On Episode 49 of the Arthritis Life Podcast, Ashley Nicole shares her journey getting diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in her mid twenties, and how she learned the value of fitness, food and faith. These factors, along with medication, help her manage her rheumatoid arthritis and improve her overall quality of life.
Episode at a glance:
- Ashley’s rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis story: getting the diagnosis at age twenty-seven after being told she was “too young” when she first presented with symptoms
- Faith: How Ashley’s different kinds of faith help her: faith in God, and faith in herself that she can persevere and achieve her goals, and faith that she can change her mindset.
- Fitness: Ashley’s journey becoming a personal trainer in 2018, even when those close to her questioned whether she could succeed in that field while having RA
- Food: How Ashley found a food plan that worked for her to help manage her weight and overall healthy lifestyle
- Cheryl & Ashley discuss different ways to approach a healthy diet in a balanced way that supports quality of life rather than a restriction mindset
- From sedentary to active: Ashley’s fitness journey was kickstarted with Jazzercise, then a gym membership and then personal training. How fitness helped decrease her pain.
- Tips for exercising and improving fitness with rheumatoid arthritis: think movement if exercise is intimidating; celebrate what you *can* do and do more of that; make it convenient for you;
- What is it like to work with a personal trainer?
- What are some adaptations or modifications for strength training with rheumatoid arthritis when your fingers or wrists hurt?
- Shame & Comparison: Cheryl & Ashley discuss how to avoid the “comparison trap” on social media, and Cheryl discusses the shame she feels at times due to being a former athlete who now is not in as good of shape as she used to be, and how her identity has shifted away from an identity as an athlete.
- Positive mindset without minimizing negative emotions: Cheryl & Ashley discuss ways to focus on the positive while not minimizing or delegitimizing the true negative feelings we have
- Ashley’s entrepreneur experience: starting RA Warrior Fitness LLC two months before the pandemic in 2020
- Advice for newbies: either newly diagnosed, or people who are new to fitness & RA
Speaker Bios:
My name is Ashley Nicole and I am a RA Warrior! I’ve lived with RA for 17 years and counting. It is now my mission to empower women living with rheumatoid arthritis to improve their quality of life through faith, food and fitness.
Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for seventeen years. Her life passion is helping others with rheumatoid arthritis figure out how to live a full life despite arthritis, by developing tools to navigate physical, emotional and social challenges. She formed the educational company Arthritis Life in 2019 after seeing a huge need for more engaging, accessible, and (dare I say) FUN patient education and self-management resources.
Episode Sponsor
Rheumatoid Arthritis Roadmap, a self-paced online course Cheryl created that teaches you how to confidently manage your physical, social and emotional life with rheumatoid arthritis.
Episode links:
- Ashley’s channels
- Cheryl’s Arthritis Life Pages:
- Arthritis Life website
- Youtube channel
- TikTok
- Facebook Page
- Arthritis Life Podcast Facebook Group
Arthritis Life Program Links
Join the waitlist for Rheum to THRIVE, 6-month education and support program Cheryl created to help people with rheumatic disease go from overwhelmed, confused and alone to confident, supported and connected. The next group starts in Spring 2022!
Rheumatoid Arthritis Roadmap, a self-paced online course Cheryl created that teaches you how to confidently manage your physical, social and emotional life with rheumatoid arthritis.
Medical disclaimer:
All content found on Arthritis Life public channels was created for generalized informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Full episode transcript:
Cheryl Crow (00:00):
Hi, my name is Cheryl Crow and I am passionate about helping people navigate real life with arthritis. I’ve lived with rheumatoid arthritis for 17 years, and I’m also a mom teacher and occupational therapist. I’m so excited to share my tricks for managing the ups and downs of life. With arthritis, everything from kitchen life hacks to how to respond when people say don’t look sick. Stress work, sex, anxiety, fatigue, pregnancy, and parenting with chronic illness, no topic will be off limits here. I’ll also talk to other patients and share their stories and advice. Think of this as your chance to sit down and chat with a friend who’s been there. Ready to figure out how to manage your arthritis life? Let’s get started.
Cheryl Crow (00:48):
Hi, Ashley. Welcome to the arthritis life podcast,
Ashley Nicole (00:52):
Cheryl, how are you?
Cheryl Crow (00:53):
I’m great. How are you doing ?
Ashley Nicole (00:56):
Great. Thank you so much for having me today. I’m so excited to be here.
Cheryl Crow (01:01):
I’m so excited to have you here. I wish I could go visit you in Texas. Maybe someday.
Ashley Nicole (01:06):
Yes, you should. You have a friend in Texas for sure.
Cheryl Crow (01:09):
Oh, that’s so nice. So let’s just, tell the audience just a little bit about yourself. Oh, I already gave away where you live. What’s your relationship to arthritis?
Ashley Nicole (01:20):
Well, my name is Ashley Nicole, and as Cheryl mentioned, I do live in Dallas, Texas, however, I’m originally from Alabama. So I am an Alabama girl living in a big old Texas world. And I love it. I’ve been here for 11 years in Texas. And so my relationship with arthritis, I actually have rheumatoid arthritis. And so I started experiencing symptoms at the age of 21. My mother has rheumatoid arthritis and so does my grandmother. But when I started experiencing pain, I refuse to believe that that’s what it was. And so one day it hit me. Like I said, I was 21 years old, so I was in, in college. And so I was working in ret- in retail during the time as well. And so I thought that my hands were achy because I was constantly folding clothes, hanging clothes. And I also played the saxophone for years.
Ashley Nicole (02:15):
So I was like, oh, it’s just carpal tunnel from all that, you know, playing like Lisa Simpson. No, that’s not what it was. So, yeah, so I woke up in my dorm room one day and it had just kind of really just took over my whole body. Like I just had a huge flare up. And even though now, like the issues are just in my wrist, but that particular day, like it just, it just took over. So, you know, getting out of bed, combing my hair you know, brushing my teeth, putting on clothes, just became just so hard to do. And so I went to urgent care because at the time I didn’t have the best insurance to actually go to a specialist. So I went to urgent care and they just kind of brushed it off. They were like, you know, just take, just take some Aleve Tylenol and you know, you’ll be fine.
