75hard challenge

[cornstalker]

On November 6, 2022, I started one of the toughest challenges of my life. I was seriously disappointed in myself for my recent performance on a hunt and decided it was time for a mental toughness challenge. I started the 75hard program with the commitment that failure was not an option.

The challenge consists of:

Two workouts a day, every day without fail. They must be at least 45 minutes in length and at least one of the workouts must be outside no matter the weather. The workouts must be at least 3-4 hours apart.
You must maintain the diet of your choice with absolutely no cheats, whatsoever.
Drink one gallon of water every day.
Take a progress picture every day.
Read at least 10 pages of educational or self-help non-fiction out of a paper book every day. No digital. No audiobooks.
I read:
75hard by Andy Frisella
Mans Search for Meaning- Viktor Frankl
Getting Things Done -David Allen
The Leadership Challenge- James M Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
Can't Hurt Me- David Goggins (This one carried over the end of the program period)

There is absolutely no alcohol allowed during the challenge period.

The early going was rough. I am 51 years old and had let my physical condition slip. It hurt like hell. On day 11, I miscalculated my workout time and when I discovered that I had worked out for 43 minutes instead of 45, I had to complete a third workout to complete the day. I went 54 minutes on the third workout.
The worst weather conditions I faced were a night when the temp was -10F. I got home from work at 7:30 PM, put two steel plates in my backpack and hiked a trail up and down in some rocky bluffs for 3.5 miles. It was very dark, snowing, -10F before windchill and blustery. Andy Frisella talks about the battle with yourself and what you will hear from your inner "bitch voice" that tries to talk you out of everything worthwhile in life. The "bitch voice" was raging that night.

As the challenge wore on I grew immune to pain and fatigue. It was just a fact of life. Up every day at 3-4 am. Take a picture, read, workout. Work all day. Work out. Shower and go to bed. It was very interesting to experience the transformation mentally and emotionally. I have scratched the surface of something great.

My boss started the challenge on the exact same day as I did. We both completed it 100% without fail. He lost a ton of weight. I lost fat and added muscle, losing nearly 5" off of my waist and adding a good amount of muscle. This is the best shape I have been in my entire life. Maintaining the requirements while on travel was very challenging. I live at 6000 feet elevation. I felt like a stud working out at sea level. It was amazing.

One day, I got up at 2:30 am, hit the weight bench then went deer hunting. I killed a buck, quartered and caped it, and packed it up a near cliff. When I got home, I dressed out and ran 3.5 miles. I was pretty smoked that day.

Some guys already have mental toughness, some have to go beat their faces into the dirt to get it. I fall into the latter camp, so I found the challenge to be immensely beneficial.

All said and done, 151 workouts, well over 800 pages of reading, consumed over 80 gallons of water from November 6, 2022 to January 19, 2023.

My diet started out Paleo, as I shredded the fat I added in carb rotation with brown rice and yellow sweet potatoes. The only real macro I tracked was 165 grams protein per day.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Has anyone else here done it?

[Cheap Shot]

Havent done it but you're the second person I've heard about that has done it.

Respect! What you did is no joke. Reminds me of a Mike Pannone quote I'll need to paraphrase " What to be hard, you need to live hard".

What are you going to continue doing?

What are you going to stop doing?

Are you going to do a 75 hard again?

[cornstalker]

Havent done it but you're the second person I've heard about that has done it.

Respect! What you did is no joke. Reminds me of a Mike Pannone quote I'll need to paraphrase " What to be hard, you need to live hard".

What are you going to continue doing?

What are you going to stop doing?

Are you going to do a 75 hard again?

I am going to continue to work out. I am training to knock out some 14ers. I plan to hike the DeCaLiBron loop this summer. It is an 8-mile loop that summits four fourteeners. Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross. I am going to climb Quandary Peak as soon as I get some uphill snow shoes.
I would like to run a Spartan Race.

I continue to read and develop my leadership and business skills and am creating a research-based startup that I would like to build up and sell. Worst case I will waste a few bucks and learn a lot for the next endeavor.

I will stop negative thinking, self-doubt, pity and anything but complete ownership of the outcomes in my life and relationships.

I will be doing 75hard again this summer and may start the live hard program after that.

Will I fail some of these things? Only if I quit.

Thanks for asking.

[DC_P]

[Doc_Glock]

Pretty badass. I am interested in before and after photos.

No way I would commit to this. But I am proud you did it!

[cornstalker]

Pretty badass. I am interested in before and after photos.

No way I would commit to this. But I am proud you did it!

I won't be posting half-naked photos of myself on the internet. Lol.
I will send day 1 and day 75 to your phone.

[UNM1136]

Interesting...

Once cleared by my doc I may give this a try...

Oh, and, congratulations!

pat

[FNFAN]

Thanks for posting this. Andy Frisella is an interesting guy and I admire the commitment you made to the program.

