I’m Doing (a version of) the 75 Hard Challenge… Join me!
Having been inspired by the 75 Hard challenge I saw online, I considered doing an edited version of it, basically to drag my body and mind kicking and screaming out of the summer. (It has been indulgent).
I’d kicked the idea around in my head and gave it a bit of thought. I decided I wouldn’t do that version of the 75 Hard, but if I could think of a few suitable changes, then I’d do it.
Fast forward a few days and my friend Finn saw the 75 Hard challenge on instagram and asked did anyone fancy it. I told him I did, but I wanted to tweak it to make it more personal to me. He was keen…
I wanted to give it elements of a fitness challenge, make it more of a lifestyle challenge. A sprint towards a general personal upgrade I suppose.
It’s a bit extreme in some elements, but there’s a reason for that. I want to drag myself out of the summer indulgences and back on to some sort of productive drive. The summer is over (if it really started), the kids have gone back to school today and the timing is right for me to throw myself into a challenge.
I have a few personal training clients who work in the IT industry and they talk about ‘sprints’, where they work full speed on a project for a few weeks. This is my version of it….
The 75 Hard Challenge
The 75 Hard challenge was created by a guy called Andy Frisella and goes along the lines of kicking the shit out of ‘challenging’ yourself because it’ll help you figure out who you really are and how mentally tough you are. That’s all well and good, but in my suburban bubble I have no reason to push myself to breaking point.
I’ve cycled the length of the country in a week. I’ve cycled the width of the country in a day. I’ve completed 3 Tough Mudders, 3 Snowdonia Charity Challenges, a 250 mile charity bike ride in 2 days and completed the Three Peaks Challenge in less than 18 hours. I know I’ve got enough mental toughness to cope with most things.
There’s been a whole host of men with this kind of message in the last few years, which is funny – they seem to wear their suffering as a badge of honour, as if life is a war. If life is a war, you’re doing it wrong.
I’m not into that, I don’t see life as a war to be won. I just want to be in decent nick and all that.
Anyway, on the 75 hard, for 75 consecutive days you have abide by these rules…
- Strict Diet – No cheating, not even 1 bite, and No alcohol
- 2 Workouts per Day – 1 has to be outside and both have to be at least 45 minutes
- Drink 1 Gallon of Water per Day – Nothing but clear, plain water counts
- Read 10 Pages per Day – From a non-fiction self help book or business book
- Take a Progress Picture Every Day – So you can see the progress at the end
I’m not going to do that, for loads of reasons, but I’m going to borrow from it. I’m going to take some of the principles and abide by them for 75 days to see a personal and professional uplift. I’m going to challenge my fitness to generally elevate my health.
I don’t have the time to train twice per day for at least 45 minutes, one of which being outside. I leave the house before 5.00 in the morning up to 3 days per week. I sometimes don’t finish work before 9.00. On the days I do, I have a family and non-work commitments.
In the next 75 days I have 5 major social commitments, one of which is Rachel’s birthday, another of which is my son’s birthday. I’m not going to avoid family meals out for the sake of a challenge.
I can abide by dietary discipline without going Tibetan Monk.
The other parties – have you ever been to a party and been sober? I have… once. Fuck doing that again. Even people I like piss me off when they’re drunk and I’m not, so if I’m around drunk people, I want to be one of them.
My Version of the 75 Hard Challenge…
I want to keep the essence of the challenge, but at the same time personalise it to me. I don’t need to train twice per day, nor will I stick to a strict diet with so many events coming up. Taking those into account, here’s my version of the 75 Hard.
- Dietary Discipline – Eating well. Only drinking on social occasions, not at home
- Train Every Day – 75 days without a day off. Active recovery counts
- Drink 3 litres of Water per Day – Nothing but clear, plain water counts
- Read 10 Pages per Day – From a non-fiction self help book or business book
- Take a Progress Picture Every Day – So you can see the progress at the end
- Complete a full 10,000 steps per day
Some will argue I’m missing the point of the 75 Hard by tweaking it and they’re possibly right, but I don’t need the extreme pain-in-the-arse that such a challenge would represent. Why drink a gallon of water per day for example? If I’m fully hydrated, any extra is pointless.
What I want to do is throw myself into a challenge that will test my discipline and make me a better, fitter and more productive person at the end of it, without being a huge drain on me physically and psychologically – I can imagine training 150 times in 75 days and living on a super strict diet will make me a rather dull boy, not to mention an irritable arse hole.
So it’s a Hard-ish 75 for me.
What am I Hoping to Achieve From It?
As I said at the start of the article, I’ve had an indulgent summer. I’ve still trained, but not as hard. I’ve enjoyed a few parties, a holiday, some time off work and a bit too much food and booze. It’s life. It happens.
What I’m hoping to achieve from my version of the Hard 75 is a physical and mental kick up the backside. I want to kick-start my training, drop some weight, get on top of some extra reading and professionally, get more done. Develop a few projects I have on the go.
I’ll be charting the Hard-ish 75 journey with a weekly update on this blog. I’ll post the workouts, the stats and the roundups from the whole thing and we’ll see the journey through together!
