During the last few months I have been on a journey. Where to, you ask? To a lot of places, I say! First and foremost was to get healthy, and be more active. Second was to continue to work towards getting my hunting license. Neither were as simple as a short sentence, but I’m happy to report that since the journey began sometime in November, I have made a lot of positive changes and am steps closer to where I want and need to be.
In November I cut out watching TV. I still do turn it on occasionally for the news, traffic and weather in the morning, and also at night while getting ready for bed, but I no longer watch all the primetime television that used to watch. And while I was never a big time TV watcher, cutting out that 1-2 hours a night has given me the time to get back on the treadmill, to start running (yes, you read that right, I said running) and get in some solid workout time. That has all prompted me to change the way I eat, when I eat and how I eat. Thanks in no small part to a wonderful friend/trainer/attorney who has given me some amazing advice and other friends who have passed on techniques, exercises, food options etc. I have officially lost 21 pounds.
Aside from the running, walking, and stretching I have also incorporated weights, lots of upper body and core strengthening exercises and I make sure that I get out and hike the property whenever I am home during daylight hours. In a million years I’ve never thought I would run. I’ve always wanted to try, but I just never did and now, I love it. To be fair, I hate it about as much as I love it. I’ve also added push ups, planks and some other crazy moves that I was never a fan of and the difference I can see is amazing. My clothes fit better, I feel better and I have more energy. How can this not be a good thing? And the motivation that it continues to give me is priceless.
Being unhappy and not feeling good about myself was just part of the reason I started it all. The second part of my journey was to work towards getting my hunting license. More so than passing the safety course (which I take in mid-April) and more so than studying and learning things, I realized I needed to be in better shape. For one most hunting requires you to sit on your butt in the woods somewhere for hours at a time in varying temperatures. While that sounds easy to do, I’m here to tell you that if you are not in good shape, it’s not as easy as it is for someone who is in great shape. On top of that, I NEEDED to get my upper body and core in better shape in order to be able to support my bow and/or gun. So I set out on a course of different training methods that would hopefully help in that. And again, am happy to say that all the upper body training has really helped with my bow hunting. My bow is currently set at just about 40 #’s and I can easily fire 12 arrows at the target before my arm gets tired.
Passing my test in April, and getting my license are of course just some of the major stepping stones to hopefully getting my first deer come fall. At the end of the day, I’ve worked hard to get where I am today, but I have a lot more work ahead of me. “The best way to get something done is to begin.” And so I’ve begun.
And I’m here to share it all with you.
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