It’s been one whole week since I started 75 Hard and I thought it could be helpful to share some things I’ve learned and observed thus far.

Things that have surprised me:

Maybe I am l too new in this journey, but I’m not finding it as difficult as I thought it would be.
I initially thought this would consume my whole day and I’d have a hard time accomplishing all of the tasks. Now, this is based on getting up earlier than I had been because I do need more time in my day to be able to execute all of the tasks.

Comboing things is helpful too; for example, reading and drinking water or working out and drinking water help with this.

I am actually thirstier now that I am drinking more water. I don’t mean that I am drinking two gallons of water but I am drinking a little more than one gallon because I am thirsty and previously I was barely drinking the recommended 64 ounces per day!

General observations:

I have more laundry to do because I am going through multiple outfits in a day. I suppose I could re-wear my first outfit to cut down on having the extra laundry.
I’m sleeping better!
I’m not having as many sugar cravings. Typically, I like to have something sweet with my coffee but I haven’t been having that ‘urge’ this week.
I’m having a hard time slowing down my workouts.

I’ve taken a solo walk and didn’t really enjoy it as in I was constantly checking how much time I had left.
I did yoga at home and I turned the video off less than halfway through and just did my own thing. I had the same problem as the walk, I was anxious to get it done and over with

Having a routine and structure is really helpful to my mental health and productivity. I like having a checklist of things to do and completing them.

In my limited experience, I think it comes down to three things. I’ve actually coined them in my head as the three P’s:

Planning:

I took a couple of weeks to thoughtfully plan out my days so that all of the daily tasks didn’t feel so overwhelming.
I don’t think this is something you can wake up one day and just engage in. I. mean, yes you can but I having a plan outlined will set you up for greater success and less stressing.
Having a flexible plan is crucial. I used my first week to see what things brought me enjoyment or what things didn’t work for me. Then, I have tweaked them for week two so that I can keep going without feeling that I am losing steam.

Pace:

This goes in hand with planning, but making sure to strategically figure out what type of workouts are sustainable for you. In most cases, you can’t run a full marathon on day one. You build up to it.
- My approach is to pair a harder or more active workout with something a little slower.
  - Example: Full body strength/cardio + a walk
  - Example: Run + yoga (to be transparent, I have yet to run but I want to get there, so I’m still using that as an example!)
Ensuring when you want to be done with your gallon water so that you can sleep the night through is also helpful. I like to have a cut off time of 7:00 pm to get my water intake for the day. This helps me drink adequately throughout the day versus having drink a bunch of water before bed and then not sleeping well due to needing to use the restroom all night long.

Perspective:

At the end of the day, you’ve made the decision to participate in this challenge. You need to recall what you want to get out of it.
You can approach things in the way that they are chores and have to get done or you can view the daily activities as getting you one step closer to the change you’re making.
Finding movement that you enjoy is also helpful. If you plan to do workouts that you don’t enjoy, it will be much harder to change your perspective when you’re feeling unmotivated and tired.

75 Hard - week 1 recap + learnings

75 Hard - week 2 recap and learnings