By all means, join in too – either by emailing me or by adding me on Instagram and messaging me there.
Update 1: What I learned in Week 1
NEWSFLASH!
I’m doing another 75 hard challenge – yet again it’s a 75 hard variation, but you can follow the next phase of the 75 hard journey for me by clicking here.
Published by
The point of 75 Hard is to be really challenging, tweaking it like that will mean you’re not doing 75 Hard. Not drinking for 75 days straight sounds really challenging to you? Good, that’s why you should do it. That’s the whole point! 75 days is not the rest of your life, and if you really want the benefits completing this challenge promises, you just cannot tweak it like that. If you can’t stand drunk people when you’re sober, don’t go to parties for 75 days! Simple.
Did you listen to the MFCEO podcast episode where he explains the concept? I feel like you didn’t, and I think doing so could help you understand the point of the challenge better.
Hi Rebecca….
If you read my article, you’ll see that I say I’m doing a ‘version’ of it – my version. I didn’t claim to be doing the official thing. In part, because I think the official 75 Hard is kind of stupid. It’s arbitrary. I’m all for personal development and challenge, but I was looking for something different that physical and mental punishment for the sake of it. I wanted something to benefit me and my life, within parameters I was willing to set.
My family parties during the time were more important to me than a voluntary challenge, so it was edited. I was always going to go to family parties where people would be drinking. My family relationships are more important to me.
I still trained 75 days in a row, I still read over 750 pages of personal development literature, I will ate well etc etc. I still benefitted from my version of the challenge, so I’ll challenge your claim of “if you really want the benefits completing this challenge promises, you just cannot tweak it like that”.
You can tweak it. I did. I benefitted. In this case, it’s my party and I’ll do as I want to.
I haven’t listened to the podcast article, but I will now. I first saw the challenge on social media.
But before you look down on my challenge, remember, we don’t all have to do as prescribed. I can tweak a recipe, I can take a different route to a destination.
Life is an adventure. Choose yours.
Steve
Don’t fucking promote it with the 75 hard headline if you think it stupid. Your challenge you are doing is really stupid. Takes every point of the challenge away from it. Might as well live your life. If you want to learn how to be productive, do the actual 75 hard. Not your made up version wont achieve 1/100th that you would if you did the real thing. You think you have enough mental toughness? That’s a joke you got way more in you. I may be harsh but this entire post made me furious and many others. Don’t promote this shit.
Hi John
So I slept on whether or not to give your stupid ramblings the light of day, but then I thought I would. Two reasons why…
1. I believe we’re all entitled to our opinion and this is yours.
2. So I can reply with context.
First of all…
This is my blog, my life and frankly, I’ll do exactly as I fucking please. Guess how much consideration I put into John Dawkins’ opinion of anything when I decided on my challenge?
None. Not a nanosecond.
So, now I’ve established that I couldn’t give a mouse-sized shit about your opinion on my challenge, I’ll go on to further explain your stupidity….
1. My made up version was personal to ME. I said on numerous occassions in the article that it was borrowing from the challenge, it wasn’t the actual thing. If you couldn’t understand that, despite the (at least 3 times I explained it was my version) life must be tough for you.
2. I don’t need to learn how to be productive. I have three businesses, a girlfriend and two kids. I coach my son’s football team, I’m chairman of a weightlifting club and still manage to find time to be present with my family.
3. Explain to me how I didn’t manage to achieve 1/100th of the real thing? Go back to school. Your maths needs polishing.
4. Mental toughness – I’ve cycled 1000 miles in a week. I’ve completed the three peaks in less than 18 hours. Do either, then come and talk to me about mental toughness.
Finally, I want to address your ‘fury’. If a blog post about a challenge I’m doing makes you furious, you’re a pathetic excuse of a man. If that’s a worthwhile direction of anger, get help. A lot of it. Quickly.
John, let me say this loud and clear…
‘Tough’ isn’t an outcome measure. Making a challenge hard with arbitrary targets is bullshit. Train twice a day? Fine – but what if that’s not a good idea? What if you start to develop injuries? What if you suffer from CNS fatigue? Should you just carry on? A challenge needs to be useful. Making it hard for the sake of it isn’t useful. In special forces selection, sure. In day to day life? Not really required.
I’d love to meet you, to see what you’re really like. I’d imagine you love the idea of kicking the shit out of yourself… but probably aren’t bright enough to understand why that’s probably not always a great idea.
Have a great day!
Steve
If you saw my schedule, I don’t have time for 2 45mins a day either, but, I’m doing it. I’m not touching alcohol because that what makes me better, I’m drinking a full gallon and it’s hard, but that’s what makes me better. Step out of your comfort zone and do things that are hard and you don’t have time for and you don’t think you can do, because that’s what makes you better. Doing the full 75 hard is what is going to make me better then those that can’t or won’t do it. Good luck with your challenge. Maybe after it you should actually try the proper 75 hard 🙂
And in response to your answer to Rebecca saying:
“In part, because I think the official 75 Hard is kind of stupid.”
