The saying goes that once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. Well hitting rock bottom is relative to what you’ve experienced in life, so I’ll start by saying that i still had a roof over my head, food on the table, and a great job when I hit my rock bottom. I felt depressed, anxious, lost, broken, and all the nasty feelings in between, even though from the outside everything seemed fine. Mental health is real and it needs to be a priority for every human being! However, it’s when I got to this dark place that I decided I needed structure and something positive to focus on. That’s when #75Hard began to pop up all around me, and without thinking too long or hard about it, I began. This is a program designed by Andy Frisella and it’s completely free!
WHAT IS 75 HARD?
Here’s what’s required of you for 75 days straight:
Two 45 minute workouts; one must be outdoors
Drink 1 gallon of water
Read 10 pages of a hardback book
Follow a diet
No cheat meals or alcohol
Take a progress pic
Initially it sounds like a physically demanding program, but I’m here to tell you that it’s 100000x more mental than physical. Your workouts can be a walk around the block, yoga, or any other low intensity exercise. It’s structured this way to allow even the most out-of-shape individuals to participate. I love that about it! I promise that pushing through the inconveniences, especially when it comes to family and friends, social events, and traveling, is by far the hardest thing. There were nights I was walking outside in the rain and snow at midnight just to complete the day because I wanted to play cards with friends or I was traveling all day. You just have to win the day, every day, for 75 days.
PERSONAL DIET + EXERCISE
My diet actually got cleaner over the course of the program. Like anything new, as you peel it back in layers, the “hard” things become your normal, so you can take it up a notch. My initial plan was to just eat high protein and healthy fats, then cut out the breads, burgers, pizza, and such. I ate a lot of veggies and oats, with occasional quinoa, couscous, and rice for my carbs. I focused on eating REAL food more than anything, as in food that comes from the earth or has a mom. I cut out all added sugars. Then within the first couple of weeks, I cut out dairy completely - no cheese, milk, yogurt, etc. Due to getting COVID-19 in the first week or so of starting the program, I couldn’t taste or smell anything, so the way I approached my food was completely different. I basically picked a healthy food in each category (protein, fat, & carb) and put it all together with no seasoning because I couldn’t taste it anyway. I could differentiate between salty, spicy, and sweet, but that’s all. It’s very hard to describe if you haven’t had the same symptoms. Anyway, I’m aware that some will see this as a benefit during 75 Hard.
For exercise, I was doing HIIT or CrossFit in the mornings and an outdoor walk/hike in the evenings. About half of my walks were on my lunch break too, just so that I could be mostly finished with my tasks when I got off work. When I first got COVID-19, I did yoga and went on walks to not push it too hard, plus I obviously couldn’t go to the gym anyway.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
How to be a Bawse by Lilly Singh
Sovereignty by Ryan Michler
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Be. by Jessica Zweig
It Starts with Food by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig
TIPS TO HELP YOU WIN THE DAY
Throughout the 75 days, I developed little habits to make completing the day more efficient. Hopefully these will help you crush the program too! I pulled the following bullet points from a social post that I made, and I’ve created a guide on my Instagram with multiple posts regarding the program. Check it out here!
Wake up earlier and start earlier. I wake up at 5:15-5:30 nearly every single day (7-8am on weekends) and try to be in bed between 9:30-10:30pm.
I drink my gallon by finishing FOUR 32oz Nalgene bottles throughout the day & I split those up between morning (2) and afternoon (2). I do NOT leave the gym without 1 full bottle down, so by 7am I’m already on #2 for the day. Keep one on your nightstand so you can wake up and start drinking immediately.
Find where you’re weak and lean into it. For me, it was food. I love food! & I love convenience. I’m high strung, always on the go, and if food isn’t conveniently available and ready to eat, I will fail. So as cliche as it sounds, I meal prep. Whether that’s ordering from a meal prep company or making my own every few days, I put time into it so that failure isn’t an option.
I’ve found that soaking in an Epsom salt bath each night while reading my 10 pages is perfect because it’s good to soak in the bath for at least 15-20 minutes anyway! This helps with soreness and completes my minimum reading for the day (I often read more than the required 10 even after I get out of the bath) - so nice to do multiple healthy things at once!
Taking my progress pic as soon as I wake up or right after the gym each morning ensures that I don’t forget because it’s REALLY easy to forget this daily task!
My 2nd workout of the day is usually a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood (many times on my lunch break) or a hike in the mountains after work (I will begin doing more of this as it warms up to train for my Fall hunts). I use this time to connect with my hubs or listen to a motivating podcast to pass time and learn something new. This helps to flush out the soreness from my intense morning workouts at the gym & is great for your mental space!
Read books that teach you about something you’re curious about so that it’s not a “chore” to read. Warning: you’ll probably find that you want to read more because of the knowledge you’re gaining!
No alcohol is easy for me, but no cheat meals was a little challenging in the first 21 days. Now it doesn’t even phase me. I simply ask myself, “Will this food help me?” and if I can’t say yes, it doesn’t go in my mouth! THIS TAKES TIME if you struggle with food cravings but I promise it passes!
CONCLUSION
I am a different human because of this program. It changed my life in multiple ways and I hope one day I can meet Andy to tell him thank you for creating something that helped me in such a dark time. If you finish 75 Hard and want to take it to the next level, then you can roll right into Phase 1. There are 3 phases after 75 Hard and the idea is to complete all of them in a single calendar year. I’ve already attempted #Phase1 twice and failed, and I’m not sure if/when I’ll start again.