The Value of Routines: A Review of 75 Hard

Before we start: This is NOT a sponsored post, and I’m not affiliated with 75 Hard or Andy Frisella in any way. This program legitimately improved my life and I want to speak to the value it can bring to you.

Have you ever started something, only for it to fall to the wayside as you lose interest?  What about goals you have that seemed so incredible and attainable a week, two weeks, a month ago that now just seem too hard, are too far away, and you just don’t feel motivated anymore?

What you need is a consistent routine to build positive habits, eliminate the fluff and, above all else, boost your confidence.

You need something like 75 Hard.

75 Hard, Huh? …Doesn’t Ring a Bell. What Is It?

75 Hard is a fitness program created by Andy Frisella, CEO of 1st Phorm Supplements. The program is very simple and, as you’ll see in this post, extremely effective. But it isn’t for just anyone, and you won’t see the changes overnight.

What it will do is let you see that you are capable of anything you set your mind to and are willing to put in the work to achieve. And if you have what it takes to push through, deal with the suck, and truly finish all 75 (short) days, you’ll come out the other side with your life changed.

Ready? Let’s dig in.

The Program

I wasn’t lying when I said that 75 Hard is simple. You just need to do the following tasks every day, without fail, for 75 days.

• Two separate 45-minute workouts every day (one of which is outside)
  • This can be a combination of things – weight lifting, jogging, an accelerated walk (I did 3mph), yoga, etc. The main point is that these are activities that elevate your heart rate to the optimal BPM for fat burning.
• Drink 1 gallon of water every day
  • Yep, 1 full gallon. The easiest way to do this is to buy a gallon jug with timestamps! You should aim to keep this with you at all times – “out of sight, out of mind” is absolutely accurate and will ruin your day. You don’t want to have to drink half a gallon right before bed.
• Read 10 pages of a nonfiction book every day
  • This is pretty easy, and extremely effective! If you read 10 pages every day for a full year, you’d be able to read FOURTEEN 250-page books a year. That’s an incredible step toward personal development without a significant time commitment.
• Follow a diet
  • This isn’t a particular diet, just one that you will stick with for the full 75 days. You can do the Keto diet, focus on low-carb/high protein, an overall well-balanced diet, etc.
  • I recommend using our Daily Calorie Target Calculator to start, then from there you can look into macronutrient distribution and specific meals (we have a few great recipes too!).
• No cheat meals
  • A cheat meal is anything that deviates from your diet. No pizza, no greasy cheeseburgers (but homemade healthy options that work within your diet are fine), no fast food, etc.
• Take a daily progress picture
  • This one might feel uncomfortable at first, but it is SO important to track your progress and look back at how far you’ve come. Body changes are gradual, so the same way that changes in your kids as they age aren’t noticeable day to day, they are extremely noticeable to anyone that hasn’t seen them in some time. Daily progress pictures give you the ability to see this for your progress.
  • Make sure you take the picture at the same time each day, in the same spot, with the same lighting, whenever possible. Two reasons for this:
    • Food can make a difference in weight and appearance. Taking the picture first thing in the morning, for example, means that your belly is empty and always a fair comparison day to day.
    • Lighting can dramatically change the appearance of a person’s physique. Aim for an accurate comparison across the days, not what looks better that morning.
• No alcohol
  • This is exactly what it sounds like. Cut the booze and give yourself a cleanse. You might be surprised at the impact it makes – I know I was.
• Failure to complete all steps every day requires you to start again at Day 1
  • This one sucks but gives you the incentive to keep going when it gets tough. Getting a long way through, only to fail because you gave into a craving for a drink or cheat meal, is the worst. Stay strong and stick with it!

Okay, so this sounds like a pretty restrictive program. What’s the purpose?

Building Good Routines

Programs like this focus on building strong routines and habits that will help you in everyday life.

• Finding the time and discipline to complete all of these every day will help you to appreciate the feeling of overcoming a challenge while also optimizing your time to allow for the things you value.
• Exercise every day is extremely important to staying healthy, as is eating a healthy diet.
• Drinking a gallon of water every day is also important. We shower daily to clean our outsides…why wouldn’t you want to drink water to do the same to keep your insides clean and healthy? This also is an excellent way to keep your metabolism working optimally and your energy levels high.
• Cutting alcohol is surprisingly effective at providing a positive change. You may find that you really enjoy the mental clarity you get by removing alcohol (like I did), as well as higher energy levels at all times and an overall happiness improvement.
• And many more! (TM)

Okay, so the routines and habits bit makes sense. But does anyone actually see REAL results?

Yes, It Works. And I Have The Results To Show For It.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a photo of me in July of 2020.

I was in full COVID “bulk mode”. The goal was to put on weight and, in taking on additional calories, lost sight of what I was trying to achieve. I worked out, but with no respectable level of intensity. I stopped tracking my macros and calories, ate a lot of pizza and mac & cheese, and was just in a pretty unhealthy state like many of us were (and still are) at the height of the pandemic. In this photo I was at my heaviest weight of 168 lbs.

As 2022 approached, my wife and another close friend of mine told me about 75 Hard. My life needed something new, that my previous routines could use a kickstart. I was all in.

I started on 1/1/22 with the very clear mindset that failure was not an option. I decided I was going to complete the program, and nothing was going to stop me.

Here’s a photo of me at the start of my 75 Hard journey, 162 lbs on January 1, 2022.

This was right before my workout at 5am and I weighed around 162 lbs. I didn’t like what I saw when I looked at the picture – it fueled me to crush my goals even more. I was going to be healthier, happier, and finally have the 6-pack I always wanted but told myself genetics kept me from having.  The easiest transitions for me were the diet and exercise, while the hardest part was getting two workouts in with 3 kids.

Full disclosure: I did not do an outside workout every day. It was often in the double-digit negative temps in my midwestern pocket of the US, and I was not about that. I instead made sure get in a 5am and before-bed workout every day in my home gym, one cardio and one weight lifting. What was really surprising to me was the impact of removing alcohol from the picture. I wasn’t a big drinker – far from it, actually. I would enjoy a drink, maybe two, a night. I actually don’t remember the last time I was properly drunk. 

The surprise, though, was the initial 3 days of slight irritability and the immediate boost of energy I had in the evenings after work. I was suddenly able to have so much fun with my girls, and I didn’t (and still don’t) miss the alcohol at all.

Fast forward to March 17, 2022 – Day 75. 147 lbs.