[UNM1136]

I am going to bump this thread. I read the website and he comes off a little dickish. I have been told I can be a lot dickish, so it is a wash.

Since I will likely not be an active FTO for the next 6-12 months, so I will only be supervising half of my work week. Getting a lunch break at about 0400 is about an 80% proposition. I have a decent gym at work, a great gym with a super cheap membership 3 blocks from home, a 35 pound packed ruck, and a Malinois. We have a new month starting next week.

I lost 20 pounds last year, and in the last 6 months gained half of it back when my asthma started doing wierd stuff. I had an attack this morning that resulted in a couple of Technicolor yawns... Pulmonology can't see me till June.

I only have one kid to take to school now, and with the wife picking him up, have the OPPORTUNITY to get 6-8 hours sleep a day,

I'm in, March 1. Ending the week of my 51st birthday.

I have never taken a selfie in my life. Website doesn't say how long you have to keep them. I suspect many will be deleted seconds after being taken. I keep trying to teach my kids that sometimes the goal is observing a specific process. I get that, so I will take the damn selfies and likely keep first, weekly or monthly, and last

I bought a note book to track each day's activities and diet.

Still working out diet details. Atkins, paleo, and primal are all in the running as I do a little homework.

Reading list will allow me to revisit some of my heros' biographies. Will likely do 10 minutes of reading, as I am a fast reader, and will get more in that way.

Going to add one more thing...,30 minutes of house work a day. My wife works five days a week. I work 5 10 hour shifts in 6 days every week to take advantage of some decent overtime. She sings with regular rehersals and performances, my last kid at home has extracarricular activities, and I learn, read, and teach a bunch. I have a sleep doc because I don't rest and recuperate like I should. We tend to put housework off for the weekend, and then are too tired or trying to be a family that the house is frequently...less than tidy.

I am preparing to embrace the suck...If I can drop 40 pounds this year I am getting a suppressed upper for my Patrol Rifle.

pat

[cornstalker]

I am going to bump this thread. I read the website and he comes off a little dickish. I have been told I can be a lot dickish, so it is a wash.

Since I will likely not be an active FTO for the next 6-12 months, so I will only be supervising half of my work week. Getting a lunch break at about 0400 is about an 80% proposition. I have a decent gym at work, a great gym with a super cheap membership 3 blocks from home, a 35 pound packed ruck, and a Malinois. We have a new month starting next week.

I lost 20 pounds last year, and in the last 6 months gained half of it back when my asthma started doing wierd stuff. I had an attack this morning that resulted in a couple of Technicolor yawns... Pulmonology can't see me till June.

I only have one kid to take to school now, and with the wife picking him up, have the OPPORTUNITY to get 6-8 hours sleep a day,

I'm in, March 1. Ending the week of my 51st birthday.

I have never taken a selfie in my life. Website doesn't say how long you have to keep them. I suspect many will be deleted seconds after being taken. I keep trying to teach my kids that sometimes the goal is observing a specific process. I get that, so I will take the damn selfies and likely keep first, weekly or monthly, and last

I bought a note book to track each day's activities and diet.

Still working out diet details. Atkins, paleo, and primal are all in the running as I do a little homework.

Reading list will allow me to revisit some of my heros' biographies. Will likely do 10 minutes of reading, as I am a fast reader, and will get more in that way.

Going to add one more thing...,30 minutes of house work a day. My wife works five days a week. I work 5 10 hour shifts in 6 days every week to take advantage of some decent overtime. She sings with regular rehersals and performances, my last kid at home has extracarricular activities, and I learn, read, and teach a bunch. I have a sleep doc because I don't rest and recuperate like I should. We tend to put housework off for the weekend, and then are too tired or trying to be a family that the house is frequently...less than tidy.

I am preparing to embrace the suck...If I can drop 40 pounds this year I am getting a suppressed upper for my Patrol Rifle.

pat

Awesome!

Prepare to hear your inner self whine like a bitch and try to persuade you to quit.

My wife ended up in the hospital a couple of times during the program. I thought that was going to end it for me. I found a way to keep going. One night I went up and down the hospital stairs for 45 minutes starting at 11 pm. Then I was up at 4 am and at it again. That was brutal.

You will want to keep the photos for the entire duration of the program. At day 75 you are likely to want to compare that photo to day one. I paid $5 and got the 75hard app, and boy am I glad I did. It made keeping track very easy and attaches the photos to the record of each day. Get started on the water early in the day and stay on it. Having to pound a half gallon of water after 6 pm makes for a long night.

When I first started, the extra water made my fat get all watery and gross. It went away pretty quickly though.

The photos are for you only. I felt weird taking selfies, having never done that. I got over it quickly. I haven't taken another selfie since completing the program.

The 75hard book seems like it was written by a dick, and at a 4th-grade reading level. I still got a lot of value out of it. I now enjoy listening to Andy being a dick on his podcast. Lol.

Good luck, and let me know if I can help in any way!