A few years ago a new challenge made its way around the internet called the 75 Hard Challenge. Ever heard of it?
You may have asked yourself "Is it worth it?" You may even know someone who took on the challenge and completed it. The challenge was created by Andy Frisella in 2019 and it gained a lot of hype and millions of people decided to participate. Now here in the early part of 2024, the challenge is inspiring people to get into shape and change their lives again, the hype is back. In this blog, let's look at the 75 Hard Challenge and see if it is worth the hype.
Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the challenge so to speak, let me first say I give my full support for this program as it has inspired millions of people to take back control of areas in their lives they felt they had no control over and had essentially "given up" on. That being said, I applaud anything, any program or any person who inspires others and who also puts responsibility for change where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of the person wanting change and the 75 Hard Challenge does just that. All change, real change, comes from the inside, from the person striving for something better and as I studied the challenge in 2021 I became inspired.
75 days later I completed the 75 Hard Challenge and felt the exhilaration of completing it. I saw personally the benefits, both physical and mental, all while developing the discipline required to accomplish such a task. And now here we are in March of 2024, nearly 3 years to the day I started the challenge back in 2021 and I am feeling drawn to complete the challenge again. As I look back, I remember the days I did not want to stick to my nutrition plan. I remember the times I was exhausted and still needed to complete my second workout for the day. I remember the moments I wanted to go to sleep after a long day and yet, stayed awake long enough to read 10 pages in the book I was reading to transform my life. Each of these times I now remember, surprisingly spur a desire to do it again. As I consider the hours, the days and the weeks required to complete the 75 Hard Challenge, I feel inspired by what is called the "human drive". The inner determination and dedication to get up at 5AM every morning and start my day training in the cold, pushing past my innate desire to sleep in and to strive for more out of myself and my life.
As I write this blog, I think about how I looked, how I felt and how I had changed during those 75 days from March 1 to May 15 2021 and I feel drawn again to rekindle the passion I had to override my nervous system of "ease" and "complacency" and to do It all over again. But this time, I want it to be different. As I consider starting again, I realize that just completing it isn't enough anymore, this time, I want to become it!
Over the last 3 years, I have slipped back into some of my old habits and have found myself looking like I did back on March 1, 2021. While I still read inspirational books and listen to Podcasts about how to transform my life, I feel my drive to implement such changes has fallen into "ease" and "complacency" again. I feel that some of what I did stuck with my while the rest of what I did slipped away. When I said that by completing the challenge again I want to become it, I am saying I want the change to be "transformational" this time. I want the changes to last. Transformational change is when you become the person who no longer struggles to complete the tasks but who does them without even considering the alternative. Transformational change is when who you are becomes a fixed part of your identity. This is my goal this time, to complete the 75 Hard Challenge and to become someone who does all of these things by nature. But how? What will be different this time? Let's find out!
To gain greater insight into what the challenge is, what the rules are and the pros and cons, I will refer to the actual 75 Hard Challenge website along with a few others such as this one found in Forbs Magazine called What Is The 75 Hard Challenge? Benefits, Rules And More. As recommended by Andy himself and from the article just mentioned, always consult a medical professional before beginning any workout or diet program. And with that out of the way, here are the rules of the 75 Hard Challenge:
Follow a diet. While it can be a diet of your choosing, the diet must be a structured eating plan with the goal of physical improvement. No alcohol or meals outside your chosen diet are allowed.
Complete two 45-minute workouts, one of which must be outdoors.
Take a progress picture.
Drink 1 gallon of water.
Read 10 pages of a book (audiobooks not included).
As you can see, the rules are simple to understand and yet perhaps hard to complete. As you look at the list above, you may find you already are doing one, two or more of the rules. I would wager that most people are doing at least one. If you are doing none of them, not to worry, we all are making changes should we choose to participate.
