INTRODUCTION
Ever heard of the 75 Hard Challenge? It was created by Andy Frisella, a motivational speaker, podcaster, author, and supplement company owner. A book, website, and app support and promote the program. It’s intended to be a transformative mental toughness program. You can read the details here. What follows is a short summary about and speculations on the pros and cons of the program.
THE PROGRAM
The program consists of five pillars.
- Hydration–drink one gallon of water a day.
- Nutrition–choose any diet and follow it faithfully. No exceptions. No alcohol, either.
- Exercise–workout for 45 minutes twice a day, for a total of 90 minutes. One workout must be outdoors.
- Mental improvement. Read 10 pages of any book that you consider entrepreneurial or self-help, each day. (Hopefully, Not Dead Yet will be a popular choice for those taking the challenge!)
- You must take a progress picture each day.
Frisella calls the program a hard challenge, but he insists it’s primarily intended to test and promote mental toughness. He wants followers of the plan to gain confidence that they can stick to a difficult routine, free of excuses or modifications. The challenge is made especially daunting by his rule that if you slack off on any day along the way, you must start over on day one.
Frisella makes the bold claim that 75 HARD is the only program that can permanently change your life… from your way of thinking, to the level of discipline by which you undertake every single task in life. He makes a lot of other claims. Most attention-getting is that the feedback he’s received indicates that Challenge-taker lives have changed in many ways, such as:
- They’ve become better leaders at work.
- They’ve become better mothers & fathers.
- They’ve increased their income.
- They’re more confident in themselves.
- They’ve made massive physical transformations as a result of the mental transformation.
- They’ve taken complete control of their lives and the changes they’ve made are permanent.
He also claims that over 100,000 people around the globe have not just taken the Challenge but have completed it. Impressive, if true.
The Challenge website is loaded with pep talk hype, wild promises, tips for success, testimonials and more. His website contains a blend of superlatives, promises and guarantees that bring to mind Benny Hinn and Tony Robbins.
Here is a description of the experience by a Challenge-taker who wrote
THE CONS
Frisella does not have credentials that many might expect. He is not a recognized wellness promoter, physician or nurse, psychologist, nutritionist, certified fitness trainer, or otherwise credentialed in a related field. This is not essential, but it would be helpful if there were a board of advisers of some kind. He does recommend caution and some form of medical clearance before getting carried away with the recommended discipline and commitment to success, but in some cases this will not be enough.
References to studies, supportive publications, endorsements by independent sources are not in evidence. Furthermore, no published scientific literature or other medical or health expertise is made available about the five pillars of the program.
The promoter’s ownership of a supplement company is a possible conflict of interest, particularly if he were to promote such products as part of the Challenge.
