Before I dive too deep here, I first wanted to kick things off by saying that 75 Hard is definitely an honorable program and it has a lot to offer.
If there’s one thing our modern society lacks it’s collective discipline and social media have unfortunately made humanity the softest it’s ever been.
It’s gotten so bad that the movie Wall-E comes across as a sage prophecy for the way it depicted what Americans will look like in the future.
But it really doesn’t have to be this way.
So let’s break down 75 Hard and see if we can come up with something just as effective without having to be so rigid about the program’s approach.
After all, our goal here is for people to succeed at improving themselves, right?
So why whip them like government mules for every little mistake.
No alcohol – At the time I’m making this, I’ve been alcohol free for four months. The benefits have been nothing short of phenomenal.
Without alcohol in my life, I can easily wake up very early, my head has never been clearer and I’ve found that navigating tough situations in life has become a lot more manageable.
The other added benefit is that cutting the drink out of your life will immediately deliver weight loss benefits – even if you don’t exercise.
Best of all, my productivity has shot through the roof.
No cheat meals – This is likely the second toughest part of the 75 Hard challenge and I can’t say I fully agree with it. This is the part of the challenge that will see so many people feeling discouraged and quitting.
If there’s one thing I’ve found it’s that you should strive instead to restrict cheat meals and instead look at them as reward meals.
Did you eat clean for six days straight? Why not go ahead and gorge on that Big Mac?
Believe me, once your system adjusts to eating clean the majority of the time and calibrating itself accordingly, eating junk food on a rare occasion will have zero effect.
Gallon of water a day – I’d have to say this is the easiest part of the challenge. I started drinking copious amounts of filtered water almost 15 years ago and it still amazes me how much this has changed my life.
If you’re unaccustomed to drinking large amounts of water, start by making sure you start drinking water with every single thing you eat.
No more milk, no more soda – no more anything else. Make a point of washing all of your food down with water and nothing else.
Over time, something curious will happen – the more water you drink throughout the day, the more your body will crave it and the desire to drink more of it will develop on auto-pilot.
2 workouts a day – this would have to be the second toughest challenge after eating clean. Most people find working out unpleasant and who can blame them.
To help, here is what I do – when I get up at 5am, the first thing I do is read for the first hour of the day while enjoying coffee.
Once the clock strikes 6am, I strap on a 20 pound weight vest and I walk up and down five flights of stairs for an entire hour.
At first, I could only do 20 minutes and not the 45 minutes 75 Hard emphasizes.
I wasn’t ashamed to stop after 20 minutes – I just told myself to make sure that I can go at least 25 minutes the next day and on it went until I reached 45 minutes and then decided to make it a square hour.
The point is, working out even just once a day can be very daunting, but with enough practice and taking things slowly, you can build up to it gradually.
DO NOT strive for two full 45 minute workouts each day. Start with two 15 minute workouts each day and build up from there until you find a time you can reserve each day adn then find your groove.
10 pages of non fiction a day – Don’t need to say too much about this as I already covered it when I talked about how I spend the first hour of each day. Reading is not only awesome for brain health, but why not treat yourself to knowledge that will serve to build up your life?
Take a progress photo each day – No thanks. Maybe each week or every two weeks, but I really don’t understand this portion of the challenge.