Many people have heard about the 75 Hard Challenge. It's a mental and physical challenge developed by author Andy Frisella. The rules are simple, but strict-
- Two 45 min workouts every day, one has to be outdoors
- 1 gallon of still, flat, unflavored water a day
- 1 progress photo every day
- Stick to a diet (any diet of your choosing) without cheat days
- No alcohol
- Read 10 pages of a non-fiction book each day
Mess up even one day and you have to start over. True purists take it even further with nuanced rules like "if a workout gets interrupted you have to start over", "you must finish every book you start" and more.
First of all, before the 75 Hard Police come for me, let me say that I definitely had a few days where I wasn't "by the book" so I won't say I officially completed the challenge, lest I unleash the fury of the die-hard rule followers. I did workout every day, but sometimes I'd cut the outdoor one short and finish up inside, or break up a workout into smaller chunks. If the doorbell rang mid workout or I had to go get my kid up for school I sure as hell wasn't restarting. I added lemon to my water. But by and large I stuck to it and it taught me a lot about myself and what makes me thrive.
What possessed me to do it? Well, I am a person who is more motivated and energized by extremes. Committing to big, meaty goals makes me feel excited. But my real incentive was my son starting middle school and my desire to re-establish a consistent routine of self-care. I used to be religious about working out until I started suffering from frozen shoulder a little over a year ago, which became a convenient excuse to skip the gym. I needed a hard and fast commitment to get back at it, no matter what. I wasn't doing it to lose weight or revolutionize my appearance. I just wanted to get into a rhythm.
How I Set Myself Up for Success:
- I made realistic commitments- I allowed any workout to count, even if it was with 5 lb dumbbells or a simple treadmill walk. My diet was already pretty clean (predominantly paleo) so I didn't need to make a large adjustment there. I only committed to what I knew I could successfully do. I don't normally drink sugary drinks but since I didn't have any alcohol during the challenge, I allowed myself mocktails or NA beer when out. If you make it too difficult out of the gate, you will likely fail. Hard is good, absurd is not.
- I was publicly accountable. I started out on a Reddit board for people doing the challenge and tried to get an accountability partner there, but it was mostly men who were looking for a little more than progress photos, if you know what I mean, so I quickly jumped that ship. Luckily two girlfriends wanted to join in the fun and we started a group text where we'd check in daily. Given my line of work I am a big believer in accountability so having that support was key and made it more fun. I also posted on social media from time to time, in order to hold myself publicly accountable and to reinforce the commitment.
- I was firm with others in my commitment. People are more respectful of clear boundaries with a timeline. If you say you're "trying to work out more" or "cutting back on sugar" it leaves a loophole for someone to push you to skip a day or "try a bite". If you say "I am working out every day for 75 days and I'm on day 43" it draws a hard line that people respect.
- In the words of Yoda, Do or do not, there is no try. It really triggered me when people would suggest skipping a workout or just having one drink. I made the commitment and if I started finding excuses to give a little it would all unravel. That mental commitment needed to be hard and firm for me to be successful.
- I took advantage of my natural rhythm. I am a morning person so getting up at 5:30 and getting a workout in was easy for me. I can barely peel myself off the couch after 7pm so making sure all of my "active" goals were done before 3pm was key to my success.
- I had no hope or expectation for specific results. Would it have been nice if I emerged looking like a supermodel? Sure. But I didn't have any expectations around weight loss, or dramatic physical change. I attached myself to the process, not the outcome. I treated it like an experiment aand dispassionately observed my results.
- I'm aware I have some built in privilege. I work from home so I have the option of a mid-afternoon workout. My youngest child is 12 so I can certainly leave him home alone while I take a jog in the neighborhood. My husband was super supportive of the challenge. If you were a single parent or had little ones you'd be fighting a much harder uphill battle.
Here are the things I learned and gained (in no particular order of importance)
- If you make something non-negotiable you will find a way. Once I had committed to the challenge I looked at each day and found the time. Even if it was a wimpy treadmill walk, I made it happen no matter how I felt or how crazy the day was.
- Action breeds action. My productivity in every aspect of my life skyrocketed. Something about starting off my day with movement kept me going and checking things off my to-do list.
- My mental health improved tenfold. Problems seemed smaller, my mood was more stable, and my self esteem was much better. Simply put, I felt like I had my shit together.
- Consistency beats intensity. It was much more impactful for me to move my body twice a day, even if it was a low key workout, than to kill myself with a hard workout only to be too sore to get out of bed.
- My sleep quality skyrocketed. Exercise means going to bed tired! I was getting seven to eight uninterrupted hours every night. I woke up energized and refreshed.
- No alcohol only sucks at events that aren't fun anyway. I didn't mind having a mocktail when out with girlfriends. The few times it was difficult was at events that were a little painful to begin with.
And now what I would change-
- 75 days is too long. I felt great and energized up until day 60, at which point it started to become not fun. I would say 8 weeks (for me) is a sufficient amount of time to feel inspired and motivated but not fatigued. Studies show about 66 days is what it takes to form a habit so this is a bit shy of that but feels right for me.
- The list of rules is arbitrary and may not serve you. I read plenty of non-fiction, so adding in 10 pages of daily reading isn't making a big impact in my life. The photo felt silly since I wasn't looking for some big physical transformation- journaling would have been more indicative of my progress. A gallon of water is WAY too much for someone my size. Long story short, it felt like different commitments would have made more of an impact for me.
- Challenges strengthen you, forced misery does not. I was blessed with unseasonably warm weather during my challenge so almost every time I went to work out outside it was a pleasure. Now that we are facing 30 degree weather that piece of the challenge just feels like you're adding a layer of unnecessary suffering. Having run several half marathons and marathons, I'm a firm believer that powering through discomfort does strengthen you, but working out in the rain or freezing weather sort of feels like arbitrary misery.
So What Now?
Multiple times throughout the challenge people asked "what happens on day 76?" and I didn't have answer. It was an experiment and I didn't know what it would bring me. I needed to see how I felt, and what served me, and what didn't. I needed a little time afterward to see what those habits gave me.
After some time reflecting on the experience here's my "what's next?"-
In 2025 I will conduct a little experiment- A series of five 8 week challenges aligned with the habits I'd like to establish in my life, with two weeks off between rounds for sanity and evaluation. No shade to Andy Frisella, I know his guidelines are impactful for many people, but they weren't fully aligned with my areas of opportunity for growth. For me, some other habits could move the needle more- maybe daily journaling, or taking an online class. Eight weeks is a more manageable time frame to see what's impactful as a daily habit and what doesn't serve me. Those that move the needle I'll keep, those that don't, I can discard. To think routines and habits are one size fits all is wrong, and only by testing out new ones can I determine which serve me and which don't. Some ones that come to mind are a daily gratitude practice,10 minutes of meditation, running a mile every day or practicing Italian. I'll document what I learn and see how the process helps shape the year ahead. I'm not attaching myself to any specific outcomes, just commiting to the process as an experiment in self-discovery. Let's see where this takes me...