First Attempt at 75 Hard
Almost everyone has heard of the 75 Hard Mental Toughness Challenge. The rules are strict and the challenge is not for the faint of heart. Here is a breakdown of the challenge and some insight into a first attempt.
The Rules
Follow a specific diet - this can be any diet (preferably a healthy one) catered to your individual goals and ambitions
Complete two 45 minute workouts - one of which must be outdoors!
Take one progress photo - full body photos, if you dare
Drink 1 gallon of water - not including other beverages
Read 10 pages of a book - nonfiction, to work that brain!
Lastly, no substitutions are allowed for ANY of these rules.
Oh, and if you miss any of the daily rules…you must begin again starting at day 1.
Before you Begin
While the rules are pretty straightforward, albeit strict, they are achievable. The rules target crucial areas of mental discipline for those of us needing a bit of a kickstart onto the path of productivity and self improvement.
If you’re in the business of talking your way out of doing something or convincing yourself that there is no difference between drinking water or gatorade, then this challenge will definitely get your head in the game. Wave goodbye to procrastination, excuses and lethargy while waving hello to determination, discipline and grit.
Here are some suggestions to aid your journey through the 75 Hard Mental Toughness Challenge:
Plan - Planning how to realistically fit these daily goals into your current routine will be crucial. Waking up and aiming to blissfully go through the day simply keeping the rules in mind, may not be the most successful approach. It is easy to get overwhelmed by introducing so many new components to your day while trying to maintain a streak so find a way to slip each of these daily goals in between the other aspects of your pre-existing schedule.
No shortcuts - Stay firm on not making any alterations or substitutions to the specific rules outlined for the challenge. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can trick yourself into being satisfied with skimping on your workouts or skipping that last refill of water. This challenge is designed to challenge you and to ensure you come out on the other side a stronger, more resilient, version of yourself. If you go through the challenge lying to yourself and selling yourself short, then you won't be able to see the true effects of this mental exercise.
Start today or as soon as possible - The worst game we can play is the game called “tomorrow”. The secret is that tomorrow isn’t real and it’s never going to come (theoretically!) It is just a safety net we rely on to allow us more time to not do the thing(s) we really need to do. If you don't commit to making the changes necessary today, then you’ll always be unprepared for tomorrow.
Here is the Inside Scoop
We wouldn't be here advocating for something we didn’t already give a try. So without further adieu, here is our experience with Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard Challenge and just how hard it actually was.
Let’s go step by step into each of the rules for a sneak peak into the reality of 75 Hard.
The diet - we chose a simple approach to the dieting portion of the challenge. The diet consisted of ONLY homemade foods and no ordering out. We set limitations of 3 meals per day and 2 snacks. The limitations as well as the diet followed will vary from person to person depending on the individual’s specific goals but this was something particularly challenging to overcome at the time so we went for it! Overall, it was one of the easier (dare we say!) rules of the challenge. We found that the excitement of the challenge kept us entertained well enough to forget about food for the most part.
The workouts - this was honestly the biggest effort of the entire challenge. Not because there are two workouts to complete but because one of them has to be done outdoors. This means rain or shine, near or far, with a crowd or in your own company. It gets particularly difficult depending on the time of year or if the day is super busy, finding the time and energy to get out and perform a workout of sorts is tough to say the least. We opted for indoor aerobics and it was brutal for someone who hasn’t had a full workout in ages. However, for the more difficult outdoor workout, due to poor planning, we were stuck walking laps around our apartment complex for 45 minutes straight (Ouch!).
The progress photo - Instead of being an independent girlie, we opted for some help with this one and asked the Husband for assistance. This moment was crucial in its own right. It allowed us to be vulnerable with ourselves and have the bare honesty of our real unfiltered body. Taking this time out to take a photo actually forced us to pay attention to ourselves and fall in love with our body just how it was at that very moment.
The water - The belly pain was so real. Drinking a gallon of water in one day may not seem like a lot but it most definitely is. First off, if you’re like us and need the extra push to reach your recommended daily water intake, then planning when to drink all of this water will be essential. Don’t follow our lead and gulp the last bottle of water before bed (at midnight), screaming “chug, chug, chug”. The motivational pep talks were essential to get us through this one.
The reading - This was perhaps the easiest or simplest one of the rules. Deciding to read first thing in the morning made this the first item crossed off the list and it set the tone for the day ahead. This is surely an excellent way to frame your mind for the day and influence your mood to tackle the tasks to come.
The Best Part
Now truly the best part of this challenge is the part that is probably also the most frustrating. The final official rule is that if you miss any of your daily goals or don’t follow any of the rules, you MUST start the entire challenge all over again, beginning at day one. This seems a bit daunting at first but there are two reasons why it works well.
The first reason is the fact that it will be excruciating to think about missing one of these rules and having to start from scratch. This can serve as a semi-healthy scare tactic to push you over the edge to completing your goal instead of throwing in the towel. The second is there is something so graceful about being honest with yourself regarding your performance and instilling the discipline needed to want to continue trying until you master the craft at hand. Having the comfort of knowing we are not perfect and we can fail but we can also pick ourselves up and reach a higher plane than ever before. All that being said, we only made it through one and a half days of this challenge (shhh…) but we’re excited to try again!
Our Final Take
Now that you’ve heard all that we have to say on Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard Mental Toughness Challenge, grab your water bottle, that book you’ve been avoiding and you’re A game and you will be more than pleased with the side of you that emerges to bring you the best results possible during this challenge.
If you’re one of the brave ones or just someone looking for a massive shift in mindset and daily habits, here’s the link to your shot at 75 hard from Mr. Andy Frisella himself. Give it a chance and let us know how you did!