Ashley Nicole (03:01):
So there was no official diagnosis. I literally took a leave for six years. So I didn’t get officially diagnosed until I was 27 until I moved here to Dallas and I had good insurance. And I was like, okay, now it’s time to go and see what’s happening here. But leading up to that six years, like I had gained 65 pounds and like, you know, so that made everything worse, you know? And so, yeah. Yeah. So I could go on and on Cheryl. So just stop me. Cause I might be answering questions that you may be asking me later, but yeah. So I was, I started experiencing symptoms at 21, took a leave. Like everything was fine and it wasn’t until I was 27 when I was officially diagnosed.
Cheryl Crow (03:46):
Wow. And I know that it’s such a common experience, multiple things that you’ve said are common. First one is just when you’re young and you start having hand pain, you just think, oh, I overdid it. Like I thought that I had hurt myself playing soccer. Cause you know, you’re always getting bumps and bruises and not necessarily on your hands, but I thought, oh, I must’ve fallen. And like forgotten that. That’s what I said. Or you know, like you were saying folding clothes, you know, it’s so it’s not the first thing that comes to mind like, oh I have, maybe I have a systemic autoimmune disease, you know?
Ashley Nicole (04:16):
Yeah. And like I said, my mom, she has it, my grandmother has it, but I was like, there’s just no way, honestly, like I didn’t even think about it now. I don’t even know why my mom didn’t even really think about it. Like, I don’t know.
Cheryl Crow (04:30):
I think no one wants their child to have it. And you know, and then also the experience like going to urgent care, I’m so sorry that you didn’t get taken more seriously. I mean their job, it’s weird. Cause they’re kind of like, like emergency department it’s just, their job is to make sure that you like don’t die, you know? So they’re not like necessarily diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis there, but the urgent care is kind of an in-between, but I wished that they had listened to them because with the family, history is such an important nugget there, you know? So but you know, hindsight is 2020, so then you did get your diagnosis. And I’m curious with having that family history and seeing what your mom and grandma went through, what was your emotional response to the diagnosis at 26?
Ashley Nicole (05:11):
Well, I wasn’t surprised even though I was in denial, I wasn’t surprised when I got the official diagnosis now I was however surprised when I got diagnosed and she did the x-rays of my hands. Cause like I said, that’s primarily where the issues are. That’s where the, you know, the deformities are starting to happen kinda. But but yeah, so I wasn’t surprised, but like once I saw the actual x-rays and I was like, oh gosh. Cause she was like, so this is what, you know, your wrists are supposed to look like, this is what yours look like. And she was like, cause honestly, like I don’t have any range of motion and you can kind of see the, you know, the deformities, the differences there. But you know, she told me that because I went so long without a diagnosis, there’s no way to reverse the damage that’s been done. However we could stop the progression. And so I’m trying to think what was the first thing she put me on? I think the first medicine I was on with Humira was the injection. And so, you know, that worked for me for a good while until it didn’t. And so that’s a whole another story that might be a whole different pot.
Cheryl Crow (06:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, no it’s and it’s so common, like you said, to have medication, you know, ups and downs. And I know that, you know, I want to skip forward to today because now you’re known in the social media community and the arthritis community for being an RA warrior. For those of you who are watching the video version, she has her RA here, fitness and then yeah. And that you inspire others, you know, through faith, food and fitness, which I love. And how did you, I’m curious, you know how did you learn the importance of these things in your, in your journey
Ashley Nicole (07:02):
In my journey? Well, faith always for me comes first and faith, you know, you can kind of look at it a couple of different ways. So, you know, I am a Christian, so I have strong, strong faith in God. You know that through him, I can do anything. And honestly, I feel like he’s the reason why, you know, I am where I am today. And then also just having faith in yourself that you can absolutely do anything that you put your mind to regardless of your physical limitations. Cause I will kind of say that, you know, when I went through my whole ordeal where I have gained a ton of weight and everything, and then once I got diagnosed, I was like, okay. So I need to educate myself on anti-inflammatory foods and, and, and get my body moving to get some of this weight off of my joints.
Ashley Nicole (07:50):
And so through that journey, I fell in love with fitness and decided I wanted to become a personal trainer. So that was in 2018 when I decided I wanted to become a personal trainer. And so the person that was close to me at the time told me, how can you be a personal trainer? And you have rheumatoid arthritis. It’s, how are you going to show someone how to do a pushup? And you can’t do a pushup. So just super, super negative. So I will say because of my strong faith in God, the faith that I had in myself my strong family foundation, they were just so supportive that really helped me to just go ahead and push through and get my certification anyway. And so, you know, faith, I feel like plays a very important role in everything that you do. And that also goes along with mindset, you know, having a positive mindset because you and I both know having our a, I mean, there are some good days and there’s some bad days, you know, but I feel like if you have a positive mindset and you know, a good outlook on life, like, you know, I feel like you can kind of change, you know, how your day is going, going to go, you know, you might wake up and be like, okay, you know, I’m in pain, but I’m going to make the best of it.
Ashley Nicole (09:05):
I’m going to get up, I’m going to stretch these joints and you know, I’m going to do this. I’m going to put all my brace and I’m just gonna, you know, kill the day. So, you know, that’s the important of day along the way. And then food, you are what you eat. Right.
Cheryl Crow (09:20):
It’s really confusing though. I always say this because it’s been one of the, like, I feel like the food is the one that I have the hardest time wrapping my mind around. Because there’s so many different options, legitimately work for different people, as opposed to like, you know, strength training is going to benefit pretty much everyone, but there might be a different modality to it. Like you might be doing different levels of weights or repetitions, but whereas, like some people will go gluten-free and do really great and some will be like, nothing happened. I’m curious. How did you sift through, did you have that same experience at the beginning like, where do I even start with food and RA?
