"Nothing is worse than waking up and going to work, then driving home to catch up on the internet or TV until you go to bed; the cycle repeats itself the next day unchanged throughout the week."
This is what the American entrepreneur Andy Friesella, who founded several companies and is a best-selling author, said after spending years in which he felt like "nothing", especially after losing money in failed attempts to commit to programs promoted by experts, which he then returned to square one each time, before realizing that the real cause of his problems was "a lack of mental rigidity and discipline," and decided to take the reins of it himself, and work on developing The skills needed to take full control of his life to be successful "through self-confidence, endurance, fortitude, perseverance, and the desire to win."
He puts all this in a program he called the #75Hard Challenge, which he considered "the only one that can permanently change lives", from the way of thinking to the level of rigidity and discipline that must be present in everything.
The "75 Hard" program is a human challenge to himself through uncomfortable experiences in order to develop his mental toughness (Pixels)
"75 Hard"
It is a program launched by Friesella in 2019 "to see how far a person can go in challenging himself, through uncomfortable experiences, to develop mental rigidity and mental stability."
Inspired by his meeting with American adventurer James Lawrence, whose famous adventure "50.50.50" was turned into a 2018 documentary, Iron Cowboy, which tells the story of Lawrence traversing 50 races in 50 US states over 50 consecutive days.
75 Hard gained traction at the end of 2020, and Friesella announced on its official website that more than 100,<> people from all over the world had successfully passed its program and completed it to the end, "to completely change their lives and be more confident in themselves."
From the outset, Friesella made sure that it was the responsibility of each participant to carry out the necessary medical consultations before starting, to determine whether this program is suitable for their needs.
He explained that "75 Hard" is not a fitness program, but a challenge that can change a person's life, from the inside to "enhancing mental strength", and that taking this challenge perfectly and without irregularities, may bring a person to control his life completely and change it forever.
Exercising twice a day for 45 minutes – one outdoors – is one of the main daily duties to adhere to at the Hard 75 (Pixels)
5 strict daily duties
If you want to change your life in just 75 days, according to Friesela, you must commit to the following daily duties for 75 consecutive days, without any modifications, and if one item falls you have to start over:
Potential gains
Jake Polley, a certified specialist in strength and adaptive development, believes that one of the benefits of the program is "helping a person build better habits that can last with them for a long time later."
Friesella says his program improves self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as developing habits, such as the reading habit that may be acquired after reading 750 pages, until the end of the program; acquiring and getting used to a semi-steady diet; continuing to drink water to keep the body hydrated; and then seeing the results achieved clearly and tangibly through 75 images.
Also, "there can be benefits to following a regularly defined health regimen," says certified dietitian Noah Quezada, who encourages the program, adding that one of its main benefits "is that it promotes self-consistency when seeing results at the health and fitness level."
Personal trainer Carrie Fitch says she found the program difficult, "but fun and actionable, and can help get rid of negativity and see what their minds and bodies can do when committing and following." Social worker Kelly Ketley also opined that reading "helps maintain motivation and consistency."
The habit of reading, which may be gained after reading 750 pages until the end of the program, helps improve self-confidence and self-esteem (Pixels).
Expert Sockets
Despite its advantages, the Hard 75 program remains a personal experience for Friesilla that is not scientifically supported, and experts point to some of its drawbacks, such as:
- Certified trainer Stephanie Thomas said the program "can be good for someone who is used to exercising, but it may not be suitable for beginners." Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, 45 minutes of exercise, twice a day with no chance to rest, can put beginners at risk of "over-exercise injuries," according to certified motivation expert Dr. Sarah Habanen. But Friesella refutes this by saying that "you can only walk, for 45 minutes, twice a day, one of them outside."
- Dr. Habanen's argument that "the rigor of the program does not allow for the development of error handling skills, nor does it give any leniency," which Friesella also refuted on his website, saying that "no one can achieve anything great by changing the rules in their favor."
- Too much adherence to the diet "can cause an unhealthy relationship with food (eating disorder) and body image problems," says Noah Quizada, adding that the "all or nothing" principle can cause frustration for subscribers and narrow the margin for self-tolerance, and warned of the rigidity of inertia on daily habits for 75 days, and the impact it may have on the "culture of moderation."
- Registered dietitian Jackie Kaminsky also adds that the program "does not provide specific guidelines with fitness or nutrition plans."
Before experimenting with 75 Hard, experts recommend working with a trainer and dietitian to "develop a nutrition and exercise plan that is appropriate for your desired goals.