In an interview with Shape magazine, the 23-year-old actress says she reevaluated her exercise goals after injuring her back on the set of the TV series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." "It was a bad fall, and it really started hurting when I was dancing on tour."
Ashley was always petite and says that at first, she "hated" the gym, which "felt like torture" compared to the exercise she got while performing in the 'High School Musical' movies that didn't seem like work at all. "I was always super thin -- too skinny, actually. I felt like someone could break me in half."
The actress says that a big motivator for her in the gym now is her personal trainer, Christopher Hebert, with whom she's been working with for about eight months. "He's cute, which makes it fun, and he never lets our exercise session get boring."
Ashley says she also altered her diet after finding out her family history of diabetes. "After I found out my grandfather has it and my mom is borderline, I knew I had to get serious about my diet too," she tells Shape.
Check out the latest issue of Shape, on newsstands Dec. 29, for more workout tips from Ashley.
