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Been a while since I updated you all.. So what's been going on with me?

IT'S 2018

Firstly how an earth are we almost half way through February? Blimey just have to blink and we're into next week!

"New year, new me" - enough of the BS, no one should wait until a "NEW YEAR", if you're determined to make any changes however big or small, fitness related or changes to your body clock.. the change starts when you realise you want to make a difference to your life, don't wait and say 'Tomorrow' or 'One day' not even 'if only I did..', live life to the best of your abilities and more, have no regrets and be proud of everything you accomplish. We learn many things from many of the greats.. "Age eighteen or nineteen is when the mind is ready... if you wait till thirty it's too late" (Schwarzenegger, A. Total Recall. 2012)

Uni

I've started a new uni course - Exercise and Fitness management. For those who have been following my blog and any of my social media, you will know how passionate I am about fitness and lifestyle. I was very lucky and fortunate to be able to transfer onto this course. The more I study my passion, the more I can't wait to pursue and persevere into the fitness industry. It's going to be a challenge, but one I'm very excited for!

Deadline season is approaching, now this doesn't excite me quite as much as starting the new course! We don't get anywhere in life without a little hard work, so here's to hibernating in the library for the next few months.

Training

During last year I had many problems with knee, hip and shoulder pain due to lacking mobility, this made simple lifting movements such as deadlifts and squatting extremely difficult and rather painful which was ridiculously frustrating especially as I love lifting so much! I had to find a solution.. which was focusing on my mobility! Plenty of stretching, regular walking and required rest periods enabled my hip flexes to loosen, my knee pain to decrease and my shoulders, still very temperamental but with incorporated resistance training they're getting stronger and less painful. Taking regular supplements for joint care helped massively (supplements such as Osteocare and Omega-3)

I set a goal at the end of 2017 to squat 80kg for high reps (8-12). I knew this would be a challenging task after taking into consideration my poor mobility (it was painful to body weight squat let alone 80!) However.. the magic, the miracle, the MOBILITY absolutely saved me and last week I squatted 80kg for 10 reps!! Smashing goals means we have to create new ones! Here's a new goal of squatting 100kg for high reps, now that is going to be something to chase, my 1RM in August was only 97.5kg therefore here's to 2018 and many personal records to come.

Deadlifts - there's no real goal set for these currently, after putting my body through such strain (I was testing heavy lifts (1-5 reps) multiple days of the week) I like to just get in there and do them! Whether they're 120kg or 60kg, I'm not particularly bothered, as long as I start with the right mentality and finish with pride and achievement through using correct technique, I'm happy. I love to test my limits, and increase my weight but ONLY if I feel comfortable with this, as soon as I lose the correct positioning and posture or I begin to feel pain, it either terminates or the weight is dropped and I focus on the movement properly. Currently deadlifting 100-110kg 4x6, and I'm okay with that!

I am absolutely loving my training currently, every session is always challenging, I feel great during and after the sessions and I have constant support from my coach! There's been some good weeks and some bad weeks, however perseverance is key, we learn from our failures and that is what makes us successful! I have seen progress in my training (strength and endurance), body composition, shape and my overall mental state.  If you're wanting to make a change but can't motivate yourself or have tried everything possible, get in touch with Chris Peden (Chris@hopeandanchorfitness.co.uk)

What do want to you train for? Are you doing it for yourself, a loved one, someone you want to impress or to increase your fitness, loose fat, gain strength, prep for a comp? At the end of the day I train because I love to, not because I have to or because remarks about my body have been over heard, but because I wanted to for myself, I have gained self confidence, happiness and strength out of it too. Once you begin to like what you see, feel happy with what you see and be positive other people will notice this too and it's the best feeling to have positive comments directed at you instead of yourself being paranoid and feeling negative all the time which will only lead to obsessive behaviour which is not healthy and interferes with your social circle and your mental/physical and emotional state. Do what makes you happy, enjoy life, enjoy what you do and most of all have fun! Be true and honest with yourself, don't expect too much and just live everyday as it comes.

Love always,

Less is more

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So here's a little post on keeping things simple.

I like to stay organised and on top of things but sometimes (most of the time) life gets in the way, whether it's work or general chores, the cleanliness of our bedroom space tends to get forgotten until we reach a climax where we can no longer take any more of the visual stress. I guess this is why they call it Spring cleaning, you reach a point in the year or maybe a few times, when you become fed up of the clutter and unnecessary products that you bought in a charity shop for 10p because it was "a bargain" which are now lurking around your room probably feeling smug because deep down there was a reason why you bought that silly item and you're still finding it difficult to part with it. We must rebel against our hearts and get rid!!

I like to have a minimal of clutter in my room and this afternoon I cleared 2 bin bags full of rubbish just loitering around my room. Now when I walk into my room with a scented candle burning, a women health issue on my bed and some fresh flowers to my side I can only feel at peace with myself.

I believe a clear and basic setting is much more appealing then a busy and loud scene. They tend to be more inviting as you get the feeling of space and a place to be at one with yourself to just run through your own thoughts.

