What if I told you that you could change your entire life in 2 ½ months? There is no shortage of fitness challenges available online. But very few make the promise of improving more than just your overall fitness. They want to change your entire lifestyle. Today we’ll be looking at The 75 Hard challenge, which promises just that. With the 6 rules you must follow, below I’ll cover the tips and what you need to be successful. And be prepared, this will be one the hardest and most rewarding things you will ever do for yourself.
The 75 Hard Challenge – Rules, Tips, and More!
What is the 75 hard challenge?
The 75 Hard Challenge is not just about fitness, it’s a complete lifestyle overhaul. Created by Andy Frisella, the challenge consists of six rules that you must follow for 75 days. The breaks or cheating allowed. Perfect for both mens and women. For almost two and a half months you will work on building a better person, with only you to hold yourself accountable.
75 hard challenge rules
The six 75 hard challenge rules you must follow for 75 days straight are…
1. Follow a Strict Diet – No Alcohol or Cheat Meals
This can be designed specifically for you, and should be based on the goal of eating as clean as possible, while improving performance. This includes no alcohol or extra / cheat meals for the entire 75 days.
2. Complete Two, 45 Minute Workouts. At least one must be outside
You can perform any workouts that you choose, but it is recommended that you follow a program. This includes things like Yoga and 45 minutes of walking recovery.
3. Drink One Gallon of Water
This one is simple, drink one gallon of water throughout the day.
4. Read 10 Pages of a Non-Fiction Book
This does not include audio books or reading things on the internet. These should be physical books, which is done for a reason.
5. Take a Progress Photo
Another easy one, simply take one progress photo per day. This will create accountability and allow you to track / see your progress overtime. Which can be incredibly motivational.
6. And if you break one of the rules… you have to start over on day 1!
75 Hard Challenge – Tips for Success
- Look ahead at the calendar for 75 days. Do you have an upcoming vacation, are you going into the holiday, are you prepared to make the sacrifice or are you setting yourself up for failure from the start.
- Have a plan. You need to make sure you have as much planned out for the next 75 days as possible. This includes
- Have a 3 month workout program ready to start. This will more than cover the 75 days and give you something to continue once the challenge is done.
- Have your diet planned ahead. Some people think they can just start and wing it, and that is a receipt for failure. Instead make sure you have your diet planned out. By either doing your research or talking to a dietitian.
- Have a list of recipes to pull from in advance. This will help you from getting tired of the same things. And making a shopping list much easier.
- Buy a one gallon water bottle to help you track your daily water intake. This makes it as easy as filling it up to the gallon marker. Then drinking it throughout the day.
- Order a couple books in advance. 10 pages a day for 75 days is 750 pages. SO make sure you get something long enough to cover that. And having a couple backups just in case you lose interest is never a bad idea.
- Take your photo at the same time of day as much as possible. One mistake a lot of people make when tracking progress is weighing themselves at different times of day. People weigh different amounts when they wake up compared to before bed. So picking one time is important for consistency.
- Taking your photos in the same place / lighting is important. Lighting can have a drastic effect on how we look. So taking your progress photos in the same location / lighting (at the same time of day) will give you the best comparison.
Mindset
When going into a fitness challenge, having the right mindset can be the difference between success and blowing up. And with the 75 Hard Challenge this is more important than usual. Most challenges are 30 days, which can seem like an eternity. So being ready to commit 75 days, two and half months, takes a lot of dedication. Make sure your head is the right space. You need to be 100% positive about making changes in your life. Doing it for yourself and no one else. But if you can do this, the rewards will be worth every sacrifice along the way.
Mistakes, Not to Make
With any challenge, there are certain trapps that can be easy to fall into. And the 75 Hard Challenge is no different. In fact, it can set some people up for failure from the beginning if they are not careful. Here are some things to be careful of going into this challenge.
Recovery days are not included. Part of this challenge involved completing two, 45 minute workouts every day for 75 days. Because of this it’s important to take recovery time. These can be a 45 minute walk, 45 minutes of stretching, low intensity yoga, etc. Make sure you dedicate at least one day a week to recovery.
One gallon of water may be a lot for some people. I’m a big believer in drinking a lot of water. I’ve tried the gallon of water a day thing. And even when I was training at a competition level. With 3 workouts a day and burning more than 4,200+ calories a day. A gallon was too much for me. I was overhydrated (yes that’s a thing). As with any dietary advice, you need to do what is right for your body.
The work doesn’t stop on day 76. Like any challenge, one of the biggest traps that people fall into is stopping the progress after the challenge. This is especially true with this one. The tougher the challenge, the easier it is to stop once it’s finished. That’s why I recommend having a workout plan that extends past the challenge. Maybe even sign up for a road or trail race a few months after to keep yourself motivated.
Conclusion
I always tell people that structure is one of the fundamentals to improving performance. Having a plan to stick to, and equally as important, something to let you know when you are getting off course. That’s what makes a good workout plan so effective. But what if you could use this same technique to improve your entire life as a whole. That’s what the 75 Hard Challenge looks to do. Help change people’s entire lifestyle by building on repetition. It’s proven that if you do something for 21 days it will likely become a habit. So imagine the effects of 75 days!
