February 1st.
That is the day I embark on what is going to be one of the most challenging things I have ever done willingly. Harder than running a 10K. Harder than any gym plan. Harder than waking up every day and going to work. It’s going to be difficult, time-consuming, mentally and physically challenging. And I am looking so forward to it! I am talking about the “Iron man for your brain” that is #75Hard.
If you’re looking for some motivation, just check out the #75Hard hashtag on Instagram, or X (Previously Twitter) and you’ll see people accomplishing things that they never thought they could (or would) do. Yes it’s hard, but it’s supposed to be. And if you’ve ever done something hard, worked on a big project, sweated blood trying to achieve a goal, then you’ll know what a sense of accomplishment you get when you achieve it.
What is 75 Hard?
Now remember when reading these rules, that its called 75 HARD, not 75 Easy, or 75 Mildly Inconvenient. Its designed from the ground up to be hard, difficult, challenging and inconvenient.
These are the core rules that make up 75 Hard.
- If you fail a day, you start from day 1 again
There is no participation trophy, there’s no 70% pass rate. Its 100% or zero. Life doesn’t award participation trophies.
- Follow a diet and stick to it. No cheat meals and no alcohol.
This diet needs to be in line with your goals. During the 75 days, you’re not allowed a cheat meal and no alcohol. Not one drop.
- Drink a gallon of water a day.
Because we’re in a country with real measurements, this is hard to follow because apparently gallons are different depending on if they’re classed as fuel, liquid, barrel, US or UK… So the closest I could find is 3.75 litres. That’s if you want to be super accurate. Most people outside the US just round this up to 4, and call it a day.
- Two 45 minute workouts a day. One has to be outside.
No matter the weather, you’re outside every day doing a workout. This could be a walk in the park, a jog, stretching. You chose the plan, but it has to have metrics you can measure, goals you can achieve, or things you quantify getting better at.
- Read 10 pages of a non-fiction book a day.
This is not reading-for-funsies time, this is self-development time. You’re focusing on learning something here. The book has to be categorised as self-help, self-development, or entrepreneurial. And the big thing is that audiobooks don’t count. eReaders don’t count. It’s printed words on a physical page.
- Take a progress picture every day.
This photo doesn’t need to be posted publicly, it’s 100% for you and your journey. The funny thing here is because it’s one of the easiest and simplest rules to follow, it’s the main cause for people to fail the day. As Andy describes it, people stop focusing on the simple things and focus on the big things and then wonder why things take a bad turn.
My 75 Hard Plan
- Failing a day ❌
I’ll be using Microsoft’s To-Do app to keep an eye on each daily goal to make sure I don’t forget one. Along with a few accountability partners to help me not give into temptation. Especially now that McDonalds has the Tim Tam McFlurry 🤤
- Diet Plan 🥗
I’ll go back onto the keto eating plan. Keto doesn’t allow for alcohol anyways, so there’s no issue there.
- Water and drinking it to excess 🫗
This is one of the most challenging. I’ll have to get myself a gym jug thing and carry that with me everywhere I go. Its official, I’ll have to become a water bottle carrying person… And this also helps with one of my goals to kick my caffeine addiction. If I am drinking almost 4 litres of water a day, there simply isn’t physical space for coke! It’s genius really.
- The Workouts 💪
This is also going to be challenging… 45 minutes a day is big enough commitment, especially with a 3-month-old. Doing two a day, with one outside, is going to take some very good scheduling skills. Looks like it’s wake up early for me for a while. My gym plan will be simple as well – early mornings stretching in the park, and afternoon gym after work. The gym plan I’ll be following is one I honed in New Zealand that see me get up to deadlifting 125kg while weighing 59kg… So the focus will be undoing the damage of sitting, while getting strong AF.
- Reading 📖
This is easy. I like to ready anyways and my goal on Goodreads is to read 24 books this year, so it lines up nicely. James gave me a great idea that the Bible totally counts, so it may be the “book” I read for the next 3 months…
But Why Do All This?
Ah, there is the crux, my friend. Andy Frisella – the creator of 75 Hard – has designed it to be an iron man for your brain. Something to get you out of a rut, to challenge the way you think of yourself and a way to prove that you are the type of person who does what they say they are going to do. Since moving to Melbourne, my gym habit has been more of a gym acquaintance, and I can feel it. I am stiff in ways I have never been stiff before. Now you could joke and say I am getting old, and that’s probably true, but I will rage, rage against the dying of the light.
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.
Socrates
The other benefit is mental resilience. The benefits of resilience have been well documented, but it’s something I have always been interested in developing further. The idea of being comfortable while being uncomfortable appeals to me, and I would love to be the type of person who people turn to in times of crisis. Especially now I have a three-month-old! For more info about this way of thinking, this 6 part series from The Art of Manliness is a fantastic read.
Final Thoughts
If all goes according to plan, I’ll complete 75 Hard on Tuesday, April the 16th. But life is what happens when making plans, so we’ll see. I hope to encourage you to join me, or to challenge yourself with something you never thought you would do. Whether it’s hard, uncomfortable, inconvenient, or just doesn’t seem like fun – whatever you do, it will give a sense of satisfaction rarely felt these days in our instant and comfortable society.
At the end of April, I may be over it. I may be tired and done and yearning for creature comforts again. Or I may just be a better version of myself. And who knows… I may just start the #LiveHard program…
If you’re interested in listening to the podcast where Andy Frisella breaks down the 75 Hard, I have linked it below… I recommend you listen, even if just to satisfy your curiosity. Andy used to be 300+ lb’s and has built up a sports nutrition empire from nothing, so, to me at least, that adds to his credibility.
