Target practice

How was your holiday weekend?   Any major food regrets?  Me either!  I came, I saw, I ate and drank whatever I dang well pleased and now, I lock, reload and take aim yet again.

Speaking of aim, we had a special invitation to spend the weekend with friends at the Nukid Ranch in West Texas. Me, Mr. Chicken Fry and the teen queen loaded up the truck pointed west bound and down for a little time away from city life. What’s not to love about two days/ nights in the great outdoors?

Three families, 6 kids and a dog named Joe all fired up to play ranch.  We toasted, roasted, hunted, talked walked, and hiked.  We kicked back, sang campfire songs and admired God’s glorious starry sky.  Yall, I saw two of the most spectacular Texas sunsets one can see!  The backdrop had all the colors. Check this out!

One afternoon, we pulled out the BIG GUNS!  Our buddy Ray is an avid gun collector extraordinaire. When it comes to the ins and outs of all things guns, he’s the dude to know. He’s got it all and knows how to use it!

Our gang tactfully geared up and followed Ray to his spot. An open range with several different useful target points.  Once he was set up and fully loaded, he kindly gestured for someone to step up and take a turn.

When it comes to guns I’m no stranger but hardly an expert! Sure I have been around guns my entire ever-loving life but truthfully I couldn’t tell you the difference between a 22 Beretta and Colt 45. Or is this even a thing or maybe it’s a beer? I basically know enough to be dangerous like how to release the safety and pull the trigger. BOOM!  OK so I’m not exactly a weapon connoisseur or expert marks man but I have actually shot Mr. Chicken Fry’s  hand guns and my daddy’s rifles. So I got this, I took a turn! 

Yall, I bellied up to this gun like a marine on a covert mission. I had my head phones on and a navy seal battle face ready to attack.  Ray was very cool and collected explaining how to operate the gun. But even still, GUNS, big or small, can be incredibly intimidating. Not to mention, dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.  Ray pulled out one of his several high-powered semi automatic rifles with a scope.  Check it out y’all.  Ray is not playing around!

Oh geeze, what’s was happening?  Suddenly I was na-na nervous!  Breathe Angi, breathe. I was clamming up big time.  The wind was blowing hard and cagillion miles an hour.  The target was so so so very far away.  My heart racing and beating off the chart. I was having a hard time finding the destination through the scope. Talk about fish out of water.  I was bobbing and weaving like an amateur searching for the bowling pins below.  Once I finally had my sight on the target I became aware of my shaky hands.   What the heck?  

I’m wau out of practice that’s what!!! It’s been several years since I shot any type of gun. It’s unfamiliar. Gun shooting is not a habit or something I do once a month or on any type of routine basis.  I’m not a member of a gun club.  I don’t routinely set up target practice. So with caution, I removed my finger from the trigger and stepped away from the gun to compose myself.

I needed a minute to evaluate what was going on with me.  I think I was anxiously anticipating the blow back. Sometimes when you fire a gun there is a significant kick back.  I was wound up tight and concerned more about the back lash of possible pain than the prize I was aiming for.

Have you ever felt this way about weight loss or FITness?  You’re glaring down the barrel of 15 pounds of unwanted belly fat and in the distance you see the bull’s-eye but your mind is elsewhere.  Your heart is there but your mind isn’t in it. You become overwhelmed and paralyzed by the amount of effort required to drop the first 5 pounds.  Perhaps you invest in the gear and show up to the gym or class take one look at all the equipment and totally freeze up?

Are you like me?  Do you pump the brakes because you’re anticipating the FITness blow back.  You are all too worried about the sore muscles, the sweat, the racing heart rate?   Does the change you need to make in your diet / lifestyle engulf you with stress causing a clammy state of terror?

Lighten up buttercup no one is going to starve on my watch. Besides that, you’re really just out of practice.You have to get set line up the cross hairs, lean into to it, breathe and gently squeeze the trigger!

I patiently watched the others take turns. Guess what, I wasn’t the only one with jitters! We all felt very insecure and childish. So guess what I did?

YES, I REENGAGED!  I tried again and again and again.  I shot several rifles and handguns.

Are you all too familiar with the nervous feeling bubbling up when you think about exercise?  Does it seem like everyone knows what they are doing.  I bet half the population is winging it!

Hey hon, it’s time for TARGET PRACTICE!

The point is you have to gear up and fire a shot. Keep aiming for the target and fire away.    Rounds and rounds of practice. Pay no attention to the big machinery and sweaty people on the surrounding treadmills. Keep your eyes on the prize.  Your progress is the target not theirs. Your health is the bull’s eye babe!

Get active and start with basic exercises such as squats, lunges, tricep dips, sit ups, crunches and push ups.  Hold still, breath and squeeze through each exercise. Start with 15 reps of each exercise and complete three rounds of each!

Are you way out of practice on healthy eating?  Do you need a refresher or training course?  I have the perfect solution.  It’s called Angi’s FIT tips and meal plan.  I have done the labor for you.  I have rifled through countless protein bars and shakes.  I have measured taste and protein quality all for your sake!   Let me be your guide to the GUN SHOW!  A  hungry body is a healthy body and babe, it’s time to re-engage! 

From time to time you might need to change it up and try-different weaponry. Home workout routines or workout on the go due to your crazy travel schedule or stay at home mom gig might have you temporarily land locked. I had to adjust my aim. I tried another rifle then on to the smaller hand guns. I felt more confident the longer I was engaged. Find a Virtual FITness trainer. They are everywhere and or hire me!

FITness is the same way. Every time you step into a training session or into the gym your workout is essentially a practice session. Every exercise and rep is a round or target practice. Whittling away at the target which is your butt, arms, abs, legs. Your fully engaged in a total body transformation.

You may feel scared and shaky but with practice comes confidence. Next, having an accountability coach helps!  Ray was tender but tough.  He had rules and regulations and yet a way of endearing encouragement.  He genuinely wanted to coach us all the way to the target.

Are you gun-shy?  Maybe FITness is like a foreign land.  You don’t speak the language or  have a clue where to start,  where to go or who to trust,.

I’m a FITness professional with 20 plus years of FITness experience. I can help you get your mind and body right. I’m a fat extinguisher. I get results and I hardly ever miss the mark. Each workout session is practice. Don’t back down doll.

Love, pull the trigger and get FITter!  

Angi