It is more difficult to keep a space pure and clean if you don't spend that much time in your room. Most would believe that because they're not in that specific location it really doesn't bother them what it looks like as they don't have to be surrounded by the intentional chaos that would have only been caused by themselves.

A tip to keep your favourite spaces clean and desirable would be to declutter or keep on top of a tidy room at least once a month. Make sure you clean weekly including hoovering and fresh bed sheets as this will make a big difference and the scent will be very impacting and not uninviting, this is especially important for those at University, we all know the difficulties of living alone and forgetting that our parents are not around to tidy up after ourselves and this is where we slip up.. keep on top of things and you'll want to invite people round, you'll want to study at home and you'll enjoy it!

Keeping things simple includes colours, I believe plain, fresh shades lead to a purer looking room. For example, magnolia or cream are great colours to use as they're light meaning they make the room look more open and bigger than it is, expanding your space even though this may be psychological, it definitely works! Using darker colours such as rich purple or royal blue act as if there's too much going on in the room and appears to shrink the space.

Fresh flowers and scented candles are a great addition for all year round, the candles especially work in Autumn and winter, during darker and colder evenings these make you feel right at home and the fresh flowers are great for spring and summer months when the skies are lighter until late at night, flowers bring a pure fragrance of beauty and tranquility which makes you feel at peace when struggling through deadlines or stressing over loosing your Children's school tie.

I hope this has been a helpful post when it comes to visually de-stressting and spring cleaning!! A clear space leads to a clear mind.. peace will be found within yourself.

Love always,

Public Transport

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Hi there strangers, so it's been a fair while since I've last updated you all! But here's the latest enigma.
So this post is a little different, I would like to introduce the first rant to Lou's Life.. Enjoy!

2 words.. NATIONAL EXPRESS..

As if Travelling from Portsmouth up to Suffolk for 7 hours on a hot, sweaty, cramped coach isn't enough. Having to get across from the London Victoria Train station to the London Victoria Coach station I arrived 10 minutes before my coach was due to leave to find out it had already left!! To say I wasn't exactly thrilled would be an understatement!

Following this, I had to wait another 2 hours to get on a coach which would drop me at a destination half an hour away from where I should be!! Finally arriving home at 4am when I should have been there at 1am, I don't want to be stepping on any form of public transport for a fair while!

However I have arrived in the land of fields safely, after a hellish journey, the only thing getting me through that was the endless editions of Women's Health magazine and Netflix on my phone.

My advise to you all is, be punctual and don't be too reliant on public transport!!

Love always,

UPWRFC

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PROUD MOMENT! - This year I started playing for UPWRFC (University of Portsmouth women's rugby football club) I'm in my second year of playing rugby and to join a new team was rather exciting yet also nerve racking. Playing alongside these ladies is an absolute joy, we just wanted to go out there and pull together as a team and if we lost, at least we gave it out all.

So as the season goes, we have played 2 away matches and smashingly won 2 matches! Sussex Uni (cup match - destroyed this at 75-0) being the first of 2 and Brunel Uni being the second (31-5 to us).
Brunel are our home opposition next week, another game.. another win?

I definitely should not of hit the Gym so early on the Wednesday morning, especially for arms. It's safe to say a day later and I'm feeling the repercussions!

Whether we won or lost I just wanted to get some good tackles in and prevent them from scoring. We held our backs and was so close to having another nil for the opposition, yet Brunel only managed to score one try so we did pretty well on our defensive line! Safe to say we were on the celebrations, and rightly earned.

Watching England Red Roses against France (Women's) at the Stoop after our first match was a great way to end the day, especially as they also won! Making it a cracking day of rugby. It was great to watch the professionals and learn some more to take on our own pitch and succeed even further. To say the least we were all pretty knackered after this.

I love being part of this team so bring on future games, Tour and Bournemouth 7's.

UPWRFC

Love always, 

Forgetting fitness? Never

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I know this is another university post but also just a reminder that not everyone lives off vodka and chicken nuggets. Personally I have started to really experiment with my choice of meals and been home cooking basically all my meals, which for someone so into fitness is great, I prefer cooking from scratch as I know exactly what I'm eating and the amount of nutrition I'm receiving.

Ranging from banana pancakes and carrot cake porridge to cottage pie and chicken satay noodles, there's plenty of choice for student meals and for a great budget also, not to mention the goodness they are packed with. All to keep the energy levels high, for a student is very important!

Although eating healthy is one of the most important things and best way to keep a balanced diet, exercise is also a very important concept. Personally ranging from the gym and spinning classes to rugby training and runs along the beach.. there's plenty of ways to be burning energy and for us journalists, sweating off the last 2 hours of a shorthand lecture! Whether it's just a walk along the beach, spending a moment to yourself and getting fresh air is a great way to clear your head also. I love sitting on the beach for 5 minutes when I go for a morning run, I find it so peaceful and calming, one of my favourite places to be and I feel as if I'm surrounded by good vibes.

Of course, being a student I still have a high social, especially when it comes to a purple Wednesday rugby social!

I'll delve into a couple of easy recipe's within another post soon!

Hope you have enjoyed this quick post,

Love always