It is official preseason is officially underway for me and I am determined that I am going to be going into the new season in September in the best shape possible. After a season of injury last season I am not going to be making the same mistakes and I am going to be ensuring that I go into the season with a lower weight, more strength and even better overall fitness however, it is going to take a lot of hard work between now and the 1st of September to get to this point and that is why I am setting myself some goals to achieve before then to keep me on track for getting in the best shape. So here are a break down on the goals I am setting myself for the next few months... 

Get as close to 95 kg as possible

If I hit 95 kg I will be at my lowest weight in quite a while which would be a huge achievement but as I am sitting at around the 108 kg mark at the moment this is going to require a big push with a loss of 1.2kg per week being need to hit the goal. Even if I get to 98kg I will be at a much lower weight than when I started last season which will be a huge bonus. I am just hoping that by dropping weight my body won't be put under as much stress so I hopefully get less injuries over the course of the season. 

Play in as many friendlies as possible

Friendlies are a good way to get in shape for the season as you are gaining valuable game time in each one and there is no better way of getting season ready than actually playing games. The more game time I get under my belt in preseason should mean I am building up my fitness ready for the season to begin and also should mean I am working on technical ability in the friendlies too. I want to make sure I am playing in as many as possible and only missing ones due to being away, no excuses now it is time to show up.

Attend as many football training sessions as possible

Just like with the friendlies attending training is going to help me get in much better shape so rather than going and watching the team I support in friendlies the plan is to go to my own football training and smash the hours session. This will help me improve all round and means I am getting an extra hours workout in each week which should help with getting close to the weight goal too. 

Build the strength in my knee

My knee got worse last season and I actually had 3 months out due to injuring it pretty badly and those 3 months were awful not being able to play so I want to limit the chances of this happening again. The weight loss will definitely help me with my knee not being under so much pressure however, I want to make sure I am also using the off season to do some strengthening exercises on my knee whilst in the gym so I am going into the new season in the best position possible with my knee.

Improve my overall fitness

My current fitness levels might as well not exist and that is something that drives me insane as I know I have the potential to really improve my fitness levels if I just put the work in. So that is my plan this off season, get plenty of cardio sessions in and really make a difference in my fitness and stamina so that I get more minutes under my belt in the season and also can impact the team in a much better way than I have been. 

Work on my ball control

I feel like a lot of my ball game needs work after so long out injured last season as I feel a bit rusty on the pitch. The plan is to have a few solo sessions in the garden or with Liam just working on my ball control like dribbling, first touch and passing & receiving. Just 30 minutes a few times a week would massively help me with this so I just need to get out and do it.

Work on my finishing

Whilst I am working on my ball control I also want to work on my finishing as the potential is there as I scored 3 goals last season but I know with a bit of work on technique, power and accuracy I could potentially score a few more goals and help the team out a bit more. Just 30 minutes a few times a week would also massively improve this and also would help with strengthening my leg.

Hit the gym 3 times a week

Alongside all the above I want to make sure I am in the gym doing 3 sessions a week on both weights and cardio. This just helps me with working towards all the above and should really help me get in shape all round not just for football. I have learnt recently the gym is actually not as bad as I once thought so it is about time I get the most out of my membership. 

Drop a clothing size

Finally one of my goals is to put all the above into practice and drop at least one clothing size going into the new season. A week before the new season begins I want to go on a trip to buy some new base layers that are a size below my usual and when the gear order goes in for the start of the season I want to be able to treat myself to some new club branded items in at least a size smaller than my current extra large that I am wearing. 

So there you have it those are my goals for the preseason if I did manage to hit all these I would definitely be going into the season in the best shape I have been in a long time which should definitely set me up for a good season ahead. Now I just need to zone in and stick to the plan, let's see how this goes...

See you soon

Lucy

We are finally on a mission to get the house done up after being in there for 7 years. We recently completed our hallway and although we are now trying to rebuild our savings account we are desperately trying to build our funds back up so we can try get the dining room done before my birthday in September which will be a push but it will certainly be worth it if it does happen as the dining room is somewhere we have wanted to redo for a while now to make it a cosy practical space rather than a dumping ground.

