I had only heard about this challenge a few times here or there prior to 2023. My wife (who listens to a ton of podcasts) and then a college roommate that attempted it in the Fall. If you are unfamiliar, 75 Hard is a 75 day challenge meant to push you physically and mentally.

#75Hard was developed by Andy Frisella (1st Phorm) and is intentionally designed so that it disrupts your current routine. Here are your daily tasks for the next 75 days..listen to him here.

1. Drink 1gal of water. No alcohol.

2. Follow a diet that meets your goals.

3. Workout twice for 45min minimum. One of these sessions MUST be outdoors

4. Read 10 pages. No audiobooks.

5. Take a progress picture.

Too easy right?

The First Seven Days were a learning curve. How do I organize my day to fit in two separate workouts? Should I schedule out the water? I still need to do my job, which requires a bunch of travel, and fit the #75Hard requirements.

Eventually I decided to make sure the day had a bit more structure than I usually have. Woke up earlier and knocked out the photo, 32oz of water, and headed to the gym. Boom, 3 tasks done/started before my neighbors were awake! Another 32oz after breakfast but before lunch really helped me get ahead.

Over Two Weeks in I started settling into the new groove. I wasn’t having to chug water right before bed to meet the 1gal requirement. Much more comfortable to sleep!

However, Mother Nature is throwing in a challenge too. Can I keep up my dedication and do this with rain, sleet, snow and sub zero temperatures? after the first few days of -5F I was questioning my fortitude. If it weren’t for dog walking, I don’t know how committed I would have stayed. Thanks pups!

Half way now and it’s becoming routine. I can almost “feel” how much water I have had for the day. And sometimes I go well over the 1 gallon requirement. The midnight pee is a bit annoying though!

Although not part of my goals, I have lost a few pounds. I’m down to 159 from 163. I’m not really happy about that since I am trying to go up to 170. I increased my calories by about 500 so we should see “maintenance” at the very least now.

The stress of life (moving into a new house, vehicle broken into, and work) have added to the grind as well. Having the routine of “must do tasks” has a way of refocusing the day. Maybe that’s the point…

Done. I really got into a groove and felt much more comfortable than I did at the beginning. All the daily tasks became routine and I almost didn’t need to think about them anymore, I just did them! I will say that the daily photo was something that would slip my mine until the end of the day.

I do feel like these daily habits helped in someway. I was already pretty active and doing everything I thought I needed to do each day. However, adding five tasks to my day really showed how much you can get done in addition to what you think you’re already getting done. After awhile it sets the new standard to build more positive habits on. The sense of accomplishment can really be motivating, plus you can brag to your friends how much more you get done than they do!

Huge shout out to my wife for doing #75Har dwith me and my buddy Ben, who lost 20 pounds! So proud of him.

Doit! You won’t regret it!