Ashley Nicole (09:59):
Yeah, yeah, I did because I kind of knew what I was doing wrong in the first place, because I was going to happy hours two or three times a week. And you know, didn’t realize how much sugar was in those is and, you know, eating fried fatty foods and things. And so for me, once I started to educate myself on anti-inflammatory foods, I was like, okay, I need to eliminate the processed foods, the fried foods stick to, you know, lean meats colorful veggies, fruits, whole grains, you know, and, and you know, some people, like you said, you know, can do a gluten-free diet and, and some, and another person will. And it really won’t, you know, be the same results and same with dairy. Like, you know, I still eat dairy, but there are other people that I know, you know, with RA, they say, you know, dairy is bad for them. So it’s almost like there’s no one size fits all. But at the end of the day, I always tell my clients, whatever you eat, you’re either feeding the disease or you’re fighting it. So you definitely want to fight it with healthy foods. You know, you’re, you’re taking your Turkey, you know, your lean meats, veggies, fruits, whole grains, and, and yet, and occasional red wine.
Cheryl Crow (11:18):
Or if you’re overwhelmed, you know, you can start with saying, I’m going to eat the same healthy foods I’ve been eating. And I’m just going to try to cut down on the pro-inflammatory versus I’m going to keep eating these pro-inflammatory, but I’m going to eat some other anti-inflammatory things. And then maybe see if that helps. Cause you know, it’s all about like balance and getting quality life the end of the day. And there are lots of people out there who are able to have a good quality of life, even without like the perf– I’m always trying to say, don’t try to have like the perfect diet. I don’t know if you agree, it’s okay to disagree, but yeah.
Ashley Nicole (11:49):
But you’re right. You’re right. And, and, and honestly, that’s what I tell my clients too. I’m like, you don’t have to eliminate, you know, the pizza and even the burgers, it’s just, you know, a healthy balance. You know, like if you choose pizza, maybe go with the, you know, a thinner crust or gluten-free crust or a cauliflower crust and, you know, and, and do it that way. And even if I decide I want a burger, maybe I will eat the bread. You know, I’ll have the burger with all the condiments or even get a Turkey burger or a chicken burger and get some sweet potato fries or instead of fries, get a salad on the side, you know? So just making healthy swaps. It doesn’t have to be boring. It’s not just all about salads all the time, but you know, just all things in moderation because Lord knows, I love me some keep them wings. Yeah,
Cheryl Crow (12:38):
Yeah, yeah. And I think it’s, it’s not yeah. For your overall quality of life and mental health, it’s not good to be in a place where you feel like you’re constantly denying yourself something that gives you pleasure. So yeah, a little in moderation is, is great but saying, okay. But overall I also have a goal of, you know, maintaining a level of health. That’s going to be good for me long term. So, you know, I, oh, I was, I want to always ask, like, if there was a specific resource you’ve found, how did you find a particular like book or website helpful or did you just sort through it on your own?
Ashley Nicole (13:08):
We, yeah, just kind of sorted through, I did my own research and then I created my own document, you know, that I give to my clients and everything. So I’ve got all the spices and everything that you can think of. That’s, anti-inflammatory like, you know, choose things from this list and, and you’ll be good. So,
Cheryl Crow (13:25):
So handy. That’s so helpful. And then the third pillar is fitness, which is what you’re known for too. I think your journey. I mean, like there’s just something so captivating about such a stark, like before and after, like you did have like a sedentary lifestyle and you weren’t really prioritizing, you know, fitness before, and then when you got your diagnosis, you did. So I’m so curious, like how that evolved. Yeah.
Ashley Nicole (13:54):
Yeah. So I just, I just fell in love with it. I will say after I gained that 65 pounds and this was even before my diagnosis, I didn’t realize how much weight I gained until I saw myself in a photo. I knew I was buying larger clothes and everything, but when I saw myself in photos, I was like, okay, I have to do something. So my first really experience with fitness, I joined Jazzercise.
Cheryl Crow (14:23):
I love it. I love Jazzercise!
Ashley Nicole (14:27):
I joined to ask as fast as I was like, okay, this needs to be fun. And it was fun. It was so much fun. I loved it. So I probably did that for about a year before I actually got my official gym membership and started going to the gym. And so I’m just over time, I just, I just really embraced fitness. And I noticed that it was helping me, you know, and my joints, I wasn’t in pain as much. And of course, as the weight started to come off and when I started eating better, you know, I just felt better overall. And I really do believe that statement movement is medicine. Like, you know, I can’t imagine not being active because, you know, if ever, you know, something happens and I might have a flare or something, and let’s say, I don’t work out for like maybe a week.
Ashley Nicole (15:17):
Like I can tell it, my body is like, whoa, what’s happening. And my mom’s the same way. So she tries to exercise at least five days a week just to keep going. And so I just realized what a difference it made in my life, my mood and how I felt. And, you know, I just, I just never want to stop the like too, as, as we age, especially women, you know, are, are most of us kinda start to atrophy anyway. So I feel like it’s so important, you know, to continue and do that strength training at least two days a week, two to three days or three is amazing. But even if you can get two days a weekend, you know, making sure that you’re targeting each muscle group, that’s better than nothing. You know, cardio is necessary too, but, but strength training definitely is.
Cheryl Crow (16:06):
And the fatigue that was other one, I meant to say too, the fatigue improvements with cardio and strength, exercise are huge. And you’d think it’s so counterintuitive because you think, wait, I spend energy while exercising. So that would mean I’m going to be more tired because I have less total energy, but it’s actually like, your body moves more efficiently. Yeah. So you actually don’t get as tired with your daily activities.
