New Year, New Challenge
Resolution season is upon us, and though I am not a big fan of new years resolutions, it’s undeniable that I do tend to change up my habits on the first of the year. Notably, I gave up meat on Jan 1st of 2004, and I moved from the US to Mexico on Jan 1st of 2015. Over the years there have been lots of other January shifts in my life, and one challenge I partake in almost every year is Dry January… no alcohol for the month of January.
I like to do this annual challenge because to me it is just a wonderful way to begin a new year. January is always filled with purpose, and it sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Dry January is something I do every year but this year I came across a new challenge called 75 Hard.
The 75 Hard daily checklist is:
1. Follow any diet or nutrition plan of your choice, no cheating, no alcohol.
2. Two 45-minute workouts per day, one indoor and one outdoor, no rest days.
3. Drink 1 gallon of water.
4. Read 10 pages of a nonfiction, personal development-focused book. No podcasts, videos, or other media.
5. Take a daily progress picture.
The challenge is simple… and to me, way too unnecessarily restrictive: If you miss any of the 5 daily tasks, the 75-day clock resets. All the work you’ve already done means nothing. You got COVID? Suck it up, pansy, go outside and work out or you fail! Sounds awful, right?
Nonetheless, a bigger challenge than my usual Dry January is calling to me, so I’m doing the 75 Hard challenge instead, but I’m making my own rules for it. In my world, it’s now 75 Strong. I’m doing away with all of the barfy overly manly BS and I’m keeping everything about it that’s a real challenge… and there’s plenty about this that’s a real challenge.
The 75 Strong daily checklist is:
1. Follow any diet or nutrition plan of your choice. No cheating, and no alcohol. If you screw up, keep going. The work you have done so far is not wasted, it’s great.
You can follow a Mediterranean diet, Keto diet, Whole30, intermittent fasting, or whatever you want but once you decide, as much as you can, allow no deviation for 75 days. If you find that a cheat meal or day is on the horizon, think about it a little… why do you have to break your streak? What’s going on that makes a deviation necessary from your agreement with yourself? Only you can make that call. Be mindful and choose wisely, badass.
2. Take part in any physical activity, for any length of time that challenges you personally, indoors or outdoors, 6 days per week, for 75 days, with 1 day per week for active rest.
Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, is enough to glean a ton of fantastic health benefits. Lifting weights makes good sense for just about anyone, but it’s almost a requirement for our bodies as we age. Keeping your body in optimum condition will help stave off conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and depression, three of the most prevalent health issues in modern society. You know all of this. But maybe you still don’t exercise for whatever reason.
The rule as it’s originally written does not allow for anyone who wants to challenge themselves, step into the ring, and see what they can do in terms of daily physical activity. To me that makes it a trash rule. 75 Hard is not available to certain people. There is an unnecessary toughness about it, excluding people because they aren’t already at a certain level. But is there anything tougher, more honest, or more badass than starting something new that has the potential to truly humble you every day? If you’re already fit, to a large extent you’re maintaining. But it takes real guts to get out there every day and whittle away at your body, bit by bit. That’s major.
If you’re going to build a better life – and isn’t that what this challenge is about??? – then you need to be allowed to start where you’re at and grow as you can. Maybe 45 minutes daily is a more appropriate starting place… there is nothing in the world wrong with that. Start there. Reach for more when you can. Go as hard as you can for 75 days. Be amazed at what you can do. And for heaven’s sake take a rest day from time to time… only you can make the call as to when and why. I do Sundays. You do you, but there’s no room for no rest days.
Give what energy you can, take what rest you need, and be honest with yourself about both. No one else cares if you’re being honest. It’s always you against you.
3. Drink 1 gallon of water daily. Or, hydrate yourself well. If can’t or don’t drink a gallon of water every day, do what feels right.
Generally, the daily recommendation for water intake is about 2.7 liters for women (.71 gallons) and 3.7 liters for men (.97 gallons). So this daily task is not too much of a stretch, and if you’re spending a lot of time working out, your body might be able to make great use of a gallon of water. But it also may be too much, and may result in headaches and other issues for some people.
Too much water is… too much. You know when you’re drinking enough water and when you’re not. So drink enough. Make yourself accountable for loving yourself enough to hydrate your hard-working body, but don’t hold yourself to a standard that doesn’t feel good or right.
4. Read 10 pages of a nonfiction, personal development-focused book. Or, dedicate one hour of personal development-focused “me” time. If you miss a day, keep going. The work you have done so far is not wasted, it’s great.
For 75 Hard, this rule is written such that podcasts, audiobooks, videos, and other media are not allowed. It must be a book. But there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why, apart from “because that’s the rules.”
I don’t see any reason to put myself in a box… dedicating an hour to personal development-focused “me” time every day is going to be challenging enough, and a month from now if I don’t feel like reading and I’m mindful enough to choose a TED Talk over reruns of Six Feet Under, honestly, I’m going to take that win. That is evidence my plan is working.
So my requirement of myself is to set aside one hour each day (for me it will be the hour right after I finish work), to do a little work on me instead of going right for the mind-numbing TV. Which, rest assured, I will get to. I always manage to have enough time for TV, perhaps you do too.
5. Take a daily progress picture, or do a daily check-in with yourself. How does your body feel? Your thoughts, your head? Your heart? Jot down your feels. If you miss a day, keep going. The work you have done so far is not wasted, it’s great.
I get the point of a daily progress picture, particularly for someone who would use a challenge like this to become more physically fit.
But just like it’s not always a great idea to weigh yourself every day, there are fluctuations in how we appear physically day to day. The body you want is on its way. Meantime, when you exercise you get to celebrate every day what that bod of yours can do. You get to enjoy healthier hair, skin, and nails. You get to climb the stairs easier, or play with your kids for longer, and these kinds of things aren’t necessarily reflected in progress pics.
So that’s my plan for the new year: be strong, honest, and mindful, every day, in 5 meaningful ways, for 75 days. Join me! See what you can do, you may surprise yourself.
Peace and love to you, wherever this message finds you.
Other blogs you may enjoy:
Menopause: What It Is, What It Isn’t, And How To Get Through It In One Piece
Never Really Done
Building Better Habits: The Science of Habit Stacking
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