It’s only stupid because you don’t think you can complete it, plain and simple.
Hi Stephen
Well, there’s a few points to address here….
1. Good for you, doing 2 x 45 minute workouts. As I said, this is MY challenge, written about on MY blog. The Hard 75 merely served as inspiration. I trained 75 days in a row, and that’s good going. It’s what I challenged myself to do.
2. I know all about stepping out of my comfort zone… if you read, you’ll see I cycled 1000 miles in 6 days. I cycled the width of the UK in one day. I’ve done the 3 peak challenge, I’ve done Tough Mudders, competed in weightlifting events, football and running events. I’m no stranger to stepping out of my comfort zone.
3. I told Rebecca I think the Hard 75 is kind of stupid not because (as you so confidently assume) I can’t do it, but it’s because it’s so arbitrary. Drinking a gallon of water every day doesn’t make you better… it makes you piss more. If you’re sufficiently hydrated with 3/4 of a gallon, why would drinking the whole gallon make things better? It wouldn’t. There’s literally not one single health benefit to it, so it’s stupid. A challenge is about improvement and that isn’t something that improved me.
Now, think about that. Making something ‘hard’ doesn’t mean it’s ‘good’.
Steve
Don’t worry about the naysayers, man. You’re still challenging yourself which is awesome. Keep being a dope person to look up to.
Thanks, Cierra!
I’d never let them bother me – they’re keyboard warriors! They’re welcome to work out with me any time they like if they think they’re hardcore!
Steve
I really like the way you tweaked this challenge. I’m not a purist/ I saw the original challenge and was going to forgo it in its entirety because I have three family birthdays and my graduation party over the next 75 days. This seems like a challenge I can actually get on board with. I believe fitness is adaptable and positive change is positive change. Keep on keeping on! Also- I’m glad I found your blog, my husband and I both enjoy fitness motivation.
Hey Rachel!
Thanks for the kind words. As for your challenge, this is YOUR journey through life, so adapt things how you see fit – the purpose is to upgrade yourself over the 75 days (in my eyes it was anyway), not punish yourself.
Give it a go and let me know how you get on!
Steve
Thanks for posting this! I’m coming out of a two year Period of a thyroid crash. For me to start working out 2x/day for 45
Min each is way too much. I like the way you took the concept and made it something personal to you! I’m going to do it too!! Cheers!!
Thanks, Kimber!
You’ve got to do what’s right for you. Make up a challenge that you’ll be pushed by, but grow from.
Good luck!
Steve
Firstly, good for you. Make the changes that you want to benefit from!
Secondly- you people need to take a chill pill, what the hell is wrong with you?
Obviously this is a person who wants to challenge himself and grow as individual but isn’t going to set himself up to fail because he has responsibilities other than his own (I.e a job and a family)
The 75 hard program itself is a derivative of 10,000 other programs. The 75 hard program itself IS tweaked. And any SUCCESSFUL person knows that the goals you set for yourself need to be realistic. The man set a realistic challenge for himself and succeeded, so lighten the fuck up.
So again, good for you Steve. Your program achieved exactly what you wanted it to, which is the only point of ANY 75 day challenge.
Thanks Chris!
The internet is a funny place, isn’t it?! That being said, I allow them to have their voice on the site. I’m not the type of person to get too upset by it – I do wonder why they’re so motivated to post nasty things about something that doesn’t change their day in any way, shape or form tough!
I enjoyed my challenge and I got from it what I wanted. It’s my party and I’ll do as I want to.
So f**k em!
Have you done a version of it?
Steve
I love that you reworked this and made it doable, yet challenging. I took one look at the 75 hard and thought 75 impossible. I’m 58 years old, and not much of an exercise person. I also have family and work commitments that trump working out for an hour and a half a day, and who just gives up alcohol? Perhaps some of the people who didn’t like the way you changed the program are doing it for the wrong reason. Maybe they want to complete the whole rigid thing just so they can brag to everyone how awesome they are. ?
I can’t believe the comments on this page! The 75 hard is an illusion of mental toughness and physicality, if anything. It preaches the notion that if you don’t do it perfectly, you have failed. That is simply not the way life works! I would rather be happy and healthy making some progress, then feeling like a failure all the time. Do whatever works for you and what makes you happy. Dietitians and fitness experts tend to agree. Your method would probably be more sustainable past the 75 days anyway.
P.S. Your responses are so f*****g funny.
I actually found your site by searching for “75 hard” light. Lol! I listened to his podcast I read what was prescribed, but I didn’t feel his plan in its entirety was for me, but I was willing to give it a shot. Then I got an email from Andy (mass generated) This was the subject.
How Long Are You Willing To Tolerate Being Average?
This turned me off, and maybe it’s exactly what others need. I don’t think I’m average I also don’t think my life is in need of “help”. I just wanted something to commit to, so after the lengthy preface (lol). I’m going to give “75 hard” light a shot. I dig your message, but I really love your nonchalant ness with the haters. Thanks for the ideas and inspiration!