Ashley Nicole (16:31):
That’s why I love exercising in the morning to like, because it’s just kind of gives me that boost for the day. Anytime I exercise in the evening, I’m wired and it takes me forever to wind down and go to sleep.
Cheryl Crow (16:45):
That’s so funny. It’s so similar. Yeah. And I loved how you said earlier movement is medicine. And just for anyone listening that might be feeling like intimidated by exercise, you know, think movement. This is what I say, you know, just like you said, Jazzercise, you did Jazzercise for a full year to kind of kickstart your fitness journey. And that’s amazing, you know, getting yourself moving that could be gardening is moving, you know you know, walking the dog is moving just yeah, yeah,
Ashley Nicole (17:16):
Yeah, yeah. Just getting emotion and celebrating what you can do. Don’t focus on you. Can’t do focus on what you can do and do more of that, you know? And like you said, it could be hobbies like gardening, you know, while I’m cycling, you know, and as far as like equipment, like if you did have access to gym equipment, the elliptical is amazing, you know or the, the stationary bike or what have you, you know, you’ve got options. And even without the equipment things at home, because one of my clients asked me today, you know, it’s 30 degrees outside, you know, how am I supposed to get my steps then? Cause I do, you know, give her a step goal of at least 8,000 steps per day. And I was like, so I went to YouTube and sent her a video of this walking video. You can literally walk at home, walk to the beat of the music and, you know, add a little something and yeah, you can get creative.
Cheryl Crow (18:11):
Oh, so true in Seattle. I used to be, I used to be really tough. I would run every day rain or shine even in the snow. And when I lived in New York, those days are over. Like, I’m definitely more of a, like I haven’t, I bought a under $200 stationary bike and it’s, it, it folds up like it’s for small spaces. So it could work in apartments or houses. And it’s so great because like, it doesn’t matter, you know, the weather, I could do it while my son’s watching his Sunday morning cartoons. I could just be sitting there like, oh for 20 minutes, 30 minutes. And yeah. Making it convenient and easy for you is just, is, so is so great. And you mentioned, you know, I’m gonna, I’m gonna ask a question that I forgot to prepare you for, but hopefully this won’t be too hard, but I, I wonder some people might never have worked with a personal trainer before, so like what would they, w what’s the, can you describe the process of like, what’s it like to work with a personal trainer for rheumatoid arthritis?
Ashley Nicole (19:08):
Yeah, sure. So what I typically do my whole process is I I do a health assessment. So I give them this video to watch, which is kind of like a, a brief webinar, about 14 minutes kind of talking about my journey and what the process would look like for them. And so then we would have like a free discovery call to talk about, you know, their thoughts about the video and just kind of where they are. Cause I always want to gauge where they are in their journey, you know, what physical limitations they may have so that I can know how to frame their program. Because honestly, I can’t just have, you know, one program because, you know, everybody’s needs are different. You know, I might have one client that has arthritis in their wrist and another client where it’s their knees. So of course they won’t have the same, you know, program.
Ashley Nicole (20:03):
So, you know, it’s getting to know them. And then I give them a health assessment where I have them rate themselves on a scale from one to 10 in different areas. As far as you know, their mindset affirmations and their nutrition portion control, water intake, vitamins, all that good stuff, just to kind of see where they are so that I can evaluate, you know, what other areas they need help in because it’s not just working out and, and, and nutrition, like, you know, I have a full service like coaching program. So, you know, I coach on mindset, goal, setting, journaling, all of these things. And so and so from there, after the health assessment, I’m able to kind of, you know, see where they are and put, put a program together with them. And it helps because I didn’t niche down.
Ashley Nicole (20:53):
And I specifically target women living with rheumatoid arthritis. You know, I understand where they are because oftentimes I’m kinda talking to, you know, my former still, and yeah, I’m talking to my former self and even, you know, now, depending on the day, you know, I might still have some of those issues. So you know, that helps that I’m able to relate with them because I have worked with a couple of clients who say, you know, I tried this personal trainer and they just didn’t understand, you know, that my range of motion is not there. My mobility isn’t there, you know? And, and I’m like, yeah, I get it. So, you know, I think that’s why my clients do appreciate me so much because I can relate and, you know, can definitely show them how to do different exercises and modifications and things. And, and let them know that, Hey, you know, our pushup might not be a regular pushup is not going to look like everybody else’s, but it’s still impactful and it’ll help you. So
Cheryl Crow (21:54):
That’s, that’s so great. Like, and as occupational therapist, you know, we’re kind of like obsessed with modifications, adaptations too. So yeah, I would love to take a little time and just, if you can give some examples, like, you know, let’s think about just someone with the typical rheumatoid arthritis pattern of like swelling and pain in the fingers and wrists let’s say so. Yeah, what, what would be some modifications for exercises? Like pushups?
Ashley Nicole (22:20):
Yeah, well, honestly, if, if the swelling is there, like, especially if you’ve got issues with your wrists, I wouldn’t recommend like hands down pushup because me personally, like my hands just don’t go flat on the ground because my wrists, no mobility there. So I typically do a chest press, so I’ll lay on my back and I’ll grab some dumbbells, it can be fives, you know, tens, whatever my wrist can handle and I’ll just press. And so that’s my version of a pushup, or you can also do it elevated, try your countertop, and that’s less pressure on the wrist. So and I wouldn’t even start with a whole bunch of rich, you know, like try, you know, maybe eight reps and see how that goes for you. And, you know, if, if there’s no, you know, severe pain, then, you know, try another eight reps and maybe do three sets of eight and then work your way up, you know, as you get stronger. So I used to be able to kind of do them on my fist. Now that’s how I do a burpee. I was always determined to try to do a burpee cause I could never do a burpee. So, you know, with of course, gloves on and risk support, I’m able to go down on my knuckles on my fists in order to do a modified Herbie. And so that helps too, just making sure that you have, you know, cushion and that you’re protecting your joints too. So
Cheryl Crow (23:45):
Yeah, it’s something I’ve done. I don’t know if you recommend this, but it’s going, instead of doing an actual, push-up just doing like a plank, but on my forearms. Yes. So that’s, that’s actually just hard.
