A Lady Goes West

A healthy lifestyle blog by Ashley Pitt

  • Home
    • Popular Posts
  • About
  • Fitness
    • Les Mills Group Fitness
    • Workouts
    • Fitness Tips
    • Class Reviews
  • Food
    • What I Ate Wednesday
    • Recipes
  • Clean Beauty
  • Mom Life
    • Fit & Fertile Book
    • Baby
    • Pregnancy
    • Postpartum
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

Fitness

Currently, I’m a NASM certified personal trainer and a Les Mills and POP Pilates group fitness instructor. I don’t train clients on-on-one any longer, but I do teach several classes a week in a live setting, and those moments are typically the best parts of my week.

How I got started in fitness

My fitness journey began in college, when I started running several times a week. It wasn’t until very early in my professional career that I learned about the power of group fitness, and my world changed.

I started attending a gym regularly after work and was completely floored by the changes in my body and the improvements in fitness level that I gained from one particular class — Les Mills BODYPUMP. After several months of progress, the instructor encouraged me to consider joining the ranks as a leader.

I thought about it for some time and finally signed up for a three-day initial training, and the rest is history. Although I continued to work in the corporate world, I spent more and more time in the group fitness room … building my passion for everything that has to do with working out, healthy food and living. That passion continued to grow, and now I’m a fitness professional, as well as the writer of A Lady Goes West.

Currently, I teach three different types of Les Mills classes (BODYPUMP, BODYATTACK and CXWORX) at a few San Francisco Bay Area 24 Hour Fitness gyms, as well as barre and POP Pilates classes. My experience also includes having worked as a Fitness Coach at Orangetheory Fitness and as a full-time personal trainer at Equinox. I got my Certified Personal Trainer certificate through National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

Fitness posts

Here’s a recap of some of my best fitness-related posts …

Personal training

  • Top six reasons to work with a personal trainer
  • Why I like working with a personal trainer
  • My experience with the NASM CPT Guided Study Program and passing the NASM exam

Les Mills group fitness

  • How to become a Les Mills group fitness instructor (and how to prepare for training)
  • Everything you need to know about Les Mills workouts and how to get started
  • Review of Les Mills On Demand streaming workout service
  • How to become a group fitness instructor when you have a full-time job
  • How to learn Les Mills group fitness releases
  • How to modify a BODYPUMP class when you’re pregnant
  • BODYPUMP 101 overview and tips for first-timers
  • BODYATTACK 101 overview and tips for first-timers
  • CXWORX 101 overview and tips for first-timers

Group fitness class reviews

  • Find all of my class reviews here.

Orangetheory Fitness

  • Everything you need to know about Orangetheory Fitness
  • How to get more out of your Orangetheory Fitness workout

Fitness tips

  • Five things no one tells you about postpartum exercise
  • Foam rolling 101: How and why to foam roll
  • 15 things you should know about working out when you’re pregnant
  • What you should know about working out in the morning
  • Six tips for taking your first group fitness class
  • 13 ways to teach a good group fitness class
  • Top 10 ways to grow your group fitness classes
  • How to get better results from taking group fitness
  • Top five confessions of a fitness professional
  • Signs of a bad group fitness instructor
  • Six ways to be a polite group fitness participant 

Workouts

  • 20-minute full-body BODYPUMP-inspired barbell workout
  • Total-body sculpting weights workout
  • Four-move total-body dumbbell workout
  • Short and fierce total-body dumbbell and cardio workout
  • 30-minute walk/run treadmill routine
  • 20-minute no equipment bodyweight workout
  • Change your world with these two shoulder-mobility moves
  • 15-minute, three-move total-body dumbbell workout
  • 25-minute power-walking treadmill workout
  • 20-minute treadmill interval workout

My current fitness certifications:

  • Certified Personal Trainer, NASM
  • Les Mills Advanced BODYPUMP Instructor
  • Les Mills CXWORX Instructor
  • Les Mills BODYATTACK Instructor
  • Bootybarre Instructor
  • POP Pilates Instructor
  • Certified Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach
  • Pre- and Post-Natal Certified Personal Trainer
  • CPR/AED

ashley bio pic

Hi, I'm Ashley. I started this blog when I moved from Florida to the SF Bay Area, and I love to help you live a balanced life, making sure you never skip a rest day. I'm a mom and fitness instructor, and A Lady Goes West is where I share my workouts, simple meals and wellness tips with you. Find out more about me and stay awhile!

Connect with me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search This Blog

Follow

Get my ebook

Fit & Fertile ebook: How I found my body's fitness from the inside out by overcoming hypothalamic amenorrhea.

Recent Posts

  • Current faves: We’re in Charlotte, a book, Clean Deo and workouts
  • How to start 2021 off right and my goals for this year
  • My best memories from eight years in California
  • A Lady Goes West year in review for 2020 (personal and professional)
  • We’ve got news: We’re moving!

