Here we go! After a stressful winter, it’s time to cut bad habits and add some good ones. No sugar/booze, 2 workouts daily, water, reading. See my personal updates.
The Hard 75 Requirements
The 75 Hard Challenge is a 75-day program designed to develop mental toughness and discipline through a series of daily tasks. Each day, participants are required to complete the following:
- Follow a diet: Adhere to a nutrition plan of your choice without any cheat meals or alcohol consumption. We already eat very clean, so I’ll do my best to eat organic, healthy food with lots of veg & meat, not too much carbs, and zero sugar.
- Two 45-minute workouts: Perform two separate 45-minute exercise sessions daily, with at least one taking place outdoors, regardless of weather conditions. We’ll see if this is doable for me. I think 30 min/day is more likely, but we’ll see. I tend to workout periodically for longer sessions, requiring recovery, so I’ll play with this.
- Hydration: Consume one gallon (approximately 3.8 liters) of water each day. That works out to about 10-12 glasses a day. I have a gallon jug I’ll be working with daily.
- Reading: Read 10 pages of a non-fiction or self-improvement book daily; audiobooks do not count. This should be the easiest.
- Progress photo: Take a daily photograph to document your physical transformation (I’m only doing this at the beginning and end of each start and failure.)
If any task is missed on a given day, the challenge must be restarted from day one. This program emphasizes strict adherence to build mental resilience and self-discipline. For me, I’m confident I won’t be able to complete it in 75 days straight. I’ll have to start over multiple times, partly due to trips I’m taking. I have a long backpacking trip where doing workouts on the down days will be really hard (I’ll need to recover.) Also, we’re headed to Japan for a few weeks, and I’ll be eating/drinking everything in sight.
Starting weight: 184.6 (hoping to not lose weight but gain muscle.)
Optional Extras
I’ll also be adding a few extras when time allows.
- Breathwork Practice: Engage in controlled breathing exercises for at least 20 minutes (preferably 45+).
- Meditation or Mindfulness: Dedicate 10–20 minutes each day to meditation or mindfulness practices.
- Intermittent Fasting: Implement a fasting window where food is only consumed within a designated period. I’ll attempt to eliminate meals or snacking between the hours of 10pm and 10am.
- Cold: Though I turned my makeshift cold plunge into a a garden, I’m taking cold showers after workouts until I upgrade to a proper permanent plunge.
75 Hard Tips
As I move through this process, I’ll add 75 Hard Tips to help survive the challenge. Check back in as I add more while learning what works for me.
- Edit the challenge to your own capabilities. There’s nothing to prove to anyone but yourself. Personally, I’m doing 2 30-minute workouts a day. And for any days I workout for longer (ex. 3 hour surf session, I’ll give my self very limited workouts for 2 days in order to recover.)
- Take care with your diet. There are way too many “Diets” out there. I’m eating clean, organic whole foods and staying away from processed foods. That means limiting eating out. You’ll find a lot of diets out there that are harmful. Eating enough calories to sustain the workout regiment is important. Getting enough healthy protein, fats, and ruffage is crucial. I’m never going to let myself be hungry. I’m pretty comfortable already with the intermittent fasting, so that won’t be an issue.
- Read before bed. Some people struggle with finding the time to read, but I never have a problem reading at bedtime. It helps me fall to sleep, and 10 pages is pretty easy to do before I slap myself in the head with my book.
- Ease into workouts. I’m starting light. No need to kill myself. This is a process. If a walk around the neighborhood will get me outside, then that’s enough.
- Have at least one partner. Accountability is EVERYTHING! I don’t think everyone needs to do the same regiment, but it helps being able to check in and see that others are keep up.
- Drink water early. Don’t make the mistake of having to drink the majority of your gallon right before bed. And think about what you have to do in the day and proximity to bathrooms. Today, I had an airport pickup. Usually no more than an hour and half from my house and back. But I had to pee twice! Planning around restrooms is important.
- Sleep is a treat. Take some tips from my sleep recipe, and use sleep as your after dinner drink or midnight snack.
- Allow sleep to reset the morning. I’m being intentional before bed and in the morning to stay off screens. Before bed, I read for at least 30 minutes with warm light. No screens. In the morning, I allow at least an hour or 2 before getting on screens. This is helping my circadian rhythm.
- Mid/Late Day Pick Me Up. I’m usually a one cup of strong coffee in the morning kind of guy. What would get me going in the evening or after work would be a cocktail. That would keep me up and going. I’ve switched to green tea, exercise, and/or a quick cold shower rinse.
- Organic, non-processed. As I work out, I’m noticing that I’m more concerned about the fuel I’m putting into my body. If I’m doing everything right, and truly care about my body, why would I have it run on garbage? Subconsciously I’m looking at ingredients more and find myself bummed when something isn’t organic or has some crap like canola oil in it. There are many down-stream positive behaviors being formed from this regiment.
- What else? Add a few in comments please!
Personal Updates
Update (2/12/25): My current weight after almost 2 weeks is 181.20 lbs, which means I lost 3 1/2 lbs. Did not expect that. I was certain I had gained 10 lbs since my cravings are forcing extra meals. I guess I’m burning it off, or maybe the extra water is flushing things out. An unexpected side effect has been a boost in confidence. Without lifestyle guilt weighing me down, I trust that I’m moving in the right direction. Each step reinforces that my choices are aligned (free of self-doubt and guilt), and this clarity makes decision-making easier. And if I ever find myself on the wrong path, I know I have the strength to course-correct. This also helps externally—when family needs me or unexpected tasks arise, I’m more willing to step in, even when they’re outside my normal realm of control. Bottomline: I already feel good, both physically and mentally.
Update (2/7/25): Today is the first day I feel like I’ve hit a stride. After far too long not working out, I wanted to ease in. Success! Today I pushed it and it felt good. I just finished reading Psychology of Money and really enjoyed it. Very easy read that can be taken in section at a time without missing much. Now I’m reading Calculated Risk about the life of Jimmy Doolittle. It was written by his granddaughter of whom is a family friend. Very well written and entertaining so far. While I workout, I’m listening to Huberman Lab Podcast with Josh Waitzkin. My first time listening to Andrew, and I like his style. warm, comfortable, knowledgeable. I loved reading The Art of Learning. Big fan of Josh. One of the most important books out there. Here are some of the books I read last year.
Update (2/5/25): So far, I’m finding it a little easier than I thought it’d be, though drinking enough water is a challenge and finding the time each day to workout makes things tight. I had a 2.5 hour challenging surf in big waves the other day, and it took a lot out of me. I was too tired, and my sleep was garbage. Worth it, but I’ll be more careful in the future. I’ve decided to cut out the daily photo. I took a first one, and I think that’s plenty (I’ll make sure to take one each time I fail and each time I start again.) I’m hoping to report more clarity with work soon as I get better sleep and exercise. More soon!
Update (2/1/25): Feeling a touch foggy from enjoying my last cocktail in a while last night. Here we go!
I’ll keep this post updated as I attempt, fail, and attempt again. Pretty sure this will last through 2025 (maybe longer… Haha!)
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