2014 Year in Review!

2014 was the year The Jerd got serious.

I started this site two and a half years ago, with absolutely no plan whatsoever, with the only goal being to help some of my nerd friends live a little bit healthier. Since then it has blossomed into something I am truly proud of!

While I’m preparing to take more steps toward Internet domination in 2015, I wanted to take a look back at 2014 and relish in all the cool things we’ve done!

Moving On Up!

Growing and caring for a website, when it is not your full-time job, can be a daunting task.

While I have definitely not been able to devote the time and attention I really should, we have basically doubled a few key metrics – Daily site visits, Facebook fans and mailing list subscribers.

So for that, I am definitely happy.

And if you’ve ever shared one of my articles on Facebook, forwarded an email from our awesome mailing list, or told a friend about us, thank you. Seriously. I have spent most of the time I have available to me trying to generate the epic and insightful content I feel you deserve. All I can hope is that you all feel the message and content is worthwhile enough to continue to share into the New Year!

As the site continues to grow, I want to make sure that we develop a positive atmosphere where you all feel you get the support and assistance that you need to meet your individual fitness goals. I promise I will keep exploring more options to not only reach more like-minded people but to increase the reach of our positive message.

Speaking of which…

Forging Alliances

While being a superhero is cool, being a superhero in a team is even cooler!

So I spent 2014 looking for folks to help join my nerdy Fellowship of Fitness; and find a few spectacular partnerships I most certainly did!

First up are the fine folks over at Geeked Out Fitness. Awesome clothes and even awesomer people! They have been outstanding to work with, produce some of the coolest (and geekiest) workout clothes around and invited me to table with them at Baltimore Comic-Con.

Next up is the amazingly cool Internet Geek Girls Pen Pal Club (IGGPPC). In their own words this fantastic website “was designed to bring together the nerd community through shared interests in all things geeky, a love of stationery, and an interest in making friends.” Not only do they succeed spectacularly at their mission, but they have brought me in to develop and orchestrate multiple fitness challenges for their members. I’m definitely down for more collaborations with them in the near future.

Although we didn’t get a chance to elaborate much in 2014, Mike Sweetman from Be A Healthy Geek (whose mission is wonderfully similar) reached out to me and I am looking forward to teaming up and spreading the geekfit message.

Finally, I decided to team with eMeals.com; a genius meal planning service designed to take the guess-work out of your healthy menu. If you are having a hard time finding recipes to make, or shopping, let these guys prepare your weekly menus and send you shopping lists (and coupons)!

I’m looking forward to doing more cool stuff with these awesome people in 2015!

Epic Posts

I have a confession to make.

I did not produce the amount of content you guys deserve in 2014.

While the majority of the articles are as in-depth and detailed as you’ve come to expect (averaging well over 2,000 words) I fell short of my goal; which was giving you 50 articles this year. I missed the mark by 9.

And even though I am disappointed that I let my loyal readers down, I am super proud of the articles that did get published!

We’ve tackled a ton of different topics this year, and I wanted to highlight some of my favorites.

All about eating healthy and exercising while staying geeky:

• How To: Warm Up Properly – Don’t sprain your spleen working out cold.
• Nerd-Core Fitness 102 Workouts – 3 beginner level workouts you can do at home.
• Beginner Guide to Strength Training – A beginner weight lifting program for those ready to hit the gym!
• Avengers Workout – A fun workout you can do while watching the Avengers for 371st time.
• The Walking Dead Workout – Zombies!
• Clean Eating 101 – Everything you need to know about cleaning up your diet.
• Fitness Lessons from the Temple of Doom – Fitness guidance from Indiana Jones!

Obviously, I believe a fit geek is the best kind of geek but that doesn’t mean that’s all we talk about! Here are some other subjects I tackled:

• How to Develop Super Heroic Willpower – All the fitness goals in the world don’t matter if you don’t have the willpower to follow through.
• Nerds vs Zombies – The Walking Dead Escape – More Zombies!
• How to Measure Your Body Fat Percentage – The scale isn’t the best way to track progress, instead measure your body fat.
• Prioritize Your Health – Make your health a priority!
• Fitness Lessons from the Temple of Doom – Unique fitness lessons from Indiana Jones.
• How to Fail at Fitness – Everything you can do wrong in one detailed (and sarcastic) guide.
• It’s Time to Talk Nerd Tolerance – We get a little real and talk body-shaming and geek tolerance.

I promise to write more for you all in 2015.

And speaking of writing lots of words…

The Heroes’ Transformation Guide

Instead of covering the site in ads, I’ve chosen a different path when it comes to building The Jerd. If I ever promote a product it is because I truly believe in it, and the only time I am going to ask anyone for money to help run the site is if I give them something truly worthwhile in return.

So I wrote some books!

Even though I have probably put at least 150,000 words to paper screen over the life of this website, the thought of publishing a book scared the bejeezus out of me… but I did it anyway!

I knew that while I was pumping out tons of content, that it was going to take people a lot of searching to find all the information they might need to effectively start their fitness journey.

So I sat down and laid it all out in a logical progression over the course of 3 volumes, and in August of 2014 I unleashed it on the world!

I have to say, it was really cool to be able to hold something *I* made in my hands and have people want to buy it from me.

The most important thing here is that people are getting fit and healthy, not making money. But if you want to support our mission, then make sure to pick up a copy of the book here in our e-store or at a convention.

Just look for display in the photo above and come talk to me, I’d love to meet you!

Flying the Jerd Flag

Nothing makes me happier than seeing people embrace the Jerd lifestyle! Here are a few of my favorite 2014 moments featuring you!

Whether it’s a random status I get tagged in on Facebook…

Awesome tweets…

Photos …

Or ambitious undertakings like making a vlog…

How cool is that?!?

No matter what the format is, I truly get excited every time I see stuff like this. Keep it up everyone!

Make sure to send your fitness tweets, statuses and pictures in (admin@thejerd.com) so we can share them all across social media!

What’s Next?

When I look forward to 2015 I immediately get pumped!

I already have some seriously bad-ass articles in the works for the new year, more conventions booked and some pretty cool collaborations planned. That just scratches the surface of what we have planned though!

Even though The Jerd started as a hobby for me to help others get fit and healthy, I always envisioned it becoming a community. A community of like-minded nerds and geeks; seeking to live life just a little healthier. So I am working on making that a reality as we speak; keep your eyes out for the addition of a health and exercise forum here on the site in the Spring.

2015 is going to be huge!

While I laid the foundation for some epic alliances in 2014, it is 2015 that is really going to see them kick into high gear. Definitely keep your eyes peeled for even more partnerships and collaborations with other fantastic brands and companies.

In addition to all of that I am working on another volume to the Heroes’ Transformation Guide filled with beginner exercise routines you can accomplish in the comfort of your own home; and who knows, you might even be able to find an actual copy on your bookshelves … Oops, I may have said too much.

And goals for the site aren’t the only things I have planned for 2015. I plan on finishing my NASM Personal Trainer certification this year as well so I can better serve all of you loyal readers out there.

When I look back on everything we have accomplished (that’s right, I said “we”… none of this would have been possible without all of you) I can’t help but swell with pride and joy.

I wake up excited to check my email, Twitter and Facebook messages and see you all reaching out, looking for advice, offering up your success stories, and I finish my evenings proud of the work that I put into this site and all of its associated projects. ost of all I am proud of each and every one of you that has made positive steps to eat healthier, get stronger and feel better about yourselves.

Sincerely, thanks for joining me on this epic journey!

How did 2014 go for you? What’s on your plate for 2015? What goals can I help you achieve?!?

(Photo #2 credit)

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