No problem, Amanda! It’s your life, so live it how you want to. I took the concept and adapted it in a way that would suit my life.
As for the haters, they’re like sport. I love how they think I care about their opinions, so feel the need to voice them at me!
Steve
Thanks Ruee!
I’ve got zero doubts at all that my approach is more successful over the long term. Whether or not that abides by some notion of ‘hard’ is irrelevant to me, but some keyboard warriors seem to think that it’s the be all and end all. Maybe they didn’t get enough hugs as a child and think that life has to be tough to be rewarding!
It’s good fun responding to their negativity – mostly because this is a battle of brains and humour, but they’ve come unarmed…
Steve
Hi Jan!
Perhaps you’re right – if it doesn’t fit with their version their rigid thinking doesn’t allow for the fact that many people won’t see any benefit in the original version of the challenge. That’s their problem though, not ours!
Take an edited version of the challenge, one that suits you and go ahead and improve your life!
I’m with you!
Steve
Hi Steve,
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your modifications to this challenge. I’ve seen quite a few friends post about the challenge which definitely piqued my interest, but I know full well that there’s no way I’d be able to get through the original plan.
Your version excites me to no end and actually gives me a chance to accomplish something without making too many excuses. Appreciate you!
Go for it, El! Your life, your rules – who cares if it isn’t the original version? You don’t need permission to run your own challenge!
Good luck with it all!
Steve
Yeah really a lot of people missing the point. Think in essence you did a 75 day fitness programme. Excellent. Having done 75H twice now and the Club La Santa (would have been 6 but Corona) 5 times. I can safely say running my own business, 2 kids house, wife dog the whole 9 yards, 75Hard is a mindset programme that stretches into Ultra territory, I would argue that I couldn’t give two fucks if you borrowed from it, leant on it or whatever, you took some of the principles and created a fitness programme. Cool. You won’t have seen the full benefits of 75 as on occasion you took the easier path. The more comfortable path. And that’s fine. It’s not where the growth happens though in my opinion, yet I respect yours. It happens when we delay gratification, alter our routines for our goals and take the less common route. You’ll have gained a huge amount from your program and good on you. Not the same playing field however. And the achievements so far are excellent but on the IM or Ultra circuit… well think we’d see. Best wishes. Not passive aggressive as I too couldn’t care less but found this interesting for a fleeting moment. Clinton
Hi Clinton
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree with a lot of what you say – yes, what I did was easier. Was it still tough? Absolutely.
As for ‘where the growth happens’, that’s where I think you’re wrong. Growth happens when we push ourselves, be it fleetingly (as what happens in a HIIT workout) or over the longer term.
Adaption of a challenge is a good thing. If I was to drink a gallon a day, I’d not get anything done because I’d be heading to the toilet every 10 minutes. If I was to stick to a strict diet regimen for 75 days, I’d be leaner…. but I’d also be a boring fucker.
We get one go round in this life. You can choose to spend it in search of being some arbitrary version of elite (impressing only others like you), or you can spend it mixing challenge with enjoyment.
I know which I prefer.
Steve
Great job. How did it go? I am also doing my own version, I’m starting tomorrow. I cant wait.
Hi Dana!
It went great thanks – I felt amazing at the end of it and really enjoyed the challenge. It’s not easy, but it was really worth it!
What are you doing?
Steve
Hey,
I googled “75 Hard variations” and found your blog today. Thank goodness I did. I have been toying around with the idea of 75 hard but in all honesty, it doesn’t fit into my life but I do want to commit to something difficult and follow through so I was looking for a variation. I love yours. I am getting started this week coming.
I also love your responses to the trolls out there and I love even after so long you’re still replying to comments! Now off I go to dive deeper into your blog now that I’m here ?
Hi Shan!
I’ve said all along that it’s your life, so you get to choose the challenge. It’s about personal growth, not following some arbitrary set of rules that a somebody else set.
There’s nothing wrong with the original challenge, it’s great… it just doesn’t bear relevance to what I wanted/needed in my life.
Of course the internet is a fun place and you not following something to the letter is enough for people to ‘call you out’ apparently! That’s why I stand up to these half-wits, as if they know the first thing about me! I’d love to see them though, learn a little bit more about them. I’d imagine most of them are still living with their parents and sharing topless pictures of themselves on the internet!
Good luck with your challenge, I’m here if you need any help.
If you’re looking for some other articles on the site that might be relevant, here’s a few…
Nutrition…
1. What Happened When I Followed a 1000 Calorie Diet
2. I Did a 3 Day Fast. Here’s the Result
3. What Happened When I Gave Up Sugar
Training…
1. How to do Cardio When You Hate Running
2. Adding EMOMs to Training
3. How Many Calories Does Sprinting Burn?
Hopefully you’ll enjoy the articles!
Steve
I just wanted to come on here and let you know that this post inspired me. I liked the idea of sticking to something and bettering myself, but not completely messing with my brain and making it unhealthy. My fitness journey began about a year ago and it has become a lifestyle for me. I like that you took the good from this challenge and made it into something of your own. I am on day 12 of my challenge and I’m doing basically what you mentioned on your list. I feel fantastic and have all the desire to keep going, especially after this post! Keep doing your thing man, you’re awesome.
