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This post is all about the 75 HARD Challenge Review After 15 Days.
At the time of writing this post, I have completed 15 days of the 75 Hard challenge. I started the challenge on March 3, 2023 and at the time of writing this article, it is March 19, 2023. If you’re catching this post in real time, you can follow my journey on Instagram, too!
I will be writing a review of the 75 HARD challenge every 15 days, so be sure to check back in about two weeks for my post-30 day review.
What is 75 HARD?
The 75 HARD challenge is a challenge created by entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker, and supplement company owner Andy Frisella.
There are 5 daily tasks as part of this personal development challenge that you must do for 75 consecutive days.
Andy Frisella is adamant that 75 HARD is NOT a fitness program, but rather a mental toughness program.
75 HARD Challenge Rules
1. Complete two 45-minute workouts – one has to be an outdoor workout
2. Drink one gallon of water
3. Follow a diet of your choosing (but no cheat meals and no alcohol)
4. Take a progress picture
5. Read 10 pages of a nonfiction book (no audiobooks allowed)
Why Do People Do 75 HARD?
According to the 75 HARD website, the daily critical tasks as part of this challenge will “100x the following traits in your life: Confidence, Self-esteem, Self-worth, Self-belief, Fortitude, Grittiness”.
The 75 HARD website claims that this challenge is great for anyone who wants to fix their poor self-esteem and lack of discipline, and anyone who wants to make a complete lifestyle change.
There’s a reason that this challenge is called 75 “HARD”. It’s not supposed to be easy, and it’s designed to really force the person doing it to practice self-discipline, build confidence, and to ultimately help them change their life.
If you look on social media (like TikTok and Instagram), there are people all over the world doing this challenge and changing their lives for the better.
But, there are a lot of people who condemn the 75 HARD rules, too. Like any trendy challenge, there are people who like it, and people who don’t.
Those who enjoy it and believe in it find it to be a transformative mental toughness program. Those who are skeptical of it warn that it can be dangerous for one’s mental state, especially for those who have struggled with body image issues or have experienced disordered eating.
I’m trying to be very mindful of the good and bad that I have heard about. And I’ll be honest with myself about this challenge, too. If at any point I find 75 Hard to be detrimental to my physical and/or mental health, I will stop. For now, I will continue.
Why I’m Doing 75 HARD
1. To build healthy habits: I want to drink more water, develop more consistency when it comes to working out, read more, and walk more (specifically, move my body more). My bad habits before undertaking 75 HARD included not drinking much water, lots of sitting, and lots of candy-eating 😛 lol.
2. To practice self-discipline: The 75 HARD challenge allows for zero compromises. I’ve been working on my self-discipline for many years, but haven’t quite gotten to the level that I want to be at. I figured 75 HARD would be a great way for me to improve.
3. To focus on self-improvement: I have always been obsessed with personal growth since I was a little kid (heck, this website is all about self-improvement!). So if there’s a challenge that can help me be a better version of me, I’m all for it.
4. To get in better shape: I am someone who has been active since I was a kid (playing basketball and soccer for many years) and I carried those habits into adulthood, where I exercise about 3 times a week on average, at least. However, I work from home and do a lot of sitting at the computer, and for the last few years I’ve felt like I don’t get nearly as many steps each day as I should. I figured this challenge would really help me be more active and maybe even prompt a little weight loss.
5. To challenge myself: This is a challenge that I was honestly scared to start. I really didn’t know what to expect, and still don’t know what’s coming. But I like proving to myself that I can do hard things.
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75 HARD Challenge Review: After 15 Days
Here, I dive into each of the 75 HARD challenge requirements and tell you how each one has been going for the first 15 days of this challenge.
Two 45-Minute Workouts
After 15 days of 75 HARD and the twice-daily workouts, I am pretty tired. I am still enjoying the challenge, and I’m seeing benefits (like fat loss and an increase in confidence) but it’s definitely tough to think about the fact that I have 60 more days ahead of me where 2 workouts are required.
And, it’s not even really about the physical exertion required. I know I can go for a walk and do yoga – aka, workouts that require low physical energy.
But I still have to plan for those two workouts, spend time on those two workouts, and get myself up and out the door (since one of the two workouts has to be outside). Sometimes I just want to sit on the couch or at my computer for a majority of the day and just relax, you know?
But 75 HARD doesn’t allow for rest days. So, my mentality is, “this is what I signed up for”. Going into it, I knew the 75 HARD program wasn’t going to be easy, so I just keep moving forward by taking it one day at a time.
My outdoor workout is typically either a run or walk. My current fitness level has me running a little over 4 miles in 45 minutes. I wasn’t running much at all before I started this challenge.
My indoor workouts are either weight lifting-focused, walking at an incline, or yoga/stretching. For yoga and stretching, I am really loving Yoga With Kassandra on YouTube.
When I lift, I use the Whitney Simmons Alive App. This app provides many different kinds of fitness programs. I’m currently doing an 8 week weight lifting fitness plan through the app, and I LOVE it. I have used this app for many years now.
