Starting the 75 Hard Challenge

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Replies

  • jakers6108
    jakers6108 Posts: 19 Member
    That sounds great! I have been running/jogging 45 min a.m. then working outside on wood in afternoon.Work days (12 hr shift) as a rapid response nurse exhausts me. I skipped one day so not sure if that disqualifies me to start all over again but had to rest. The time is my issue on those long days
  • Kevin_Hassenpflug
    Kevin_Hassenpflug Posts: 70 Member
    TannerBoyl wrote: »
    The last year and a half have been interesting. I went from being somewhat active to completely sedentary. I’ve watched my waist increase in size while my muscle mass decreased.

    I decided that I needed something to jump start my motivation. Over the weekend, my girlfriend suggested that I try the 75 Hard Challenge.

    Basically, it is a mental toughness challenge with health improvement aspects.

    Here are the basics:
    The challenge consists of sticking to five main pillars for 75 days straight:

    -You must drink one gallon of water a day.
    -You must pick a diet and stick to it, with no cheat meals (also, no alcohol).
    -You must workout twice a day for 45 minutes. One of the workouts must be done outdoors.
    -You must read 10 pages of an entrepreneurial or self-help book each day.
    -You must take a progress picture each day.

    So, off I go. The weekend was easy, but the workweek has presented some challenges. I’ve had to modify my daily routine in order to accommodate the water intake and the outdoor exercise. Planning ahead seems to be working for me for both diet and exercise.

    I am feeling very motivated, but I realize that I’m still early in the challenge. That is why I’m posting this. I’ve told family, friends and coworkers what I’m doing in order to force accountability. I figured that I would do that here too.

    90u6mlz77dln.jpeg

    This is my starting photo. I’m 6’ and 228lbs.

    I’m four days in and have already noticed some positive changes (mostly on my outlook).

    Wish me luck!

    I too am doing the 75 Day Hard Challenge
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    I’m 1/3 of the way done with the challenge. So far, it hasn’t been too bad. If I plan ahead, I don’t have any excuses.

    I’ve been waking up at 4:00AM to go for a 45 minute walk with my dog every morning. It’s actually been a pleasant way to start my day. It’s so calm and peaceful that I’m able to really enjoy the walk.

    My girlfriend has a Peloton, so I’ve been riding that a lot lately. 45 minutes seems to go by quickly with the right class. I did try a Metallica themed ride in which I was woefully unprepared for. I finished it, but I can’t say that I kept up with the cadence and resistance.

    My diet hasn’t been an issue. Even when I went camping, I was able to plan ahead and log my food. I’ve been good about not eating out, but when I do I’ve been able to adhere to my calories.

    My body has adapted to the gallon of water. Lately, I’ve been overshooting it by a quart or two.

    Reading has been another positive way to start my day. After my morning walk, I sit down with a book with a cup of coffee before starting work. I’ve read a book on Stoicism and one on Investing. Now I’m reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***!”

    The photos have been interesting. I can feel a change in the fit of my clothing and am able to start seeing slight changes in my photos. I’m glad that I also took body measurements. Ive lost a few inches in my mid-section.

    I’m down between 8-10lbs, but I’m really not focusing on weight loss, but rather creating better habits and developing myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I’m losing weight and definitely need it, but I’m viewing it as a bonus and not the main objective.

    Here are some photos:

    gdhaou733s03.jpeg
    Day 1



    h231mahscfac.jpeg
    Day 25
  • euchre35
    euchre35 Posts: 7 Member
    I tried this plan but the two workouts didn't work - I easily do 90 minutes, but I live in the AZ desert so there is no way I can do much outside during the summer at 105-125 degrees.
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    euchre35 wrote: »
    I tried this plan but the two workouts didn't work - I easily do 90 minutes, but I live in the AZ desert so there is no way I can do much outside during the summer at 105-125 degrees.

    I’m heading out to AZ for a week or two. It should be interesting how I will deal with the heat and the workouts.
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    Okay, well I hit my first bump in the road to completing the 75 Hard Challenge. I had completed everything except for taking my picture. I was getting ready to do it on Friday and got caught up in something else. I didn’t realize it until Saturday morning.

    Oh well, life goes on. I took Saturday off to eat whatever I wanted and only completed one workout and restarted on Sunday.

    So, I now find myself on day 3 and looking forward to competing the challenge the day after Thanksgiving.

