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I found Nerd Fitness a little less than 8 years ago as I was finishing up my doctorate and taking stock of the damage that too much stress and sitting in front of the computer had taken on my body. I'd gradually fallen into the very bad habit of rewarding myself with food or alcohol for pushing through and doing things that I didn't want to do .... like go to classes (and sit!) and write and edit and deal with my committee. I also rewarded myself with sweets and alcohol for putting up with the rolling unemployment and underemployment that hubby and I had both been experiencing since 2010. I was in a bad place physically and mentally. At least I knew it. Many years prior (1998 - 2003), I had been a part of an online group that connected Star Wars roleplay with real-life self improvement. We challenged each other to imagine .... what if we were modern Jedi?? What would we do? What would we study? How would we eat and workout? What would the daily life and training be like when we were not off, saving the Galaxy?? In answering that question, I had gotten into great shape, largely through martial arts and sensible nutrition. Fast forward to 2012, I wondered if there were any similar groups still online. A few clicks later, I was here. I think, at the time, I kinda had the same ideas as @Elastigirl .... that I'd be buff in no time and bench pressing my weight by the end of the year or something. My goals were pretty predictable, actually. I wanted to lose weight. My ideal weight during karate had been 127.5 pounds. I wanted to get back down to that level. It didn't exactly happen like that. My net loss has been 4 pounds, although given that the average person gains 1 to 2 pounds per year, I'm definitely beating the odds. I've had some successes and some set backs. Over the past 8 years, I've cycled in and out of the forums as life has gotten busy and I've had to move for work. But when things settle down again, I come back. It's difficult to find a group that is supportive like this one (although my CrossFit box comes close). You and this little old lady are my inspiration .... So .... I'm back again for the anniversary and to reboot lifestyle changes for the better by working on recovering strategies that work for me, improving my post-workout recovery (so I can workout more frequently again), and recovering some of our missing friends, I hope.

This challenge will be simple. Not easy, but simple in it's approach. Goal 1: Errgy Day I'm Shufflin' "Get Gud" on the Erg Rower aka Concept 2 Rower. Use the erg 3x a week. I have a beginners program I'm going to try out for the duration of this challenge. If I see that I'm "enjoying" the program, I'll finish out the last 4 weeks because it's an 8-week total beginner program. Possible Points: +3 END, +1 STR Goal 2: Gettin' Wet with Active Recovery Swim 1x a week. Use that day as an active recovery day and focus on proper breathing mechanics and recovery. Nothing fancy here-just get in the pool and work off the current weeks soreness. Also, spend more time with your Cooldown after the workout. DON'T SKIP THIS PART! Possible Points: +2 CON, +2 DEX Goal 3: Un-Desk Yourself 3x a day, for each day I'm at work, work in the un-desking exercises and compliment with some walking and foam rolling. Possible Points: +2 CON, +2 CHA Goal 4: GtG Pull-ups Continue my attempt to GtG with pull-ups and get stronger and more shredded with each passing day. Test max pull-up, chin-up, dead hang and hammer pull-ups and try to beat these totals by the end of the challenge. Possible Points: +3 STR Bonus Goal: Finish Shark Story Just because I need to start finishing my projects and not leaving people AND myself on cliff hangers. Get it together, Wolfie! Bonus (Bonus) Goal: Accountability Work with my good pal @Sylvaa and help keep her accountable to her swimming routine Wolf

Wasn't really sure what section to put this in, hopefully here is ok. Anyone got any thoughts on the above? I've recently been having a bit of trouble with my forearm and my shoulder. After lots of reading, scaling back my training and finally asking my mum it seems i'm riddled with muscle knots/trigger points (i'm not sure if they are the same thing or not). Are foam rollers the best thing for these? Using a tennis ball and the wall i've deduced i've got knots/points on my infraspinatus, as i get pain referral to the front of my shoulder and down my arm when i put pressure there. I've also got a biggy on my forearm (its actually caused a visible lump) that i'm having trouble getting rid of. I can get it to go down using pressure but after a while it just comes back. Any suggestions? Would active recovery help me prevent getting these again in the future? I've been toying with the idea of going back to swimming on my off days anyway, if that would also help this problem then i'd deffo do it. Thanks all