Drink 1 Gallon Of Water
The water intake has been surprisingly easy. I use my 30 oz. Stanley cup (which I love, by the way!). I fill it up at the start of the day, and then 3.5 more times throughout the course of the day to get at least 128 ounces of water in before bed time.
Here is the water bottle that I use and love for 75 HARD:
The earlier in the day that I can finish drinking my gallon, though, the better. Otherwise, I’m likely getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.
There was one night where I had to chug a decent amount of water before bed so that I wouldn’t fail this requirement, and it was very uncomfortable. 10/10 do not recommend haha.
Stick To A Diet
The diet I chose to follow is: no sweets (like candy, cookies, cake) and no fried foods.
I actually haven’t struggled to avoid eating sweets or fried foods. As in, I’m not facing any major cravings or having to exert a tremendous amount of willpower to not eat these things.
Honestly, the biggest struggle with my diet is sometimes not knowing if things are fried or not. I really have to pay attention to what I’m eating, and sometimes do research to ensure that I’m not eating anything fried.
You really have to stay on top of yourself at all times lol. I haven’t cheated in the last 15 days. Luckily, I’ve been able to catch myself in the few times that I’ve almost slipped.
I also realized that I never truly specified which kind of fried foods I’d be giving up. Is it deep fried foods or pan fried or both?
At the beginning, I was definitely thinking of just deep fried foods. My initial intention was basically to stop eating Chick-fil-a lol. So that’s really what I go with – just no deep fried foods. But, I don’t think I’ve eaten many pan fried foods over the last 15 days anyway.
Moral of the story: it helps to be clear on your diet and what you will and won’t be eating for the 75 days.
No Alcohol Allowed
I haven’t had a drink in 2023. I last drank in December of 2022. I actually started not drinking well before I even considered doing 75 HARD, just because I wanted to take a break from it for a while.
So, not drinking for about 2 months before starting 75 HARD worked in my favor, I think, because I had some practice not drinking before I took on 75 HARD.
All in all, the not drinking part has been fine. I went out the other day for St. Patrick’s Day and ordered a few mocktails (which were really good!). I did end up leaving early, though. I don’t really want to be hanging out for hours and hours at the bars if I’m sober haha.
10 Pages of Reading A Nonfiction Book
I love this part. I finished my first book, Winning by Tim Grover, and really enjoyed it. It’s a book about how you have to truly dedicate yourself and be committed if you want to win and be the best at whatever you’re doing.
It was a great book to read at the start of 75 HARD because it kept my mind right – the book definitely doesn’t condone giving up!
You can find Winning by Tim Grover on Amazon:
When I finished reading Winning by Tim Grover, I started reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. This book is very dense and kind of difficult to read, but I am enjoying it so far.
Progress Picture
I’m happy that taking daily progress pictures is a requirement of 75 HARD. I’ve never consistently taken progress pictures of myself (or really, dedicated myself to a mental or physical challenge for 75 days) so I am excited to watch the progress that I (hopefully) make.
I set up a tripod in my room and whenever it’s most convenient, I pop my phone on it and take a quick picture.
Here is the tripod that I use for my progress photos:
75 HARD Tips
Here are my best 75 HARD challenge tips that I have learned from these first 15 days for anyone who wants to do 75 HARD.
1. Get the 75 HARD app: I was hesitant to buy it because it was $4.99, but other people who had done 75 HARD before me had recommended it, and it really helps you to stay organized with your tasks and ensure that you are completing all of them each day.
2. It helps to get your workouts done earlier in the day: This way, you can get them over with and not have to worry about doing them later in the day.
3. Having a water bottle that you like is key.
4. Start drinking your water as soon as you wake up: You don’t want to have to chug a half gallon before bed.
5. Make sure you are clear about what your diet is.
6. Find a physical book that you look forward to reading each day:if you pick a book you don’t really care for, it’ll be hard to read 10 pages of it every day.
7. Keep your mindset long term: This is not a short challenge, and you’ll be doing it for a while if you stick with it!
My 75 HARD Challenge Review After 15 Days
I am going to keep going with this challenge. I have noticed positive physical changes AND mental improvements so far. I have lost body fat (which I noticed in the first 10 days or so) and I feel really confident and proud of myself (I find myself standing a little taller, literally).
I can’t wait to see how I feel about myself when the 75 days are over.
It is a little daunting to think that I have about 60 days left, but again, I’m just going to take it one day at a time, and try not to get overwhelmed with the many days that lie before me!
Every single day presents its own challenges, but if this challenge weren’t difficult, it wouldn’t be as rewarding at the end.
I hope you found this 75 HARD Challenge review helpful. I am going to write another 75 HARD challenge review in 15 days once I hit Day 30, so definitely come back for that!
Learn More About 75 HARD
If you want to learn more about 75 HARD or its creator, Andy Frisella, check out these resources.
1. 75 HARD Website: On the program’s website, you will find much more information about 75 HARD and what it entails.
2. 75 HARD Book: Read this to learn all of the ins and outs of 75 HARD before you get started.
3. Andy Frisella’s podcast, REAL AF.
This post was all about the 75 HARD Challenge Review After 15 Days.