Cheryl Crow (23:56):
For me to just sustain, you know, at this point in my fitness. So it’s just for some people just holding that for 10 seconds, like with good form, you know, not like collapsing, challenging, you know?
Ashley Nicole (24:07):
Yeah. It is. But that is a very good way to strengthen your core. Cause I feel like having a strong core, that’s your core supports everything else, you know? So that’s definitely helpful. I love a good plank challenge.
Ashley Nicole (24:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your treatment plans or your, your, you know, recommendations are very individualized to the person, right? Like it’s the same with occupational therapy, but when you, when someone just wants to maybe do, let’s say doing the easiest at home, you know, strengthening plan, do you have them use like household items? Like, you know, the, the traditional, like Campbell’s soup, you know?
Ashley Nicole (24:48):
Yeah. I did a live workout last week because each week on social media, I try to have a topic and I try to stick to that topic for the whole week. So last week was about strength training for arthritis. And so I did a live workout on last Friday and I told them I was like grab cans, soup, grab a couple of bottles, bottles of water, you know, whatever you can and let’s get to work. And so you can literally use what you have at home. There’s, there’s no excuses and I’ve even done a full workout with a book, like a book and a chair .
Cheryl Crow (25:26):
Totally. Or like, you know, I, the, one of the things that’s helped me get into a routine is what’s called habit stacking. Have you ever heard of this phrase where you take a habit you’re already doing, like brushing your teeth, which I’m really good about and stacking the new habit on top of that. So saying, okay, right after I brush my teeth or even while I brush my teeth, I’m going to do a well-sit to strengthen my quads, you know? And so you, that that’s like a little, a little tip or like doing it in places. Like some people, like the idea of like getting dressed in a new outfit and like going to a gym or, you know, like having it be something that it’s like, I’m devoting my time to it and I’m getting out of the house. Whereas other people, they want to just get it done in the most easy, convenient place. Like I literally, the other day just did my exercise bike in my pajamas still. Cause I was like, I can just get my shoes on and just chill. Like this clothes are going to get sweaty anyway. I’ll just put them in the wall. It was like, you know, so you kind of have to know yourself, but anyway, those are just some random ideas.
Ashley Nicole (26:26):
Exactly. I do like it though. I do like that. Cause I know when one challenge that I had one time with my clients, I was like, every time you go to the bathroom, do 10 squats.
Cheryl Crow (26:40):
So great.
Ashley Nicole (26:41):
Yeah. Do 10 spots over toilet and yeah, every time you go,
Cheryl Crow (26:46):
Let’s say like, you know, I, when I’m making my coffee, I do like the French press and it steeps for four minutes. I just thought of this. I haven’t been doing this, but I was like, I could get in four minutes, like usually just sit there and scroll on my phone or something. I could get four minutes of like calf raises or a combination of things.
Ashley Nicole (27:03):
Exactly. Oh, you’ve just given me some ideas. Oh yes. My clients are going to love this.
Cheryl Crow (27:10):
No, it’s so fun. I think, Yeah. I really, I really appreciate that your, your social media content, which of course I’m linking to in the, in the show notes, it’s you make it fun and accessible. And even though like, if I look at you, I’m like, she’s so strong. I’m never going to be that buff. You know, it’s all about like starting where you’re at.
Ashley Nicole (27:32):
Exactly. Exactly. And that’s the thing too. I feel like a lot of us are guilty of looking at other people on social media and they’re just showing like the best version of themselves. We don’t know what they had to do to get there. You know what they’re doing? Like everybody’s journey is different and everyone, you know, tends to kind of show you the best of the best, but I try to be extremely transparent, you know, in my journey and everything. And like, you know, every day is, is not great, but you know, you can find something great. And every day, yeah. I always try to turn it around and make it positive, but yeah. Yeah. Comparing yourselves to others and thinking, oh, you know I would love to be more like hard. No, you’d be the best version of you. That’s that’s what I tell my clients be the best version, a healthier version of yourself. It’s you versus you be your own body goals, you know? Yeah.
Cheryl Crow (28:26):
Yeah. I think that there’s some smart person said like “comparison is the thief of joy.” Isn’t that beautiful? It’s so true. And I think it’s interesting, like positive thinking kind of has I have like a complicated relationship with that. Cause I do think it can backfire when people try to force themselves to like, oh, to minimize the sadness that they might be feeling or minimize their feelings and say, oh, only acknowledge the positive, but it is helpful to say here’s the totality of my experience right now. Right. I might be feeling grief about my new diagnosis. I might be feeling ashamed of myself. Like for me, I, I I’ll just be honest, like as a former athlete, you know, I was playing high level soccer every day when I got my diagnosis, like I had, I lost like 25 pounds of muscle right before my diagnosis it’s called it’s actually I found out just a few years ago, it’s called rheumatoid cachexia, which is like severe muscle wasting.
Cheryl Crow (29:22):
When you have really bad inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis, i didn’t have my diagnosis yet, I, my body was wasting away and I was like, what’s going on? But the point is because I used to like either run or lift weights every day. And then I got this diagnosis and then I became more like a dance, a dancer. I started swing dancing, that’s why I got excited when you said Jazzercise, but then so, okay. The reason I mentioned this, this, this was literally half my lifetime ago. Like I just turned 40. That was when I was like 20. Like I still, so much of my life, like for those like 15 years before my diagnosis, I was, considered myself, I’m an athlete. I’m, I’m wearing my Letterman’s jacket to school. I’m in like the soccer player, clique, you know what I mean? That’s part of who I am.