SIGN UP FOR A FREE GIFT

Get a free "How to have a great week of workouts" checklist and action plan when you sign up for the list. Your email address will automatically be added and stored to receive new posts by email and more. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

The latest on Instagram

Exactly twelve years ago today, I spotted Dave acr Exactly twelve years ago today, I spotted Dave across the bar in Orlando and decided to chat him up. And really, the rest is history, and boy am I glad I made that decision that day. We celebrated today by retrieving our cars that finally made it across the country and returning our rental car. Here’s to making the first move, because sometimes it totally pays off! ❤️
Hi, I'm Ashley Pitt, formerly Ashley Pinder, or AP Hi, I'm Ashley Pitt, formerly Ashley Pinder, or APin or APinder, as my friends used to call me. It's been a long time since I introduced myself here on IG. And even though most of you know a lot about me, some of you don't. So here's a quick download (paired with a sequence of photos that took place yesterday):

-I was born and raised in Florida, I spent the last eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and I just moved with my little family to Charlotte, North Carolina one week ago.
-I've been a fitness instructor for 11 years, and I started out teaching Les Mills BODYPUMP as a side hobby while I held down a job at a public relations agency in Orlando. By the way, I never imagined I'd leave the corporate world behind, but I'm so glad I did. And now I work for myself with fitness, blogging and Beautycounter as my full-time gigs, in addition to momming, of course.
-I haven't taught an in-person fitness class in 10 months, but I teach virtual classes every week, and I absolutely love it. Send me a DM if you want to work out with me!
-Yes, I'm a mom. But I had a hard time getting pregnant while struggling with hypothalamic amenorrhea. With a few lifestyle changes, I was able to recover, and because of that experience, I've adopted a "no extremes" motto when it comes to food and exercise. Now I have one 3-year-old curly-haired son named Brady, and I have a small fluffy dog named Rudy, and they are the cutest.
-I started my blog, A Lady Goes West, more than 8 years ago, and I write new blog posts every Tuesday and Friday. If you've never read it yet, I'd love to have you come on over.
-Here on my IG profile, you can expect some real talk about wellness, mom life, moving to Charlotte, fitness and all of that good stuff. I don't track macros, I don't create fancy recipes, and I don't do anything D-I-Y, but I still hope to connect with you and add some positive value to your feed. Thanks for being here!
Greetings from Charlotte, North Carolina! We’re Greetings from Charlotte, North Carolina! We’re just finishing up day four of our moving-back-east adventure, and so far so good. Although the planner in me does look forward to some more certainty, we’re enjoying the fun of this transitional time as we look for a house and find our way in a new city. It definitely feels like we are just temporary visitors right now, which is a feeling I felt when we first landed in San Francisco. But that’s just part of the beauty of moving. And by the way, you’ll see me repeating clothes for a bit until our stuff makes its cross-country arrival, so let me introduce you to this outfit:
-Jacket is @fabletics
-Scarf is @ragandbone
-Leggings are @caliabycarrie
-Shoes are @drschollsshoes
-Shades are @vincecamuto
-Brady’s wearing all @oldnavy with some @hunterboots.
Here’s to starting our first full week in the Queen City! Have a good one, friends.
Peace out, California. This lady who went west is Peace out, California. This lady who went west is officially heading back east. Today, we closed on the sale of our home, the movers drove off with our stuff, and we ended an 8-year-and-3-month adventure in the San Francisco Bay Area. What a ride it has been, full of amazing moments, great memories, tough situations, so much learning and even more growing into who we are today. We’re heading to North Carolina with clear eyes and full hearts — so you know what that means.
.
By the way, I wrote a post about my best memories from the last eight years, which is on A Lady Goes West right now, if you want to check it out! See you soon from the Eastern time zone!
So many things were tough for us in 2020, but boy So many things were tough for us in 2020, but boy am I glad we went through it all together. The highlight of the year was - by far - time spent with my little family. And we’re looking ahead to the big changes we have in store, with one-way tickets booked out of California next week. Happy New Year, friends! Here’s to change in 2021! 🎉🥂😍
Hands up in the air if you’re ready for a new ye Hands up in the air if you’re ready for a new year? While we know things don’t drastically change just because the date says 2021 instead of 2020, there is some power in possessing a more positive mindset and having your eyes wide open for more good ahead so you can accept it as it comes. Let’s be honest: This year has had some major ups and downs, and I’m definitely ready to embrace change, but I also know that change takes time and I’ve got to keep pushing for it, even if it doesn’t happen instantly.
.
Speaking of 2020, today I published the final post of the year on A Lady Goes West with a raw look at a year in review both personal and professional, so head on over if you’re interested in that.
.
And finally, this detailed-back bra is from @caliabycarrie and I’m loving it. It’s the Made to Move Strappy Back, and I have it in a ton of colors. #caliabycarrie #ad
Load More... Follow on Instagram

As seen on

A Lady Goes West is a personal blog meant for entertainment purposes only and does not serve as a substitute for professional advice from your own doctor, trainer or nutritionist. While I'm a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor, the workouts, food and plans I post are what works for me and may not work for you. Please enjoy these stories and tips from my life, but proceed with caution. Also, know that affiliate links and sponsored posts appear from time-to-time, and I appreciate your support. For more information about how your data is stored, visit my Privacy Policy. Thanks for reading!

Copyright © 2021 Ashley Pitt (A Lady Goes West) · Design by MakeMe{dia}Over