    Here is a photo:

    xozhzcg86csm.jpeg
  • AKTipsyCat
    AKTipsyCat Posts: 240 Member
    that is my fear - I'm on Day 3, and am scared that I'll have to re-start over something silly like accidentally skipping my pages or the darn picture. The hardest part for me is getting up early to exercise! I LOVE my sleep and will use absolutely every excuse to convince myself I'll get it done later - I went to bed so early last night and still snoozed my alarm so often I now have to wait until lunch to get my second work out in. Luckily I'm working from home today so that won't be too hard logistically. But I also like how great I feel on days I get my morning work outs done because then I'm not mentally exhausting myself through out the day making up excuses for my self. The B*tch voice is strong in this one.
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    AKTipsyCat,

    Not gonna lie, I was so disappointed that I had to restart, but then I really looked at it as an opportunity to grow…I guess reading books on stoicism helped. Lol

    I’m glad that you’re feeling good about the exercise. I feel the same way after my morning workouts. Today was the first day that I didn’t feel like getting up to workout. This was the first time that I’d used the snooze button in years. The only thing that pushed me was that my dog was sad that I wasn’t getting up to take her. I felt bad and got up to walk her. I felt really good about it.

    Thank you for posting!
  • AKTipsyCat
    AKTipsyCat Posts: 240 Member
    DAy 3 done - with what was probably the ugliest most desperate work out in the evening of floor exercises, stretches, yoga and walking in place... because once again, even though I worked from home all day - I didn't get my first work out in until after my dentist appointment in the evening, so I had to wait until after dinner, my 10 pages and another hour to get #2 in and who wants to work out at almost 9pm? BUT I did it!
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    I hit a few milestones today.

    I’m officially half-way to my weight loss-goal. While this isn’t the focus of this challenge, it is a nice victory.

    I have moved out of the XL shirt size and back into a Large. I had logged my body measurements every few weeks. I’m showing 2-4” loss in areas like my waist and chest. All of my measurements are showing a downward trend except my quads. They have gone down and then came back up. I feel pretty good about that.

    I made a Personal Record on the Peloton for a 45 minute ride. It kicked my butt, but I’m glad that I did it.

    All in all, this has turned out to be a pretty good day.

    Here is my pic for today:

    ptyzzhpd8d4b.jpeg

    I haven’t worn that shirt in about two years. I’m five days into my 75 Hard Restart and I’m feeling pretty motivated!
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,970 Member
    I completed the 75 hard challenge (NOT the Live Hard program) this spring (started it last December 1 - so through the holidays with family and snowstorms!).

    I've been pretty dedicated and such in the past, so for me it was more about breaking out of a bad place I had been in after a very toxic work environment that had really started to affect me outside of work too. I needed to remind myself that I was strong enough - and worth it.

    I got out of it what I hoped, and it helped break that cycle - not 100%, from where I was before that, but WAY better than I was when I started the challenge.

    I found the app very helpful - just to make sure I didn't forget something dumb. Since then I've gotten an app to help me track the habits I want to keep up with.

    For me, I chose not to go on to the phases as my work life simply didn't leave room for the program unless I CONSTANTLY shorted myself on sleep - which I did in order to finish the program (while going through it I was laid off, holidays, found a new job with crazy long hours - since then have a new job back in my line of work, but way underpaid so still have to work 2 jobs)...and that simply wasn't sustainable.

    So I took some of the things I loved about the challenge, the things I felt really helped me, AND what I could maintain (so took out some things, added some different ones) and kept them in a Habit You app now.
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    HoneyBadger,

    I’m looking for something similar out of this challenge. I’m looking to jumpstart my life again and build some good habits. So far, it’s been really positive.

    I’m sorry to hear about work. I’m glad to hear that you got out of a bad situation, but it’s rough that you have to work two jobs. I hope that you’ve got more peace of mind now.
  • AKTipsyCat
    AKTipsyCat Posts: 240 Member
    Same here - it's not like I'm making this rigidity my lifestyle... but some of it definitely needs to carry through! I let myself fall into a dark place, and this is helping me claw my way out.
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    Here’s my day 25 update:

    Things are going well. I’ve been able to complete all of my challenges with a little effort.

    There have been days where I have struggled. I’ve had to shift workouts around and juggle obligations. Similarly, there have been nights where I’ve had to fight against some food temptations — more specifically I have been craving booze. I hadn’t had any alcohol since before COVID. For whatever reason, Fall brings out cravings for scotch, bourbon, Irish coffee and heavier beers. Instead, I’ve been drinking sparkling water. Yeah, it’s not the same, but it changes things up.