Cheryl Crow (30:05):
So now when I have had to confront the fact that, oh, I haven’t been maintaining my fitness as well as I wish I had I’m – So we’re talking about feelings and validating them – I feel ashamed. And that doesn’t mean that I need to wallow in that, but I can say, okay, what is that shame telling me? That shame is telling me that like, there’s a person I used to be. And then there’s a person I am now. And I want to kind of take the positives of who I was before. Like, you know, that fitness and,uathletic kind of tenacious personality. And I could use that to not just say, oh, I’m just going to think positive. Like, it doesn’t matter that you’re not as fit anymore. Like, oh no. I want to say like, okay, I validate the part of me that feels ashamed or feel sad or grieve for the loss. But then I also say, like you said, what can you do today? What can I do? What’s what can I do tomorrow to improve my fitness? And, and that’s the positive part. Sorry, that was such a long way of saying that!
Ashley Nicole (31:02):
Oh no, but I totally get it because you never want to discount someone’s feelings. And because you have a right to feel with what you feel, you know, and that’s fine. But my thing is, you know, you can’t stay there, you know, stay there, you got to, you know, find a way to, to work your way out of that and really try to turn it around for good, you know, because I mean, keeping the scripture says, you know, all things work together for good. And even though, you know, we may be going through some hard times and bad days, there’s still a way that you can kind of turn it around and celebrate, you know, what you can do and what is going right. You know, instead of focusing on what’s going wrong and what used to be and what isn’t anymore, you know, you just have to turn it around
Cheryl Crow (31:54):
When there’s something I think so therapeutic with, when you start changing your habits, even tiny little changes. Like I said, not, I really don’t – because I’ve had so many people on here, who’ve like, I don’t know if you’ve heard of orthorexia, which is like an eating disorder where people get obsessive about eating perfect, like eating, clean, eating perfect. Like- definitely want to be, I know now I’m like,
Ashley Nicole (32:16):
I didn’t know it was a term for that.
Cheryl Crow (32:17):
It is, it’s a newer thing they didn’t use to realize, but it’s like people w I it’s a trap. A lot of newly diagnosed patients can fall down of like, just wanting to only eat the perfect things and only do the perfect diet and the, or perfect exercise plan. And like, that can be a little bit of a hole. You dig yourself in because,uthere’s no balance in your life anymore.
Cheryl Crow (32:39):
You know? Like your life has a – thereason to do, to do the fitness and to do the nutrition and to work on your mindset and is to be able to engage in, in your life. Like, what things are – and maybe fitness and cookingmay be important like, you know, things to you, but you’re also so much more than those habits, right? You’re like, you’re a daughter, you’re a friend, you’re a coworker, you know, you’re in your case, like, you’re an entrepreneur, like there’s so many things that make you, you and make your life meaningful. So I’m sorry. I forget where I was starting with that sentence,
Ashley Nicole (33:10):
But I mean, it’s all valid points. You’re right.
Cheryl Crow (33:12):
Um, actually, speaking of, you you know, starting your business are a warrior fitness LLC. I was so fascinated when I read that you had started it in January, 2020, what was it like to start a business two months before a worldwide pandemic?
Ashley Nicole (33:30):
Yeah, well, you know, clearly I didn’t know the pandemic was going to happen, but you know, it really worked out for the best because I was working full time at the time. And because of the pandemic, I lost my job. So it was good that I had started the process in January because, you know, it helped to carry me up to where I am
Cheryl Crow (33:56):
Now. What kind of work were you doing?
Ashley Nicole (33:59):
I was a fundraiser in nonprofit. Oh.
Ashley Nicole (34:05):
I worked for a local nonprofit in fundraising. And so we did a lot of our fundraising through events. And so of course, hope it hit, you know, we couldn’t host event. So literally it’s a national nonprofit, and they had to cut by 40% of the staff across the us. So, yeah, it was, it was pretty bad. But but anyways, going back to January, I had gone to one of my friend’s events she had that was called Godfidence. And so she asked us all to come and, and kind of be ready to create a plan for the year. Cause we all just knew 2020 was just going to be the best year. Right.
Ashley Nicole (34:47):
And so we created vision boards and, you know, we shared what we wanted to do cause we’re all, you know, entrepreneurs and well just trying to be entrepreneurs. And so, you know, we just kinda, you know, wrote out the vision that that’s what the scripture says to, to write the vision, make it plain on tablets. So that’s what we did. We wrote our goals down. And so from there, I went through a fast with my church and the focus was on purpose. And so literally for 21 days that’s what, you know, we talked about was purpose. And so I was like, okay, I’m ready to walk in my purpose. I’m ready for this. And so that’s when I started, when I decided I was ready to put my personal training certification to use, because I told you I got the certification back in 2018, but I hadn’t used it yet because I was still hearing that voice in my head saying, how are you to show someone how to do something you can’t do you have already, but you know, once I moved on and kind of let go of the negative baggage that I was carrying, I was like, okay, this is going to be it.
Ashley Nicole (35:49):
So anyways, so I got my LLC in January, February I started building my website and everything. And then when March came early March, like before everything’s shut down one of my friends called and was like, Hey, I have this online platform where personal trainers keep, put their programs online. You should do it. I was like, oh my God, I was looking for this. So yeah, I did that. And then March 17, came everything shut down, gym shut down. I was working from home at that point with my full-time job. And so I was like, okay, I’ve got to go ahead and watch my program. So literally on March 25th, I launched, you know, I promoted everything through Facebook and Instagram and I had like 60 people to sign up.
Cheryl Crow (36:35):
I love that. I read that on your website. And that was, and I remember, I think it said on your website that you weren’t really sure. Oh, is anyone going to sign up?
Ashley Nicole (36:43):
Oh, maybe, you know, it’s my goal was 10. Literally my goal was 10, but but yeah, I had 60 people this time and it’s just, you know, continued to grow from there. And at that time, even though the name of the company is RA Warrior Fitness, I was just kinda trying to help everybody, Hey, if you want to get fit, I can help you. But just this past this year, I was like, okay, I need to niche down. And because I know it’s so many other women out there like me, like who I used to be, you know, that need my help. And so that’s, that’s, that’s who I’m speaking to with every post now.
