75 HARD – 7 Day Hot Take
Myself and a group of others recently just embarked on the infamous “75 HARD” Challenge.
75 days of:
· Two – 45 Minute Workouts, ! Outdoors.
· Take a progress picture.
· Read 10 Pages.
· Drink 1 gallon water.
· Follow a diet.
· No Cheat Meals, No Alcohol.
I’m 7 days in, and here’s my hot take. “THIS IS HOW WE SHOULD BE LIVING OUR LIVES”. Now the packaging of the challenge may make it a bit more challenging, but this should be our day to day.
Two – 45 Minute Workouts, 1 Outdoors.
Workout #1 - We should be doing some sort of exercising that strengthens our muscle and skeletal system, along with improving our cardiorespiratory system. Some of us can say we already check this box. It doesn’t matter if you go to a Globo Gym and workout on your own, do CrossFit, or hit up your local CycleColorG6 studio. This is workout #1.
Workout #2 – This is where most of us miss is the second workout and then get hung up that it’s outside. This packaging can make it seem difficult, but put into real life context, we should be moving more than our 1 hour daily gym commitment and we need to get our asses outside! We weren’t designed to move for 1 hour and then sit at a desk, indoors, under artificial light, for the other 15 hours we’re awake.
Take a Progress Picture.
Be aware of what you are or aren’t doing. Day 1, don’t like what you see? Do something to fix it. Ignoring your bills and bank account has ever made them better. Not looking at yourself in the mirror, putting on a swim suit, or getting on a scale has ever improved your health. Ignoring the situation doesn’t help fix it. Take a daily look at your life and fix what you don’t like. Stop self-medicating things away with food, alcohol, drug, or false affirmations from other people in your same situation.
Read 10 Pages.
For fuck sake! There’s no excuse for being dumb. Pick up a book, read, expand your thinking beyond your phone. Enough said.
Drink 1 Gallon Water.
Is it a lot? I don’t know, maybe. Do people not drink enough water? Probably. Can being properly hydrated improve several aspect of how you feel and function? YES! Drink water!!!
Follow a Diet.
Which one? I don’t know, but 2 things I do know when it comes to nutrition.
1. Eat REAL food.
2. Not too much of it.
Follow those 2 principles and it doesn’t matter if you want to be Vegan, Carnivore, or something in between. Just stop eating sugar and highly processed carbs.
No Cheat Meals, No Alcohol.
This is where people have a problem. It doesn’t mean no cheat meals or alcohol for the rest of your life. It just means none of these for 75 days. Most people’s every day is an alcohol fueled cheat meal. It doesn’t mean life isn’t meant to be enjoyed, it just means there needs to be some restraint. If you don’t think you can’t go 75 days without a certain food or alcohol, you’ve already uncovered a bigger problem. Figure out why you’re so dependent on these things and then fix it.
So is this challenge “HARD”? It all depends on how far from this you’re starting. If you don’t currently live with any of these disciplines, then yes, it will be next to impossible and needs to be started immediately. If you’re close on a few, the additional structure will do you good and could possibly get you through a plateau you might be in. If it isn’t far from your daily “norm” good for you, you’re kicking ass!
3801 Nicholasville Centre Dr, Lexington, KY 40503, United States of America