15 Things I Learned from Doing “75 Hard”

Sharing my perspective to inspire anyone seeking to change, starting today

Jan 24, 2022

I’m not a doctor. This isn’t medical advice. Consult your physician.

Dear Friends,

In 2021 I did 75 Hard, a program created by Andy Frisella.

I distilled 15 things I learned that can help anyone seeking to change.

My inspiration to start the program came from Danny Miranda. Danny wrote, “Every time I do this program, it changes me. The level of focus, consistency, and discipline bleeds into other areas of my life.”

The structure of 75 Hard is simple:

Stick to a diet w/no cheat meals and no alcohol
Drink 1 gallon of water
Work out twice, 45 min. each, at least 3 hours apart
Read at least 10 pages of a non-fiction book
Take a selfie

Five things. Every day. No exceptions.

When I started 75 Hard in mid-October 2021 I was in the worst shape of my life, and I’d gone months without running consistently. By Day 75, I’d lost 20 pounds and was running and walking 15 miles a day.

Here's what I learned…

Start the moment you realize you should. Don’t dwell, wait, or make a resolution. Just put your shoes on and step outside. The simple cause-effect relationship between daily exercise and good health is one of the most remarkable and encouraging facts of life.
It’s amazing how fast things add up if you do them every day. Even linear things. Small weekly changes can add up to dramatic reinvention in less than a single calendar season.
Even though getting in shape is one of the most predictable processes in nature, it’s still shocking how much a person can change from daily exercise in only a few months. Humans take years to break through but only months to transform.
Except for people already in great shape, the biological change from working out 150 times in 75 days is cumulative, striking, and inevitable. Day-to-day progress is hard to detect, week-to-week progress is easy to see, and month-to-month progress is impossible to deny.
Commit to a daily rhythm and progress will take care of itself. Stay in motion and each passing week your volume and intensity will go up without you even trying.
Change hides at first. I ate well, worked out twice a day for 14 straight days, and didn’t lose a pound. Then I lost two pounds a week like clockwork.
Time is relentless. It feels like a long time to do anything for months without a day off…and yet the finish line creeps up on you. So does the starting line, which is why successful people look ahead and work daily.
A lot of people say if you don’t do something every day, you can sustain it for a longer time, or indefinitely. My experience tells me the opposite.
If you ruthlessly prioritize something, it’ll happen eventually. But by getting there, of course, you'll crowd out other important priorities. Balance mindfully.
Getting in shape doesn’t just prove how much you can change from daily exercise, it proves how much you can change from daily work in any other area, as well. And that's an even more uplifting lesson.
One of life’s greatest and most sublime structural advantages is exercise takes time, which means you can improve your mind while you’re improving your body.
Mental toughness isn’t a function of willpower, it’s a function of continuously removing willpower by looking ahead and making decisions for your future self ahead of time.
The ancients understood there's more to life than mental toughness. But they also understood discomfort is a part of life, and there’s a lot to be said for seeking suffering and embracing it.
Mental toughness helps, but you can change your health much faster than you think by just walking a little more than you normally do. And sometimes that touches off a positive spiral.
You can run to get in shape, but you can also run for reasons that have nothing to do with getting in shape. Running sensitizes you to prehistoric pursuits and to the unforgiving nature of life. Which is why it so often makes people happier.