hard to do something when you don’t want to, can’t be bothered to, isn’t the most convenient time for you etc but it’s equally as hard to sit and feel miserable about it.
Is it hard to meal prep weekly and train consistently? For sure. But it’s also hard to live a life in a body that isn’t healthy, strong or full of vitality.

Chatting to the girls made me
1. Super grateful to work with likeminded people who view life the same way I do
&
2. Reminded me that regardless of how stressful and heavy running a business, being a mum, managing clients/a team, juggling training and everything in between can get, how easy it is to get caught up in all the big stuff & not take in the seemingly small stuff.

Being a mum: the hardest thing I’ve ever done
Also being a mum: seeing this little human explore the world in a way that is so special to be a part of
Being a business owner: stressful, time consuming & soul crushing at times
Also being a business owner: being a part of something bigger than myself and being able to challenge myself on so many levels
Being obsessively natured & competitive with training: time consuming, a lot of early mornings, late nights & injuries lol
Also being obsessively natured & competitive with training: achieving more than what I thought I ever could & growing a part of myself that I’m very proud of.

Reminder, maybe the small stuff really is the whole point. Dance with your friends, exercise your body & mind, have the conversations & do the hard things.

A lot can be said for feeling locked in on your training when it’s centred around performance.
S**t can feel heavy, overwhelming, exciting, anxious, stressful, busy (the list goes on) in everyday life and/or work but having a constant outlet with training in any capacity is so underrated.
It’s kept my head above water more times than I can count & you can’t beat locking in on a great session.