Well, yet another challenge scraped from the Internet…

Initially, my interest was piqued as I fell prey to the clickbait headline while purposefully scrolling through the news. The story celebrated a couple who had lost significant weight between them. “Probably not sustainable” is the usual thought process, followed by a mix of lament and partial envy regarding the plethora of online “get fit quick” schemes that abound. Surely it’s unhealthy for the average person to work out twice a day. Yet my younger self regularly did this, taking only Sundays off from actively teaching exercise classes and my own workouts. What was more unhealthy then was my constant dehydration and “justified” alcohol rewards—something that is taboo in the 75 Hard Challenge.

• Follow a diet with no cheat meals or alcohol.
• Complete two 45-minute workouts each day, one of which must be outdoors.
• Drink one gallon of water daily.
• Read 10 pages of a non-fiction book every day.
• Take a daily progress photo.

Note: There are no exceptions or modifications allowed; if you miss any of the tasks, you must start over from day one.

Still, as I pondered the potential benefits while researching the potty-mouthed creator Andy Frisella, I became more intrigued and considered it worth a shot. So now I’m on day eight. When I started writing this, I was on day two after a failed first attempt (also on day two). I restarted the challenge after realizing that exploiting the vague rule of “stick to any diet” within reason was falling short of the spirit of the overall plan. Sure noone was checking if I stuck to my loose Microbiome – 10 veg day baseline – diet, punctuated with grazing on the junk food table in the office. So, resetting and restarting with clarity was appropriate.

The creator of 75 Hard advocates that the challenge is to improve mindset, with the physical benefits as a bonus. For me, after two days, I had participated in my longest yoga practice of the year. To clarify, the two workouts have rules: one must be outside, both must be 45 minutes long, and they are up to your discretion. Including yoga as my second ‘workout’ seems sensible and good for well-being—and of course within the rules—although classifying a 45-minute savasana as a workout is a bit of a stretch.

Some thoughts from day eight are as follows: structure, scheduling/planning, tedious/excessive water intake, discipline.

However, I generally feel positive about starting this endeavor. It has led to a regular return of early morning exercise outside that soaks up beneficial daylight for the circadian clock and a restarted yoga routine as my shoulder injury continues to improve.

A long way to go, but happy with the small wins so far!