75 Hard - Day 7

About one month ago I heard about this fitness mental challenge called 75 Hard. I felt, for the most part, I lived a relatively healthy lifestyle but knew there was room for improvement. What I didn’t know at the time was the seed was planted with that pod for further self improvement. Over the next few weeks I began to critically analyze myself and do a full self-assessment of where I was at in life and where I ultimately want to be.

I did not look at this solely through a fitness lens, my breakdown was incredibly comprehensive. Where am I at professionally? I know I have an expiration date with the Army, what’s next? What am I showing my kids (or not showing) daily that I would like to improve on? I’m 41 now and have thought about my mortality, with that, how is my overall health? Will my life improve more if I read about leadership from men like Jocko Willink or if I follow Adam Schefter religiously to see if Aaron Rodgers is coming back to Green Bay?

I ask those questions of myself with the end state that I actually live in the present the way I would in an ideal situation in my own mind?

In sum, nothing changes if nothing changes.

Now would be a good time to spell out what 75 Hard is for those that do not know.

75 Hard

Do the following for 75 days straight. Zero compromises. Zero substitutions:

1. Follow a diet and stick to it. This is what appealed to me, the diet is unique to each individual but there are no cheat meals or alcohol allowed during the 75 days. If the diet is broken or I have a glass of bourbon, I start over at Day 1. My diet consists mostly of beef/steak, chicken, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, brown rice, and protein supplements. I kicked Blue Monster out of my life for the next 75 days. Bourbon too. Farewell lasagna, Mexican tortillas, queso dip, and Doritos.  Hello Honeycrisp apples, sirloin steaks, and chicken tenderloins dipped in avocado packs (sooo good).

2. Complete two 45 minute workouts every day, one of which must be outdoors. For the ‘your body needs rest days’ crowd, a workout can be a 45 minute walk outside or 45 minutes of Yoga; it does not need to be 45 minutes of interval running.  But to that crowd I would also say that your body is capable of much, much more than you’re currently asking of it.  Cameron Hanes said, “Your body gives what you ask of it. Don’t ask much and it won’t give you much. Ask a lot and it will give you a lot. I haven’t found my limit yet, but I am trying.”

3. Take a progress picture every day. I hate doing this. Don’t expect to see a shirtless selfie. I don’t have anything else to say about that.  

4. Drink one gallon of water a day. This is easy. I can suck half a quart down within 5 minutes of waking up. By the end of my morning workout I’ve drank close to half a gallon of water. When you cut down consumption of other liquids your capacity for water truly increases.

5. Read 10 pages of a non fiction book. This is easy too. Rather than stare at the TV or phone every night I’m staring at my Kindle before bed. This is the part of the challenge I look forward to; I’m currently reading Endure by Cameron Hanes but have Relentless by Tim Grover, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Never Finished by David Goggins, and Leadership Strategy and Tactics by Jocko Willink  in my Kindle que.

One Week Down

For me, the diet is the hardest part. I never realized how much random snacking on garbage I do throughout the day. I find myself being ‘hungry’ quite frequently. Rather than grab a handful my kids Goldfish or have some carb loaded meal I instead turn to fruits and water.  I’m not bored with the food yet because, well, I love steak and fruit.

As a special treat to myself I’ll throw frozen pineapple, mango, and strawberries into the blender and have a smoothie. It’s simply…delightful.

Workouts: This part of 75 Hard is the most time consuming and requires planning out the day the night before.  My alarm goes off between 4:15-4:30 a.m. every day but I think I’m going to start setting a 4:00 a.m. wake up (you’re welcome Celia).  The earlier I wake up the more I can get in and the more I can push to see what my breaking point will be.  I haven’t taken a day off since I started. By that I mean there has not been a day both my 45 minute workouts were walks. Are some days more intense? Sure.  But every day I will either be lifting, running, or doing a long Peloton ride for one of those 45 minute workouts.

Most days will be something like this: 60-75 minutes of weights, walk the dogs along the river for 30-45 minutes, 5+ mile run, 75 minutes of jiujitsu in the evening with Jadon (and eventually Caleb).

Why Now

Why did I start a blog a week into this challenge? Easy. I didn’t know what to expect, if I would follow through for a week, or what would be the purpose.  Truthfully, I still don’t know what the theme of this will be or if I’ll make regular entries.

I used to blog many years ago. I enjoyed it. I thought I was ‘decent’ at it. Maybe doing something like this 75 Hard challenge will start that back up. I don’t know.