Cheryl Crow (37:21):
Yeah. When it works is it’s like, you are an, are a warrior helping people with fitness, but you’re also helping them become are a warriors. It’s like a double, I just realized that’s like a double meaning, but no, that’s, I’m just, I’m sure other people are inspired to too, but I feel inspired by, you know, how you were able to grow this so much during the pandemic. And it’s when so many people have needed, we’ve needed things we can do at home, you know, to promote our health and still feel like we’re, you know, managing our condition or there’s been so many people that I’ve met over the last year and a half that have just gotten their initial diagnosis during the pandemic. And I’m like, gosh, you know, it used to be that you would be referred to like a local person, you know, oh, here’s a physical trainer. You can go a personal trainer, you can go to, or a physical therapist or occupational therapist. And now it’s like one of the weird positives of the pandemic has been that people are more aware of like, well, wait, you don’t, even though Ashley’s down in Texas, but you can access her program from anywhere. You can literally,
Ashley Nicole (38:25):
That’s why it’s like all over all. Yeah. It’s really cool. So I just think God, every day that I’m doing something that I love and I’ve turned this diagnosis around and using it as a platform to help other women like me. And so, you know, it was part of this plan. It was part of this plan, so. Wow.
Cheryl Crow (38:49):
Yeah. That’s so cool. I know, I feel like I always I’m always fascinating talking to people with different beliefs, you know, like we had Renee, the Rheumatoid Arthritis Mama on, and she’s very, has a very strong faith, and like I’m agnostic. I’m kind of like, I’m not sure, like maybe there’s a God, maybe there’s not. So it’s like, I always want to know what is helping people, right? Like I – like both of us, we want to help people with rheumatoid arthritis. And I always it’s obvious to me when talking to people like you, that having a faith in a higher power is such is really helpful for you, you know, on your, on your journey. It gives you that grounding, you know?
Ashley Nicole (39:27):
Right.
Cheryl Crow (39:28):
Yeah. That’s that’s and I am very, hopefully I’m respectful of that, even though I’m like, I still feel, I feel very confused in my own faith. I’m like, I don’t know. I think something’s right, but I’m not sure what it is,
Ashley Nicole (39:42):
Yeah.
Cheryl Crow (39:43):
Yeah, like you said before, be where you are, just be where you are, take away yourself, accept yourself where you are today. And one of my kind of passions too, is like helping people in that truly like beginner stage that like newly diagnosed, like, oh my gosh, where do I get started? Like, what would you, or there might even in this case, my question was going to be like, what advice do you have for someone with rheumatoid arthritis who are, who are just, they may have had it for 10 years, but they just now are trying to get started with fitness. What would be some advice you have for them, you’ve already shared so many nuggets.
Ashley Nicole (40:24):
Exactly. So I would kinda just, you know, reiterate, start where you are, you know, celebrate the things that you can do. And and know that that’s enough, you know, be okay and know that that’s enough. Because the more that you get into the habit and get stronger, you know, you’ll be able to do more things, but just start where you are right now with what you have, you don’t need a ton of equipment. You don’t have to go get a full on gym membership, grab a couple of cans of soup, a couple of bottles,
Ashley Nicole (40:57):
Turn on YouTube and like, you know, get to walking it out, you know? And so just, just start where you are and, and really rely on a good support system. Cause that helps, cause Cheryl, I will say that like the RA community, especially on Instagram is amazing. Like, I mean, I just love that you and I have connected, I connected with so many others and like we really work together to lift each other up. So I would also say, get you a good support system, get you a coach, get you get to a health and fitness coach understands, you know, where you are and can help you to get to where you want to go in your journey. So so yeah,
Cheryl Crow (41:41):
I love that you focus on more and I know that you more than like unquote “just fitness,” fitness is obviously a huge area, and also mindset faith in yourself and faith in higher power, if that’s, you know, in, in your, in your wheelhouse and or in, in your interest area. And it’s just like, for me, I’m always trying to tell people like, when I’m talking to other providers, especially like health providers, you know, it’s not just joint pain, it’s not just, right? Like we haven’t even talked about joint pain this whole episode – . And it’s like, yeah, it’s a small part of, I mean, it’s definitely, I don’t want to minimize it for some people that joint pain is the worst part for many people. The fatigue is the worst part or just the overwhelm or, you know or just not knowing what to do like, or your doctor might say, you need to exercise, but what does that mean? Do you mean go to the gym? Do you mean run a marathon? Like wait, Christine, on Instagram, she runs marathons. I can’t do that. So why even bother, you know? People have so many swirled around, so yeah. Getting, having someone to guide you.
Ashley Nicole (42:44):
It’s very healthy. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Because if you think, I mean, a lot of the things that we do during the day, if we, you know, be more intentional, if exercise, you know, when we stand up and sit down and get up out of a chair, you’re squatting, right. You just do that a couple of more times, you know, get into the habit of doing that. I mean, I love a good modified squat on a chair, you know, and it’s, it’s effective just using the muscles in your legs to stand up and down and yeah. Yeah. There’s so many hacks and modifications that, you know, they’re really no excuses.
Cheryl Crow (43:24):
Yeah, no, it’s true. You know, and I think really seeing those possibilities, like, and I know in occupational therapy school, we learned about like, what’s it like concentric versus eccentric contractions? Like, where do you hold a position? Versus, I think that the average person who hasn’t done a lot of exercise might think that exercise always is like, moving your joints or moving your body parts. But you could like a wall sit is example or just, you could just pull the position and that could be helpful for your strength. Not as hard on your joints. So
Ashley Nicole (43:54):
Exactly. Yeah. I love that isometric hole and just take away or can good and just hold it and just those biceps will start to burn.