Hi Christine!
Thanks for the kind words – and well done for embarking on your own fitness challenge!
How are you getting on?
Lockdown has seen me develop a lot of my own projects further, but the trade off is that my fitness has suffered. I’m going to do another version of my challenge to get me back on track!
Best regards
Steve
Thank you for posting this. I’ve been wanting to do the 75 Hard Challenge for awhile, but felt like it wasn’t truly sustainable, so I’ve been searching for a modified version, and this is the one! I believe when it comes to health, you have to do what’s right for YOU, and part of that health is mental/emotional health – which means keeping rude comments, snide remarks, and cruel judgments to yourself. If all the people who commented mean comments truly benefitted from their “real” 75 day challenge, I would have assumed they would have come out of it kinder, and more willing to accept the health journey others are on, even if it is different from their own. Thank you for sharing YOUR journey and teaching us that it’s okay to modify challenges to fit your lifestyle. Even a 10% change is a change, and I’m thankful for people like you that celebrate and support others in whatever season of life they are in.
Hi Hannah!
Good for you – feel free to challenge yourself in a way that you want to. It’s a weird alpha badge where the goal is to kick the crap out of yourself in the spirit of making yourself ‘better’ or ‘elite’. It’s ridiculous, especially when much of what you have to endure doesn’t actually make you better at all!
You might like this article I wrote… https://www.hoylesfitness.com/general/why-you-should-adapt-the-75-hard-challenge/.
Good luck with your own challenge and let me know how it goes!
Steve
Hey Steve
Well done on tweaking it to suit you – it looks far better the way you are doing it.
Ignore all the negative nancies.
Have a great day!
Thanks Kerri, and I do! It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let a keyboard warrior upset me!
Best regards
Steve
I’m glad you tweaked it. I’m actually looking towards doing so myself because I work, have an internship, and go to school. The way you did it makes a bigger difference because you created habits that you will stick to after the 75 days. Most people will go back after the 75 days because they dreaded the things they had to do.
“I know I’ve got enough mental toughness to cope with most things.”
“The other parties – have you ever been to a party and been sober? I have… once. Fuck doing that again. Even people I like piss me off when they’re drunk and I’m not, so if I’m around drunk people, I want to be one of them.”
“My family parties during the time were more important to me than a voluntary challenge, so it was edited. I was always going to go to family parties where people would be drinking. My family relationships are more important to me.”
The modifications you made to the training schedule would probably yield better results than an arbitrary prescription of training twice a day, and the blanket statement of drinking a gallon of water a day, no matter how big you are is misguided to say the least. However I do not think you are as mentally tough as you say you are, perhaps you are during physical activity, but you missed a major part of the program by not challenging yourself not to drink.
Being the only sober person is hard. Saying no to your friends when they’re trying to force you to drink is hard. But by sticking to it you adapt and build resilience within your own mind.
Great article nonetheless and good luck in your future endeavours.
Thanks for your comment Alexander.
The thing is, as I said in the article my family and friend relationships are more important than a challenge to me. I am able to not drink very easily (I barely drink at all anyway), so it wasn’t a mental toughness thing, it was an enjoyment thing. Nobody would have forced me to drink – we’re not that kind of family!
Steve
Absolutely, Insiya. It’s the springboard into a wider personal improvement, not an exercise in punishment. The more people understand this, the better!
Good luck with the internship and school.
Steve
Hi,
First of all, thank you for this article.
I came across your article while researching how I could wrap my life and my existing schedules around the 75Hard challenge. You made me realize that I was going about this the wrong way around, and that 75Hard is just a set of arbitrary rules. The hard part of the challenge is not following the rules. It’s about consistency. It’s about making you accountable for making exclusively positive lifestyle choices in a set of areas for 75 Days straight.
Realizing this, given a bit of mindfulness and background knowledge in fitness in nutrition, it is actually pretty easy to define your OWN set of rules and lifestyle choices that affect YOUR OWN life positively, and face the same challenge of consistency and accountability for 75 days. So don’t let anybody tell you that you didn’t do 75Hard, because you did.
That being said, I think you missed a bit of a trick there with not sticking strictly to the no-alcohol rule and the no-cheat-meals rules, and here’s my reasoning: Allowing social circumstances to coerce you into making non-positive lifestyle choices (alcohol / overeating / breaking dietary restrictions) does actually take away from what I think this challenge is about — accountability for positive and consistent lifestyle choices.
But that’s okay, it just means that there’s more positive changes to make and negative habits to break for all of us mere humans 🙂
Thanks again,
Thanks for your thoughts, Andreas.
I hear what you’re saying, but I felt as though my challenge wasn’t about avoiding alcohol for a night – I can do that, I just didn’t want to. Family parties aren’t a hugely regular thing, so I wanted to enjoy a drink at one!
