Why I decided to do #75Hard

Most times, we know what we want in life, and what we should do to get it.

But we struggle to follow through. And then make excuses. Today, I’ll share the circumstances that led me to undertake #75Hard. This isn’t a fitness or internet challenge. It’s a program that builds self-discipline, mental toughness, fortitude, grit and resilience. Crucial skills for long-term success and purposeful living.

Let’s get after it.

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Becoming a father was one of the happiest moments of my life. At 43, I was thrilled to welcome my son into the world. I was also conscious that I'd be in my 60s when he graduates college, and likely in my 80s or 90s as a grandparent. Then it hit me.

Oh shit, I need to be healthy and strong into my old age. I have to stay in great shape, so as a grandparent, I can get up off the floor without using my hands, and I can lift a 20 or 30 pound baby in my arms up above my head. But over the course of the following year, my actions didn’t match my intentions.

I was eating like crap, sleeping poorly, not working out, and letting myself go. I was not living in integrity with my intentions and I needed to do something about it.

Knowing myself, I had to set a goal.

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I chose to go back and signup for the Leadville 100. I hired my old coach who laid out a training plan for me. I was pretty consistent, but at some point, I started to let my standards slip.

It started slowly. Whilst I was getting my runs in, I wasn't truly eating well. I have done a lot of work on myself, gone through multiple evolutions, and quit corporate jobs that made me feel miserable. I’ve set a vision, gotten clear on my unique gifts, and how I can share them in service to others.

But there I was, underperforming. I wasn’t living true to the new goals I had set for myself. I would find myself eating chips while numbing out in front of the TV at night. I would blame it on trying to decompress from “a day in the life” of being an entrepreneur, a husband, and a new father. Deep down I knew I was not where I wanted to be but I wasn’t doing what needed to be done. Not just in my nutrition or fitness, but my business, my day to day activities, and all areas of my life.

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Then came a profound realization. Enough is enough. I can’t keep doing this. I am letting myself down, letting down the people around me, and the people I should be serving. I am not giving my full potential, and I’m not on the path to be the kind of grandparent I want to be, to be healthy and live long enough to be able to witness my children and grand children achieve the big milestones. And that’s when I decided to do #75hard.

A 75 day mental toughness program designed to cultivate discipline, grit, perseverance, tenacity, self confidence, and self belief. Zero compromise, no cheat days, off days, or passes. “It only takes 21 days to build a habit” is a lie. I tried it many times. It takes a LOT longer to ingrain a habit. 75 days gives more time to truly do that.

So, what does this program look like?

75 Hard is a free program developed by Andy Frisella that consists of five critical daily tasks:

1. Pick a diet that supports your goals. No cheat meals and no alcohol.

   • Rationale: this will cultivate extreme discipline. It teaches you to unapologetically say “no”.

   • What I did: I chose what I call the “Superman diet,” avoiding the foods that are kryptonite to me like bread, baked goods, pastries, chips, crisps, candy, sweets, desserts, glasses of milk, pasta, pizza. The “no alcohol” is easy for me since I’m 8 years sober, so to make it harder I cut out sparkling water and non-alcoholic beer.

2. Drink one gallon of water.

   • Rationale: staying hydrated is good! Flushes toxins. It appears simple but it teaches you that even the simplest of task can be overlooked.

   • What I did: I carried a gallon jug of water around with me all day each day to track how much I drank and ensure I drank the right amount. It was a constant reminder that I was on the program. (PS. For my European friends 1 US imperial gallon is 4.54609 litres)

3. Two workouts of 45 minutes each, non-consecutive and one of the workouts MUST be outside

   • Rationale: It’s meant to be inconvenient. You have to think ahead and proactively plan your day. It teaches you to have control of your life and stop negotiating with yourself and stop making excuses.

   • What I did: I had running workouts scheduled by my coach, and for the extra workouts, I did either strength work, yoga flow classes or weight vest hiking. I did my evening workout after my son went to bed, taking the place of my previous late night snacking and TV binge-ing.

4. Read 10 pages of a non-fiction/entrepreneurship book:

   • Rationale: continuous learning is key. We often think we are learning and growing but often we get in a pattern of not furthering our mind. This forces daily growth.

   • What I did: I will go into what I learned in next week’s newsletter but two of the favorite books I read were “The Iron Cowboy” by James Lawrence and “Relentless: from good to great to unstoppable” by Tim Grover.

5. Take a progress picture. Every single day.

   • Rationale: It will remind you of where you were and where you are now. As simple as this can be, it can be easily forgotten. This really reinforces accountability.

   • What I did: My good friend Adam forgot to take a picture on Day 35 and had to start again. I was so scared of repeating that mistake I had alarms on my phone to take the picture after my morning workout each day.

Miss any daily task, you start over.


Is it easy? Absolutely not.
Is it scalable to where you are fitness and health wise? Yes.

I am proud to say I have completed the program. It has taught me the power of self-discipline. It wasn't just about following a set of rules, it was about proving to myself that I could maintain consistency, grit and integrity in pursuit of my goals. It has been a super mental transformative experience that has opened my eyes to knowing I can do much more than I think. Not just thinking I can do it, but damn well doing it. People can’t see the changes in the brain, but you can see the change in the body.

You get to take absolute control of your life.

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What is keeping you from reaching your goals? The problem with many people is indiscipline. You spend your life compromising on your standards. Then blame it on a busy day, busy schedule, or busy home. You eat healthy for 6 days and cheat on the 7th day as a reward for the 6 days. That doesn’t make any sense. It ruins all the hard work.

The solution here is grit: a perishable skill. Which means if you don’t exercise it consistently, you’ll loose it. When you use it, you get better and stronger at what you do. But it only works with no compromise, no excuse, no cheat day.

#75hard program is designed to help cultivate grit and all the skills inside the scope of mental toughness. There is no charge for the program. And anyone of any ability can undertake it. Next week with some time to process, I’ll share my insights and learnings from the program and what I have installed next. Suffice to say this is the beginning, not the end!


P.S: **If this resonates with you and you’d like to learn more about this program you should check out this podcast episode by the founder, Andy Frisella. And if you decide to start. don’t start next week, next month or next year.

START TODAY.

With appreciation, Huw