Cheryl Crow (44:03):
Yeah. Like you don’t realize like, it’s like until you try to sustain a position, you don’t realize how the force of gravity is so strong. Like if you just try to put your arms out in front of you and just hold them there for five minutes, you’re like, oh, I, this is these are heavy.
Ashley Nicole (44:17):
Exactly .
Cheryl Crow (44:19):
Your own body is like,
Ashley Nicole (44:24):
Yes.
Cheryl Crow (44:24):
So yeah. So good. I really hope people are feeling like inspired by this. Like it’s not – like making it accessible, like you said, you know, making it achievable, starting with where you’re at. Yeah. Is there anything else you wanted to share with the audience just about faith, food or fitness today or anything else? This is your chance.
Ashley Nicole (44:46):
Well, I guess the last thing I would say, and it may just be, you know, repeating what I just said, but you know, just know that you are enough. One thing that I am big on is affirmations too. So every morning, you know, our repeat some of my favorite affirmations and my favorite one is you are enough because there was one point in my life where I felt like I wasn’t. And so just, just be kindly to yourself, know that you are enough and know that you can do anything you put your mind through to, it may look different, you know, than the next person, but that’s okay. That’s what makes you unique. Your purpose is unique. And so just use, you know, what you have to, to, to motivate yourself and maybe even inspire someone else because there’s oftentimes someone else that’s going through what you’re going through. So just continue to show up for yourself, whatever that looks like. Because you deserve it, you deserve it. So mind over matter show up for yourself and just know that you can put your best foot forward and you can, you can do anything. So just start the hardest.
Cheryl Crow (45:56):
No, it’s so true. That’s so true. I just I just got this book from Dr. Kristin Neff. She’s a psychologist, it’s called the “mindful self-compassion workbook.” And she wrote a book about self-compassion, and the very first exercise is talk to yourself like you would your best friend. Like if your best friend is hurting. What do you say that them, you don’t say like, well, you shouldn’t have done that. Well, we talked ourselves so negative. We’re so hard on ourselves, so yeah love that idea. Like telling, reminding yourself you are enough. So powerful. It’s really, it really is. Well, thank you so much. And I know that again, I’ll put these in the show notes, but do you want to just say out loud for the, for the auditory people, what your channels, your Instagram channels are?
Ashley Nicole (46:48):
Absolutely. So you can find me on Ash, Nic, that’s A S H N I C underscore RA Warrior Fitness, and I also have another page. That’s just RA Warrior Fitness, but follow me, follow me on both, but I’m more active on the Ash Nic. And and also on Facebook, you can find me as RA warrior fitness. My website is RA warrior fitness.com. So,
Cheryl Crow (47:15):
Okay. And now I ha I’m like, was containing myself from asking this, but now I have to ask it. Did you ever go back to the person who told you not to become a personal trainer and tell them how successful you are now? Well,
Ashley Nicole (47:27):
You know what? They can see it. They can
Cheryl Crow (47:29):
See it, right. It’s not about, yeah. I really want to talk to them.
Ashley Nicole (47:35):
I know. Right. But yeah, they, they see it. I’m sure they’re watching everything play out because I actually did a an article, an interview with women’s health pretty much told my whole story. And, you know, he actually saw that. And so he let me know that he saw it and I’m like, well, I was just telling the truth. It’s my truth. So, you know, look at me now.
Cheryl Crow (47:58):
Yeah, no, that’s, I mean, I’m just, I have a – I think it’s ’cause I’m a middle child. I have a very strong, like sense of justice. Like I want, I want this, I want the haters to become educated. You know, when it’s, when it’s found that their hater-ness was unfounded or, you know what I mean? And there are times people, you know, with a diagnosis, like rheumatoid arthritis, there are people who, with your best interests at heart will say things like, you know, well, maybe you shouldn’t do that because, because you might not be like, you know, there are, there are legitimate reasons to maybe say, like, let’s say, like, I would say if I, if my career was like a full-time like massage therapist, like something that you can’t, you can’t accom – at a certain point, like, how do you accommodate, like you can’t miss. I mean, I don’t know. Maybe you can, but I’m not aware of like a way to truly like replicate the massage process on your fingers without, you know, so there’s the reasons like, just saying for, in case anyone’s like, we’re not saying like, you can like, literally do any, like – it’s the idea is just that, like to tell someone, because you had this disability or this, this diagnosis that you can’t ever help, others trainer is really wrong. You know,
Ashley Nicole (49:19):
Yeah, people just need to really be careful about their words and just think before they speak, because sometimes words can hurt deeper than, than anything else, you know? But but that kind of goes back to just, you know, trying to keep a positive mindset and having that strong faith that, that you can, you know,
Cheryl Crow (49:41):
So you took that negative experience and you turned it into such a positive, so I’m so I’m, so I’m glad that I met you on Instagram. So
Ashley Nicole (49:53):
I’m so glad I met you too. And I was really excited when you reached out and asked me to be on your podcast. So thank you. I’ve been following you for a long while. So
Cheryl Crow (50:02):
I know it feels like a longer, like I started, I started arthritis life as a YouTube channel in 2019, and I think I started investing in my Instagram more in 2020, but it feels like longer, like, feels
Ashley Nicole (50:13):
Like it’s been since
Ashley Nicole (50:14):
Last year.
Cheryl Crow (50:15):
Yeah. Well, thank you so much.
Ashley Nicole (50:20):
Well, you’re welcome. Thank you. And I appreciate the opportunity.
Cheryl Crow (50:24):
Yay, bye bye for now. Bye. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the arthritis life podcast. This episode is brought to you by the rheumatoid arthritis roadmap, an online course that I created from scratch to help people live a full life with rheumatoid arthritis, from social and emotional aspects of coping with rheumatoid arthritis to simple physical strategies. You can use every day to manage things like pain and fatigue. You can find out more on my website, my arthritis, life.net, where I also have lots of free educational resources, videos, and more.