The original idea from my end was to kickstart better habits after a summer. I did that and I’ll be grateful for finding out about the challenge because it really worked for me. I’d do it again, with different goals this time reflective of where I’m up to in life now.
Hope you’re well.
Steve
Hi Steve. I’m really glad that I found this blog because I’ve been recently thinking about starting the 75 hard challenge and I also like the principles behind it but didn’t feel the need for it to be so extreme. So it makes me feel good to have came across your version because I feel like the tweaks that you’ve made would be some thing up my alley. Thank you for posting this!
I am a 140lb female that had a baby 3 months ago and I’m crushing the OFFICIAL 75 hard. I have two kids and own a business.
There are ways around everything you posted about and they are all excuses. This is ridiculous.
Not a problem, Noel! That’s great to hear that my article has inspired a few positive changes in your life – go and kick ass!
Steve
Wow – you do all of that and STILL find time to post nasty, unsolicited comments on blog posts?! That’s amazing – you’re an inspiration to us all!
Your ‘Nobody Gives a Fuck’ award is on its way to you.
Let’s hope you’re not neglecting your kids (especially your 3 month old baby) by spending hours in the toilet on account of drinking a gallon of water and spending 90 minutes day exercising!
My post was about MY LIFE and MY version of the challenge. It’s hilarious that it upsets you.
I hope you teach your kids to not be like you, and instead post a little positivity around the world.
Steve
P.S. You run a businesses, I now run 4. So I win. Naaa na na naa naaaaaah!
Steve, I just read all of the comments. While I can appreciate that you have modified the program to fit your needs, you are an incredible jackass in how you deal with others. I wish you the best of luck in the future. It doesn’t cost anything to be nice.
Hi Matt…
If you’d read all of the comments you’ll see I’m only rude to the people who are rude to me. These are people who have come to MY blog, and called me names, told me I’m weak/pathetic/whatever else so frankly, fuck them.
If they were prepared to engage with me in a respectful way, I’d be respectful back. There are a lot of people who have left comments here and we’ve had nice conversations. Be nice to me, I’m nice back. That’s kind of how life works.
So, remind me why I’m a jackass again?
It appears you’re another person who feels the need to voice an opinion of me, without having met me. So as per my jackass-ian ways…get bent. Remember YOU came to MY site and were rude to me. You wouldn’t go to a person’s house and be rude to them, would you?
I’m very nice, thanks. Perhaps you should be too.
Best of luck with your endeavours.
Steve
I’ve been looking for your version for awhile. Im a single, working mom to 3 kids and I do not want to stress my self out more than I already am (or set myself up for failure), but do want to commit to something for me. To better myself. And to enjoy myself on the rare occasions I have a social life. Excited to try this version. Thanks for posting
Hello,
Randomly found your article through a google search. Anywho, thanks for sharing your experience and thought process. Honestly, I also thought the OG challenge is a bit much, although yes the whole point is to push yourself beyond your limits. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that a modified version will better serve me and still challenge me. 🙂 Onward and forward with a less intense inspired challenge.
All the negative comments were so painful to read, as if you had eaten their sandwich. Sheesh. People are allowed to take their own path, color outside the lines and *tweak the recipe* as you said! They don’t deserve your witty responses.
Cheers! Stay healthy and safe.
Thanks Stephanie! Good luck with it!
Steve
Thanks Teresa!
Absolutely agree with your points – we’re all allowed to do our own version of the challenge!
Enjoy your version and good luck!
Steve
The comments on here are a fucking riot. If you think 75 Hard is a good idea, do it. You wanna fanboy hard for this weirdo creator? Knock yourself out. You want to tweak the challenge so it’s still challenging for you but is still literally achievable? Dope, do that. In this, the Shittiest Year On Record, why do people care so much what other people do?
Anyway, all this to say, I might do your version starting 1/1! 75 Hard sounds fucking stupid (you’re right, no rhyme or reason to *any* rule) but I still want a challenge.
And I’m glad you put 75 Hard in the title or I’d have never found this blog. Sorry John Dawkins, but that’s just how the internet works.
Hi Leah!
You’ve just made my day – my thoughts ENTIRELY!
Go and kick ass on YOUR challenge!
Steve
Hi Steve,
Firstly, so great to stumble across your post! You have summed up in your post & your responses exactly how I am feeling!
I have been doing the 75hard challenge for 36 days now, & with each passing day all I can think is….I am bored with this! Not challenged!
For me, it is not a challenge, it’s simply an inconvenience. We do not grow as people due to inconvenience, we grow because we choose to take on/challenge ourselves to spend our time participating in worthwhile activities that encourage holistic growth….& personally, my brain needs a little more stimulation to grow than guzzling stupid amounts of water!
I absolutely agree with you on using the best parts of something and crafting a challenge that suits YOU! I believe true intelligence is learning how to take the best of everything & use it to improve/learn….that includes even learning how to deal with the uneducated, somewhat hysterical individuals who follow mind numbing challenges without even truly asking…..why? And then take ever adverse comment soooo personally!
