75 Hard Challenge completed

• 27 June 2025
• personal

I just want to say "thank you" for this challenge. I am very grateful for it and for what I have learned. This is my second try, last year I did it on a whim with my bother-in-law and I don't think either one of us made it past day 15, so don't give up!

Workouts & Water

This time around I started off strong, doing calisthenic workouts and long walks. Week one was brutal, I attempted back to back workouts and by day three, I could hardly walk. Cramps in my legs, groin, and my sleep sucked. I thought to myself, "how the heck am I going to get through 72 more days of this?". Everyday after day 3, I was trying to build a plan that worked for my body, family and my 9-5. I could find no simpler shift, than to join the 5am club, so I started getting up at 520am, drank 16oz of water, did my indoor calisthenic workout, drank another 32oz water, then head out the door to get my in 45 min walk in.

In order for my body to get enough rest and perform the workouts to its best ability, I had to alter my routine. I am 46 and recovery takes longer than before. So I ended up with a schedule that looks like this:

Starting week 2, this was my schedule. I found that my muscle soreness went down and I was able to do more. Two weeks ago I altered my schedule since I was finally healthy enough to return to BJJ. My outdoor walk is mandatory, it helps keep me sane.

My outdoor walks are now not limited to 45 min, instead I shoot for 3 miles.. Which is about 51-58 min, 3 miles feels like a solid end point.

Water was tough at the beginning but with the hard workouts and the long walks, the water has become the norm.

Diet

As for diet, I followed a ketogenic low carb diet with a minimum fasting window of 14 hours. My daily target was getting to 155g protein, limit of 30g net carbs, and I used fat as the lever to curtail hunger. I knew from previous rounds of getting in better shape that low carb diets and I get a long really well. I don't struggle with eating the same thing every day. My daily eating looked like this for the most part (80-90% of the time)

• Breakfast: 4 eggs, 1.5oz bacon (around noon)
• Snack: Cup of tea, Legendary Foods Tasty pastry
• Dinner: Chicken breast, salad with hard cheese & fatty dressing
• Supplements: Multi-vitamin & Complex magnesium

Reading

Reading was a breeze, I read every night anyway so that was a gimme. I read: How we learn to move, The courage to be disliked, The art of war, Zen jui jitsu beyond rolling, Company of one

Alcohol

This was also a gimme, my father died in 2019 from alcoholism at the age of 59. Since then I hard every drink, if I do it a cocktail when we are on vacation celebrate my family and I spending time together and making memories. I don't drink at home and thankfully I am also not tempted.

Picture

I know this is where most people mess up, I always did mine right after my indoor workout. That was I was stacking habits.. Think "Atomic Habits" by James Clear, take one habit and chain it with another.

Results

Now I want to share my results from this challenge. For me the physical results are fantastic and a great start but what I learned more than anything is that I AM PHYSICALLY CAPABLE OF MORE. More than I originally thought I could get through. This challenge has really become a lifestyle change for me. I don't see much deviation from the daily schedule, except where travel prohibits.

Stats for nerds

Between April 14 and June 27, 2025, I spent a total of:

• 23 hours, 16 minutes, and 50 seconds doing indoor cycling
• 2 days, 15 hours, 55 minutes, and 20 seconds walking, covering a total of 197.65 miles
• 15 hours, 14 minutes, and 16 seconds doing Yoga
• 1 day, 4 hours, 26 minutes, and 11 seconds doing HIIT
• 4 hours and 5 minutes doing BJJ

My total activity time was 5 days, 14 hours, 57 minutes, and 37 seconds doing all my workouts

Subtotal Calories Burned (Selected Activities): 53,150

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