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Recently, I have started doing a fitness challenge that says it isn’t a fitness challenge called 75 Hard. It’s a unique challenge. Most of the fitness challenges I’ve done in the past have been 30-day challenges and they usually focus on one exercise or a just the exercise aspect. What I like about this challenge is that it’s lengthy and is focused on making lifestyle changes. It’s not just about working out and being fit, it’s about developing mental fortitude and discipline to reach goals while also living a healthy lifestyle. For more information about the background and how the challenge came to be, check out Andy Frisella’s website.
75 HARD RULES
The main rules of the challenge are:
MY MODIFICATIONS
For myself, I have a minor modification to the 75 Hard challenge. Since I don’t work out on Sundays, I will only be doing the 45-minute outside workout, which will be a walk. I don’t drink alcohol, so that’s not applicable to me. I’m not following any traditional diet, I’m just focusing on not eating after 9pm and making sure I have vegetables with lunch and dinner. I was thinking about adding something about a calorie limit or specific calorie deficit goal, but decided I’d rather just focus on incorporating more vegetables and not worry about how many calories everything is.
PREVIOUS ATTEMPT
I did the challenge back in 2020, before the wedding, but didn’t finish. I got to 60-something days and then in the last two weeks before the wedding, life was just nuts and I put all my free time into finish preparations. I’m hoping nothing comes up this time around and I can finish the challenge.
If things go like they did two years ago, I may have to move my outdoor workout indoors for a period of time. There is a fire within 5-6 miles of my apartment, so there is a bit of smoke outside. Yesterday wasn’t too bad, this morning was about the same. The fire has been contained, it just hasn’t been put out yet. There haven’t been any air quality warnings and hopefully that doesn’t change.
Two years ago, the fires made the air really bad and it was impossible to exercise outside. Everything was orange and the air quality was awful. I took the picture to the left when I took my husband something at work. It was so eerie to see the orange sheen on everything. The store he was working at then was only a few minutes from the biggest fire in the area, which was really disconcerting. Ironically, he’s been moved to a different store that is even closer to where the really bad fires were two years ago. Hooray. Thankfully, there isn’t a fire out that way this year.
CURRENT ATTEMPT
Things are going well with the challenge so far. I’m almost done with Day 6. It’s Sunday, so I did my one walk and took a photo. I’m doing a collage of the mark-off sheet with a photo from my workout to show that I’m staying on track. I’ve got progress photos that I’m doing on Saturdays, but I don’t think I’m going to post those.
I’ve had a few days where I don’t want to work out, but I’m powering through those. On the days when I’ve been super sore or in pain, I’ve got stretches and physical therapy exercises I can do. The only real excuse for not getting through the challenge this time would have to be serious illness or injury or some kind of emergency. Hopefully none of that happens.
WHY I’M DOING 75 HARD
I decided to do 75 Hard for a few reasons. The biggest one is that I have musculoskeletal issues and I need to improve my strength. My spine has four abnormalities: it curves to the side (scoliosis), excess curve in the lower back (hyperlordosis), excess curve in the upper back (kyphosis), and the spine has slight rotation. These spinal issues cause problems in other areas of my body. My shoulders are uneven and don’t line up with my hips. My hips both twist to the side, tilt forward, and one side is higher than the other. And my neck has a reverse curve, which means it’s backwards from normal people. All of this causes pinched nerves all over the place and muscle weakness. The pain is at a tolerable level most days. Sometimes that changes, but I’ve been very fortunate in that regard.
I’ve spent years doing physical therapy so I can stand up mostly straight. Working out regularly helps keep my muscles strong enough to keep things from getting out of control. Just before the pandemic started, I had a series of injuries and illnesses that threw me off the workout wagon and set me back on a lot of the progress I’ve made. My physical therapist says I can improve symptoms and reduce the pain if I can get my back and core strength built up again. So, that’s what I want to do.
MY GOALS FOR THE CHALLENGE
I want to build my core and back strength back up and also hit these goals:
- Run a 5k
- Be able to wear a backpacking pack for 2 hours
- Do 10 pull-ups
- Do 10 push-ups
- Do the splits
- Do a 1-minute plank
- Be able to have my hands flat on the floor when bending at the waist
It may take longer than 75 days to hit some of these, but I figure this 75 Hard will at least get me moving in the right direction.
