How I'm getting my body ready for my holiday in Ischia (It's Not What You Think)

I'm going to a wedding in Ischia next week. Two of my favourite people, an Italian island, and presumably a lot of very good food. I cannot wait.

Johnny was supposed to be coming with me, he was so excited for the proper Italian pizza and pasta…and the wedding of course! But last week he tore his Achilles tendon. Skateboarding, before you ask. He's 46. I know. He was doing a gentle push-off move, nothing dramatic, and that was that. If he'd fallen and broken something it would apparently have been easier to recover from. Instead he's on the sofa with a moon boot on his leg eating ‘tuscan sausage’ and ‘chicken and prosecco risotto’ ready meals and I'm on a plane to a wedding without him.

Anyway. I've been getting my body ready for the trip. Just not in the way the internet would have you believe.

Not cutting carbs. Not doing extra cardio. Not standing in front of the mirror deciding which parts of myself to hide under which dress.

Here's what I've actually been doing.

Farmer's carries. Because I will be navigating airports, cobbled streets and ferry terminals with luggage, and I refuse to be the person who needs help with their bag. A farmer's carry, if you're not familiar, is exactly what it sounds like: you pick up something heavy in each hand and walk with it. It's one of the most functional exercises there is, and it builds the kind of grip and shoulder strength that makes real life noticeably easier. I've been loading mine up specifically with the wedding trip in mind.

Shoulder presses. Same principle. Building the kind of strength that means I don't need to ask for help, don't throw my back out wrestling a suitcase into an overhead locker, and can dance at a wedding without my body staging a protest the next morning.

Winding down rather than ramping up. Pre-holiday is the worst time to go hard. High cortisol going into a trip is a one-way ticket to spending day two in bed with a cold while everyone else is at the pool, I have been there done that, and I know I’m not the only one. I've been deliberately reducing stress, prioritising sleep and doing sessions that feel good rather than punishing.

Eating well, not eating less. I want to arrive in Italy with energy, not depleted and running on empty. Eating nutritiously in the weeks before a trip means your body actually has something in the tank.

None of this is about how I'll look on a beach. It's about how I'll feel on a ferry, in an airport, at a wedding, dancing with people I love on an island in Italy.

That's what a strong body is actually for.

(And yes, before I left I designed Johnny a rehabilitation programme. He is not appreciating it yet. I am choosing to roll my eyes.)