As you look at the list, consider which of the rules is perhaps the easiest and which would be the hardest to complete. As I look at the list, what comes to mind is how the list may apply to areas in our lives that have nothing to do with the actual challenge. For example, we all have areas in our lives where we feel we are doing pretty good (the easy things) and for this we should be excited and celebrate that we are on the path. Of course, there are other areas where we are falling short (the hard things) and we may often feel frustrated, saddened or even angry that we cannot bring ourselves to do the things we know we "should" or may even "need" to do and yet we don't. What the 75 Hard Challenge represents to me and perhaps to everyone else, is a tool to develop the discipline needed to begin doing the list of "should" do's and "need" to do's. The 75 Hard Challenge isn't about drinking 1 gallon of water today, doing 2 workouts a day or any of the other challenges, it is about developing the commitment and discipline needed to follow through on each of them even when we don't want to, don't feel like it or even hate doing it.
Becoming the 75 Hard Challenge to me means becoming someone who will see something that needs to be done and do it without hesitation and without consideration of inconvenience or difficulty. This does not mean it is someone who will act recklessly or impulsively or with out regard for safety, but someone who will not shy away from doing difficult things to better their health, their educations, their relationships or their work. Someone who will do what is necessary to study, to learn and to develop themselves to be the best version of themselves. To me, this is the 75 Hard Challenge at its core.
When I completed the 75 Hard Challenge back in 2021 I posted before and after photos on my social media and was sent many messages asking how I did it and if it was difficult. Several people asked for help with nutrition, with exercises ideas, what books I read and so forth. Of course I am always willing to share information with anyone looking to make change and so I sent out my recommendations. Many thanked me while others exclaimed that what I did was "too hard" and that they would regretfully stay the course were already on. Now here we are in 2024 and started the program again yesterday, March 11. As I am writing this now, I have made the decision that this time I am going to document everything I am doing each day and share it here on my website on social media and on my new Email/News Letter called "75 Hard Challenge Daily Update". I will share what my exercise choices were for the day, what I ate, what book I am reading, and what I learned and a progress photo. In addition to the above I will also, track my weight, muscle composition and fat composition. You may ask, why would I document from one day to the next? When you consider the difference between one day and the next, you might assume there are literally no changes made, and for the most part you are right. But what you don't see with your eyes is the tiny incremental improvements and more importantly, I will see how I am changing on the inside to become The 75 Hard Challenge.
My hope in tracking daily is to hopefully inspire others to follow suit and make some positive change as well. Maybe some of you will join me on this process and complete the challenge too while others may just implement one small improvement in their day to day routines.
If you are interested to receiving daily updates subscribe to this email list and get daily emails and updates with the option of corresponding directly with me to ask any questions you may have. My goal in this email is not just to provide my progress but to give you ideas along the way to motivate and inspire you.
My next blog will post later today or tomorrow with the format of how I will track progress and results as well as what I did that day to accomplish each of the rules. I have 2 other rules I personally have added to the original 5 (just for me and I am not criticizing the challenge at all) . One of those goals is either a cold plunge/ice bath or cold shower, each morning right after waking up for a duration of 3 min. The second is to perform 4 rounds of Wim Hof Breath work each morning when I first wake up between 5:00 AM and 5:30 AM (I don't use an alarm clock so it will vary between 5 and 5:30) You might ask why I have added these? First, because they are good for my health and second, they are difficult. Choosing to get into ice cold water straight out of bed is one of the most difficult things I have ever done and yet it is short in duration and I feel amazing afterward; you get an immediate reward for doing something difficult. By doing this daily, I am training my body to do what I want. I am overriding my nervous system to act when it is screaming at me to not act! It teaches me that I can do hard things. The breathwork has a different purpose for me. While it does require determination to perform properly and can be viewed as difficult, it actually calms my mind and helps me prepare for the stresses of the day.
Join my email list to get daily updates to learn what I am learning and to see what dedication and determination can do. My first blog will go into detail about my nutrition, my general workout program, the book I am reading currently as well as my beginning progress photo.
If you are reading this sometime after March 12, 2024 when you sign up for the Daily Email Update, you will get all past emails sent to you. They will not come all at once but over a few days until you have received them all. That way, you can see the progress, get nutrition pointers, get workout ideas and lessons I have learned along the way. You will not have missed out on anything.
Join me on this journey of personal transformation that does not in a 75 days, but continues on........
See you in my next blog and email!