@Jack Bennett Welcome mate 👊 You’ve already got the important bit, you know how much better you feel when you’re training, and you’ve got a proper reason to get back there. Don’t worry about trying to become the old version of you overnight. Start the 12-week programme, get some consistency back, tighten the food up and let the motivation come after the routine starts working. Getting yourself ready for the RM Reserves is a cracking target as well. Keep us updated in here with how you’re getting on. 💪

@Michael Rose Welcome in, Michael 👊 Thirty pounds is absolutely manageable, but don’t look at the whole 30 right now. That can make it feel like a mountain. And forget waiting for motivation, motivation comes and goes. The aim is to build a routine you can still follow on the days you can’t be arsed. Start small, get some wins under your belt, and build from there. Work through the 12-Week Reset, don’t try to change everything overnight, and keep checking in here with how you’re getting on. We’ll help keep you moving in the right direction. 💪

Good start, Richard 👊 Turning the journey from work into a 1.7-mile tab is a decent way to start building some consistency without going mad with the weight. Just be sensible with that ankle and build it up gradually rather than trying to make up for lost time. Keep us updated with how it goes mate. brilliant stuff! 🛡️

@Richard Flavell Nice one, Richard 👊 2.1 miles is a solid start, especially if the foot’s already complaining a bit. Keep tomorrow sensible, same again if it feels manageable, but don’t turn a good start into an injury by forcing it. Keep stacking those walks up.

@Christopher Bradshaw Welcome in, Chris 👊 Sounds like you’ve been through the mill a bit, mate. The important thing is you’re making changes and getting moving again. With the injury history, don’t worry about trying to do everything at once. Build it back steadily and use the programme as a framework rather than trying to prove anything on day one. Have a look at the Start Here post underneath this one when you get a chance that’ll show you where to begin. Good to have you here, mate. 🛡️💪

@James Nelson Morning James. Thanks for being open about that, mate. That sounds like a really rough place to be in, especially when you’ve gone from competing in strongman and having that structure and identity to dealing with a breakup and everything around the kids. When a big part of your life disappears at once, it can leave you wondering who the fuck you are for a while. Don’t put pressure on yourself to have everything sorted straight away. Start small, training, routine, getting your head straight, one day at a time. That’s genuinely what I want Shield Wall to be for. Somewhere you can rebuild without pretending everything’s fine. Have a look through Start Here underneath this post when you’re ready, and keep talking to us in here as well. Really glad you joined us, James. 🛡️👊

Good stuff mate 👊 Rehab comes first. Keep working around the shoulder and building back up properly. Once it’s behaving itself we’ll get you properly stuck into the ShieldWall programme.

@Mark Scaife I definitely know that place. 😆

@Richard Flavell I did a lot of my training up that way with the Parachute Regiment, especially around Catterick and North Yorkshire. Beautiful part of the country, although I probably appreciated the scenery a bit less when I was tabbing through it with a bergen on my back 😂 Scottish Borders sounds like a decent shout for a quieter life though. 👊🛡️