With regards to the naysayers….well….our responses are always indicative of how far along the evolutionary chain we are I guess! Lol.
All the best! And thankyou…..your simple intelligent take on this challenge has confirmed my decision to create my own, that actually challenges & improves me – mentally, physically, holistically!
All the very best!
Rowie.
Hi Rowie!
Thank you for the kind words – and well done on your own challenge!
You’re right about those taking offence. It’s such an odd waste of resource, I really I don’t understand why they’re in a constant state of battle-readiness!
Keep kicking ass and growing as a person!
Steve
I’m so glad I found this. I wanted to start 75hard because I was looking for a challenge. I’m interested in overall wellness more than “mental toughness” though, and I shouldn’t even have considered it based on the way people think about this. To me, mental toughness is over coming actual adversity, not drinking a gallon of water and taking a fucking photo of yourself everyday. Not that I’m saying I don’t recognize that challenge is “hard”, but again to your point, it’s arbitrarily hard. But I still like most of the criteria. The one thing I wanted to adjust was not working out outdoors everyday, for a few reasons. 1. I live in a state with a temperate climate so working out outside isn’t even “hard” anyway. 2. I have a home gym where I can get a much more quality workout 3. I’m a woman and don’t feel comfortable working out alone in the dark. And BOY did some keyboard warrior come for me, much like they have here. I’m more interested in finding a supportive group of people, thanks. Maybe you should start a #challlenge for reasonable people, I’d join it 😉
Hi Lea!
Thank you for your comment – it echoes EXACTLY my thoughts! Are you undergoing a challenge of your own? I’d love to hear about it!
By the way – I do have a group I’d like to tell you about!
Steve
Steve I have toyed with the idea of the 75 HARD for a while. I am going to do my own person version of it. Honestly as a trainer I see absolutely no reason to workout 45 minutes twice a day for 75 days straight. What I observe is people pushing themselves to exhaustion. Mental toughness yes but making a commitment to anything for 75 days is hard for most people. Many people could not even do the modified challenge you are doing! I mean can a school teacher drink a gallon of water per day – No! They have to have someone cover their classroom when they need to step away. Some steps of the 75 hard are just not feasible for some people. The purest are going to get upset because it’s not the program that AF set up but whatever! You do you and I will do me! As long as you are improving your health and your mindset isn’t that what matters!
Hi Kathy!
Absolutely – there’s a strong reaction by a few if anyone goes against the ‘sacred’ 75 Hard!
I love the concept, I just don’t like that particular version. Nothing wrong with that!
Good luck with your challenge and let me know how it goes.
Steve
I’m so glad I found this!!!
I was looking at the 75 hard but wanted to change it up to things I’m personally struggling with. The challenge was a great foundation for me to make my own.
The reading for example, I used to read so much and I haven’t been doing that, so I also applied reading anything, not just restricting it to nonfiction.
I also removed not drinking, and replaced it with structured training and playtime with my dog.
But I’m glad to see that this challenge has also inspired others to address areas in their lives they want to better or need to work on.
Hi Vicky!
This is EXACTLY why I changed my approach to the challenge, to make it my own thing and something that suits my goals. There’s a lot of people who have made big improvements in their lives using this approach!
Keep me informed as to how it’s going!
Steve
Hey Steve,
Good article, good ideas, and good job blowing off the keyboard warriors. I’m in the same boat as you – looking for a challenge, and like elements of this challenge. But as a whole the 75Hard isn’t for me.
I’m reading Frisella’s book right now and TOTALLY get the idea behind it all, and I get the reasons people are getting upset at you modifying it. Really, there is no wrong answer here. But like you, I don’t like a couple of elements of the original challenge and will most likely make a personal challenge based off of the original 75Hard.
My biggest disagreement with the actual 75Hard is the diet. this is somewhat arbitrary and he leaves the “diet” open to personal choice. He does say macro based diets don’t count but I disagree. Macro based diets make you track your food, and that alone counts as good nutrition (because most of us would be tracking so that we eat healthy and smart). So I’ll make this change with no guilt. With this, “Cheat meals” are totally open to interpretation. Frisella does address this in his book, and again I disagree. So because of this I’m not doing the 75Hard – but will be doing something more personal.
Hi Matt
Thanks for the kind words on the article.
I think the original 75 Hard is a great concept, but the details are a little awry. It’s a fantastic idea to challenge ourselves in the pursuit of personal growth, but we grow in different ways, we have different needs and following a generic set of rules isn’t the optimum way for us all.
Good luck with your version of it – keep me informed how you’re getting on!
Steve
I loved the idea of a “Challenge”, but I think 75 Hard went to the point of being unhealthy. I “failed” it 6 times now. Instead of celebrating that I was moving more every day, fueling my body better, and back to running after a 9 month break, I found myself mentally beating myself up. As a mother who still has a child at home, but babysits grandchildren daily, there just wasn’t time in the day for 90 minutes of working out. Exercise is a priority for me, but when I found myself walking circles around my pool one night (to not get eaten by a bear in the dark), I realized it was ridiculous. I found this article looking for alternatives and discovered many professionals are not impressed with 75 Hard. Thank you for your insight. I enjoyed the article.
