We’re looking into the “75 Hard personal preparedness challenge.” This has points of intersection with several of the things we are interested in. It is a human-scale endeavor, and has a possible connection with Bed and Breakfast Life, as we will soon see.
It also has a connection with the disaster planning blog post that we recently did. This is because the 75 Hard challenge is all about putting yourself in a challenging situation, which is a personal growth opportunity.
As we pointed out the other day, we’re living in a place that was literally invaded by a hungry 20,000 man army at one point, proving that you never know what will happen, or where.
What is 75 Hard?
75 Hard is something invented by the blogger Andy Frisella, and is a self awareness and improvement strategy. It fits into what we are calling “Human Scale Living” in that it is a way of thinking that encourages you to be thoughtful and mindful of how you go about your life, and therefore has a spiritual element to it. We will give you a link below in case you want to study this for awhile.
Also, since we have suggested the Firefly, pretty bed and breakfast near Madison GA is a great place for a personal retreat, in a way it fits in with what we want to be.
Disclaimer
As usual, we have to say we are not authoritative in the topics of health and its various forms, including diet and exercise, so do not do this or anything like it without some forethought. Consult your local physical and mental health professional before starting anything weird, except that this really isn’t all that weird.
We aren’t being given anything to promote this, or anything else for that matter. We are just pointing out interesting things that people do, and thinking about how we fit into the scheme of things. This does fit with what we were saying the other day on the topic of Personal Preparedness in that it is a way to get yourself mentally prepared for some unpredictable event.
The 75 Hard Challenge
75 Hard might be termed as a “challenge” which is our fellow Andy here is proposing. It is a set of activities and practices that, once ingrained in you, will lead to some physical and mental improvements; One of the central theories is that we’re living in a time of such abundance that we need some imposition of discomfort. In theory there are emotional benefits to artificially setting up some challenges that you wouldn’t normally face in your daily life.
So that’s where the plan comes in.
The Rules of 75 Hard
There are five rules, and within the five rules, you have options.
Exercise
You must do two 45-minute sessions of exercise, at some point during each day. This may be as simple as walking. At least one of these sessions must be outdoors, so you get a little fresh air. In other words, the time you spend in front of the TV or otherwise engaged in screen time will be replaced by something else.
The underlying strategy behind the part of the plan that is outdoors is that it definitely puts you artificially in a place of discomfort. This time of year the area tends to be a bit cold and clammy. Other times of year, it is hot and humid. You might be able to find some spring-like sweet spot where it is pleasant to be outside.
We will have some options for you in an upcoming post.
Hydration
You must drink a gallon of water per day. This must be measured, in whatever way is best for you. Part of why this is interesting is that it is inconvenient, in that you will have to plan your bathroom visits but that is part of the discipline.
We have a link below from a qualified medical source that says that this is a good idea generally, if you can manage. Suggestion: Do not do this just before a long airline flight.
Nutrition
You must go on some sort of diet. There is no shortage in the universe right now of ways to do this. Pick one and stick with it faithfully. By the way, you are not allowed “cheat days’. Also, one of the requirements is to do away with alcohol. One theory is that you wont miss it for 75 days.
Of course, if you choose as your 75 Hard nutrition plan to eat a gallon of ice cream per day, you should probably get some feedback from your physician before doing so. Some people have the idea that anything externally imposed automatically becomes a burden, so we would almost wager that if you decided to do this, you would actually fail somewhere before the 75 day deadline.
This has an element of religion to it. Can you see it? There are some crazy religions that impose periods of personal sacrifice into their liturgy. We can think of one that requires you to abstain from certain types of food for about six weeks a year.
The underlying reason for this is obviously that it gets you used to a little discomfort, and that is not bad in an of itself.
Personal Enrichment
You must read at least 10 pages per day of some nonfiction book. Andy would love for you to have this be “entrepreneurial” but since no one but you is keeping track, you may substitute some other form of personally enriching literature.
In 75 days that’s 750 pages, so that’s a couple of books. This is for discipline, as well as for intellectual development.
If it takes you 20 minutes or so to read 10 pages of “how to succeed in business” we’re allowing you to do this equivalent amount of time in writing. That would be “morning pages” as our guy Seth Godin and our other guy Stephen Pressfield propose.