    I’d hit a weight loss plateau at 214lbs. For a few weeks, I just hovered around that weight. It was slightly frustrating, but I just kept doing my plan. The only change is that I started drinking green tea in the morning. Maybe it had helped, because now I find myself at 209.4lbs.

    Here is a progress pic:

    h49gi3hskcfd.jpeg

    Please ignore the extra stuff. I’m cleaning out some stuff that I’m no longer using and getting it ready for storage.
  • TannerBoyl
    TannerBoyl Posts: 55 Member
    Well, I’ve had a bit of a setback. I’ve sprained my knee pretty badly and have not been able to work out.

    This weekend, I’ve made the decision to rest and get my knee back to normal so I’m dropping out of the challenge. I had made it 45 days and then another 40 days. If I hadn’t forgotten to take a selfie one day, I would have been complete.

    I will be starting up again after the first of the year. Hopefully, I’ll be a little wiser and be able to complete it without any hiccups.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,966 Member
    TannerBoyl wrote: »
    Well, I’ve had a bit of a setback. I’ve sprained my knee pretty badly and have not been able to work out.

    This weekend, I’ve made the decision to rest and get my knee back to normal so I’m dropping out of the challenge. I had made it 45 days and then another 40 days. If I hadn’t forgotten to take a selfie one day, I would have been complete.

    I will be starting up again after the first of the year. Hopefully, I’ll be a little wiser and be able to complete it without any hiccups.

    That seems like a wise decision under the circumstances, to prioritize recovery for your knee. Presumably, you have some plans for other health-prioritizing choices as you heal, like maintaining your current weight (enough calories to heal with, not gaining and putting more stress on the sprain), and getting good overall nutrition to support the healing process.

    Heck, you could even do some upper body workouts or wheelchair-athlete-type cardio if you want to . . . but add that stuff all up, and that would be pretty hard. 😉

    Thank you for the interesting updates: It's good to see how these things go for people, sounds like it went pretty well for you.

    Wishing you speedy, complete healing!
  • AKTipsyCat
    AKTipsyCat Posts: 240 Member
    TannerBoyl wrote: »
    Well, I’ve had a bit of a setback. I’ve sprained my knee pretty badly and have not been able to work out.

    This weekend, I’ve made the decision to rest and get my knee back to normal so I’m dropping out of the challenge. I had made it 45 days and then another 40 days. If I hadn’t forgotten to take a selfie one day, I would have been complete.

    I will be starting up again after the first of the year. Hopefully, I’ll be a little wiser and be able to complete it without any hiccups.

    Sorry to hear it! I just plain old quit. I want to start back up - but it's just so darned cold and dark already I can feel the SAD creeping in. Was going to start on Monday again, but my energy level are at historic lows, which sucks because I was doing so well. Brought the SAD light in to work today and am starting up on my winter Vitamin D regimen, hopefully I stabilize soon and can start up again.
  • Lightbeamer
    Lightbeamer Posts: 49 Member
    I am in. Will start tomorrow! Walk the dog first for 45, and then I will ride the bike for as long as I can. My food will need to increase dramatically. I will run the numbers for tomorrow. We'll see!
  • hoarc1987
    hoarc1987 Posts: 52 Member
    TannerBoyl wrote: »
    The last year and a half have been interesting. I went from being somewhat active to completely sedentary. I’ve watched my waist increase in size while my muscle mass decreased.

    I decided that I needed something to jump start my motivation. Over the weekend, my girlfriend suggested that I try the 75 Hard Challenge.

    Basically, it is a mental toughness challenge with health improvement aspects.

    Here are the basics:
    The challenge consists of sticking to five main pillars for 75 days straight:

    -You must drink one gallon of water a day.
    -You must pick a diet and stick to it, with no cheat meals (also, no alcohol).
    -You must workout twice a day for 45 minutes. One of the workouts must be done outdoors.
    -You must read 10 pages of an entrepreneurial or self-help book each day.
    -You must take a progress picture each day.

    So, off I go. The weekend was easy, but the workweek has presented some challenges. I’ve had to modify my daily routine in order to accommodate the water intake and the outdoor exercise. Planning ahead seems to be working for me for both diet and exercise.

    I am feeling very motivated, but I realize that I’m still early in the challenge. That is why I’m posting this. I’ve told family, friends and coworkers what I’m doing in order to force accountability. I figured that I would do that here too.

    90u6mlz77dln.jpeg

    This is my starting photo. I’m 6’ and 228lbs.

    I’m four days in and have already noticed some positive changes (mostly on my outlook).

    Wish me luck!

    Use the challenge as a list of things you get experience doing. You get experience with gym and reading.

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