The first thing we really need to do when it comes to this room is settle on a colour, I am thinking a nice beige to create the cosy vibe we want to aim for but if it takes half as long to decide as picking for the hallway did then we need to get moving on this now. The room is already basically cleared out thanks to some decluttering the other week however, we will need to move our current alcohol cabinet out of the way and our table so this won't take too long. One things are moved out we can get the wallpaper off the walls which won't take long as half of it is coming off already. Once all this is done we can get the plasterer & decorator in and really transform this room.

To get the ball moving we have already got a quote for the plastering which is coming in at just over £500 alongside the decorating quote which is also just over £500. We also bought the flooring for this area when we bought the flooring for the hallway which means that is already paid for and we don't need to worry about it. We have also managed to save some money by claiming my parents old dining table which is the perfect size for us and is in great condition. We have also already picked out our pieces of furniture too and know we need around £200 for the pieces we have our eye on, which include the IKEA Skruvby sideboard which would ultimately become our bar area. The plan though is to keep this room cosy, clutter free and somewhere we can enjoy nice meals and host in from time to time.

Fingers crossed we can get this done in the time frame we are hoping for however, if we do need to push the time frame on a bit then so be it just as long as we get this room perfect and a far cry from what it is now.

Operation get the house changed is 100% a go now and we are both so determined to create the perfect space for us to live in and enjoy spending our days & evenings in...

Now let's get planning properly for this space...

See you soon,

Lucy

I am not sure what has happened lately but I seem to have opened my eyes to reality a little bit more and have come to the conclusion that it is time for things to change in life. I am at the point where I am sick of being run down and seemingly having no time to work on myself and the ideas I have for the websites I run. Over the past few weeks I have realised that things definitely need to change and therefore going forward I am going to be prioritizing certain things within my life to improve the quality of life I have, my mental and physical health and so that I can also work on those things I really want to work on rather than them being thrown to one side like they currently are. So here are the things I am going to be prioritizing going forward...

The foods I eat

I am low on energy most days and I know that this is partly down to the foods I eat. It is time for the junk food to go and for me to start incorporating a bit more of an ultra processed free diet into my day to day life. I know that this isn't going to change overnight however, I am going to be making these changes gradually until I am eventually sticking to whole clean foods. By prioritizing eating clean whole foods I should see my weight loss journey progress well and I will hopefully have more and more energy each day to put time and effort into the other areas of my life I want to work on.

My fitness & moving my body

Just with the foods I eat I want to make sure I am prioritizing my fitness and moving my body each day. My weight has been slowly creeping back up and I want to make sure it is starting to go down in the right direction once again. I know that if I make getting a 45 minute workout in each day a priority and working on increasing my steps my fitness levels are going to massively change and I am finally going to see the progress take place for me to hit that overall weight loss goal. The workouts I do are going to be mixed between weights, football, swimming and boxing so I won't get bored and the discipline to hit all the sessions should soon start to take place and I am determined to make this stick so the progress starts flowing.

Family Time

I feel like sometimes I don't spend enough time with Liam so going forward I am making family time a priority so we spend more time together. The plan is to dedicate a few nights a week to having a video game night or board game night just the two of us with minimal distractions so we can enjoy the time together in peace, who knows we might even have TV nights so we can finally catch up on all those shows we want to watch together, all I know is family time is going right up to the top of the priority list.

The websites

The passion for the websites I run has slipped in recent years as I just haven't had the time to work on content for them but in all honesty I have missed writing for them so going forward a few nights a week are going to be where creating the content for the sites is going to become a priority. The plan is to dedicate a night to each site so I am not distracted and can get ahead of myself on content and then have a few hours on a weekend just tying up lose ends. I am really hoping that by making these a priority I can see the growth I have wished for all these years and really start to get the love for creating content back.

Myself 

Now this is a bit of a strange one but going forward I want to make myself a bit of a priority as at the moment I am really not doing this. By making myself a priority I mean actually prioritizing time to work on my skincare and hair care routines as my hair and skin at the moment are in terrible condition. I also want to prioritize time in a morning to get ready and build the perfect outfits each day rather than just throwing on any old clothes. I know that by doing this I will see the confidence rise in myself and other things will also start to fall into place.

I am really hoping that by making all these tings above a priority I will be able to see a huge difference in myself physically and mentally whilst also working on those things I really love. These priority's should really help that weight loss journey take shape too so let's see how things go.

See you soon, 

Lucy