If you are stuck, we have an entrepreneurial book for you right here. Somehow this has gotten 1121 reviews, mostly positive.
Monitoring Progress
You must take a progress photo daily. You do not need to post it on the internet. The purpose of this is to externally validate your 75 day change, since self measurement is an important element.
Part of this is being accountable to yourself but we suggest that there is some merit in external accountability as well. PS: Actual results may differ. No one puts photos on the web after gaining a lot of weight.
It looks like this girl also got some body art at some point.
https://www.today.com/health/woman-loses-over-100-pounds-75-hard-peloton-bike-t226128
There is a sixth rule of 75 Hard
The sixth rule is, that if you skip a day, or fall short, you have to reset it back to 1 and start over.
So, there will be critical points throughout the protocol where you will have failure opportunities, and part of why this is interesting is to get you used to recognizing failure opportunities.
The underlying rationale behind this is the idea that you are setting up some externally imposed discipline.
The Immediate Reaction to 75 Hard
We are sure that as you read through this list, you said “that seems pretty easy except for that one thing,” and that one thing varies by person. That’s also the point, once you start to think these things through a little bit, it makes you realize that it is going to be inconvenient sometimes.
One of the underlying criticisms of modern society is that we have things too easy. Everything is laid out for us in this day and age, and there are better ways to go through life.
Also, you start to recognize when you are becoming a whiny failure, and gets you out of that way of thinking as well.
Cultural similarities and Rites of Passage
You don’t have to go too far to find examples of ways we silly humans have used for rites of passage. Lent, Ramadan, the Ironman Triathlon, Basic Training and various other transition rituals all have elements of this.
The underlying similarity is that it is about transition. You are going from one state of being to another, and encountering some resistance. It is less about the transition and more about how you deal with resistance.
People don’t do well with resistance, nor for that matter inconvenience.
There are no T shirts or medals.
There is no where to sign up, there is no charge, and there is no one watching over you to make sure you do it. This doesn’t need to involve any equipment, expenditure of money in any way, or complications, other than what you impose on yourself.
There is not even a charge for Andy’s PDF that lays this out a little better.
If you want to broadcast to your feed that you are doing it, that is also up to you. You can search your soul as to whether to broadcast your failures. There are no cheat days.
There is no real accountability other than yourself. Life is full of situations where no one is looking over your shoulder. That is one of the reasons we find this interesting.
Does this mean you have to be miserable?
Of course not. If you want to take a couple of 45 minute walks in the woods, eat lovely, clean food, and read and write some nice poetry every day, you are good. The water and the selfie are a bonus. We would even call that a Personal Retreat.
Some people would even call that a vacation.
Also, if you feel like you need to gear up for this, it’s an excuse to spend some of your resources buying some cute shoes, and a nice coat to keep you warm and dry outdoors this time of year.
Here is a little love for Barkin Dog Shoes:
How We Can Help your 75 Hard Personal Preparedness Strategy
We suggest the 75 Hard Kickoff Weekend. You get away from all of the junk food in the house, and come out to stay in a pretty Bed and Breakfast.
We will put you onto some of the local outdoor exercise opportunities, feed you a couple of high-protein breakfasts, and let you read one of the author copies of the above book.
We may also tour you around for some human-scale living lessons, about regenerative farming and edible landscaping.
If you are in a couple, as so many of our guests are, one of you can have the “75 Hard” startup, and the other of you can walk around downtown Madison, after a high protein breakfast, and you will both be doing exactly the same thing.
If you are really hardcore, and want to dig up our sweet potato garden, we will let you do that too, for no extra charge. Wear some digging shoes though. Your expensive Hokas from the Barkin’ Dog will not appreciate some of our topsoil.
Here’s an example from someone who has tried it.
Feed Back to Us
If you need some accountability there is actually a 75 Hard Android App which can be purchased for some dollars. This allows you to capture your daily selfie somewhere besides your phone. The reviews are mixed.
If you want to send us a selfie, before and after, or send a message to us, please feel free to do so.
Here’s an email link:
PS; Will we do this ourselves? Well, you never know what will happen for sure, but we believe in various forms of self awareness, and are always interested in trying new things. Maybe you can encourage us.
Hey, if you start now, you can come out and visit us when the BRAG tune up happens, and celebrate your success.
Links and References
Andy Frisella Podcast
Cleveland Clinic