Thanks Gina – and I appreciate the time you’ve taken to write on the blog.
It’s wonderful you’ve found value in a challenge, but you’re right – it shouldn’t be about beating yourself up. It should be about embracing an improvement in your physical and mental health.
As I say to everyone here – do the best you can. Keep pushing yourself, but don’t do anything silly (like walking around a bear-infested pool!)
Steve
So I’m all about self improvement and personal development so props to you for challenging yourself. That said what your doing is not the 75 Hard Challenge. This is like me saying I’m going to do the Atkins Diet except I’m going to eat mac and cheese with my dinner every night, it’s no longer the Atkins Diet. Not trying to knock you, obviously when we blog and create content we want to rank and attaching your blog post to a trending topic like The 75 Hard Challenge will grab more attention and get more views but what your doing is watering down the challenge.
I will say your challenge is better than the “75 Soft Challenge” being pushed right now but my issue with yours is mainly with the diet step. First off saying “Dietary Discipline” is very subjective, what does that mean? It needs to be more cut and dry. In our stores we hear a lot of people say things like “i’m eating really healthy, eating a lot of sandwiches”. That’s not healthy but people have skewed ideas of what healthy means. Also you really pussed out on the drinking part, you really can’t go 75 days without drinking? You say for social occasions, is every Friday and Saturday night a social occasion?
The whole aspect of this challenge is to challenge yourself and there will be sacrafices you have to make. Over the course of 75 days there are going to be weddings or birthdays or social events and the challenge is all about whether you have the grit or discipline to have a club soda and lime instead of a beer or mixed drink.
I’m a newbie to your site/blog, and like a couple of others, found it by searching for a balanced version of 75 Hard.
I not only enjoyed your post, but loved the responses you gave to the keyboard warriors. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of your content, and started my 75 Hard-but-balanced tomorrow
Ooookkkaaaaayyyyy….
So John, let me be clear (again, given this has been stated multiple times in the article)…
This was MY version of the challenge. I didn’t claim to be doing the ‘official’ version of the challenge. I’ll say that again so it’s clear…
My version. NOT the official one.
I never claimed to be doing the official version. Go ahead and read the post again. Please. I beg of you, please.
So I pussed out by drinking a couple of times in 75 days? Bear with me whilst I check my ‘give a shit ometer’…
… no reading. No shits are given about whether or not John Frigo thinks I’m a pussy.
I didn’t drink every Friday and Saturday night. It was a couple of times in the whole 75 days. And that’s a good thing. You know why? Here’s two reasons…
1. Because drinking is awesome.
2. When you’re sober, drunk people are annoying as fuck.
Unless you’ve got a problem with drink or are driving, don’t be the sober guy at parties. It’s weird. Also, I don’t need to show my ‘grit’ by not having a drink. I show my ‘grit’ when I’m pushing a 100kg prowler for hundreds of yards, or max out snatching then sprinting. Or squatting double bodyweight.
So, whilst I thank you for your comment, I’d urge you to be a more positive dude.
Steve
Finally, when you talk about jumping on trending info… I wrote the blog post in 2019. T’was many a moon ago.
Hi Cales!
Thank you for the kind words. It’s interesting – as a blogger, you think you’re doing a good thing by offering advice, opinions, benefit of experience, but despite that there’s a certain percentage of the population who feel the need to be negative.
Not a problem – I fight fire with fire. Most of them are single-digit IQ levels, so it’s good sport!
Good luck with your challenge, and remember if you ever need any help, I’m here!
Steve
Steve,
I read your article because I too am doing a modified version that is personal to myself. I immediately realized this challenge needed modification to bring personal value. In fact, it makes no sense to me if it is NOT personalized. So, at 54 yrs old here is mine based on what is important to me:
1. No drinking Alcohol – regardless of events. It is important to me to change my relationship with alcohol.
2. 30 plus minutes of exercise per day 5 days per week – Inside, outside or even on the moon. Doesn’t matter where.
3. Follow a personally modified version of the Low GI diet 6 days per week.
4. Practice a Stutz tool daily (From Phil Stutz book “The Tools”)
Those are the only 100% no acception goals. The rest is best effort….
5. Drink more water – A gallon? LOL….this is a best effort goal to simply be more conscious of the need to hydrate.
6. Read 10 pages of a book per day – Any book will do, including magazines. And if I want to listen to an audio book for 15 minutes I won’t lose any sleep about it.
7. Practice Guitar for 15 minutes per day. I Always wanted to learn guitar…
As far as mental toughness is concerned I have no need for any more of that. I went through a very contentious and litiguous 5 year divorce. As a male in a situation like that with the Family Law system in Ontario Canada – and then rebuilding your emotional and financial life from rock bottom – well, you can’t experience a tougher mental exercise than that!
Hi Cary!
How are you doing? Sounds like you’ve seriously nailed the approach I wanted to take here – use the principles but apply them to my own situation.
Are you still on track?
Steve