Two years ago, I started my first attempt at Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard for the first time with a 20.22 mile ruck overnight with friends in the rain and sleet. Last year, I didn’t attempt it but wish I did. This year, I am challenging all my friends & readers to join me in the Hard 75 - The Company edition beginning either today (which gives very little for preparation) or next Sunday, 1/8.
What is 75 Hard?
Andy Frisella came up with the 75-day plan for mental preparation and toughness that not only pushes your physical health but also works on mental toughness & emotional resilience, essential elements for all, those in the Community & those who are not.
On his website, 75 Hard, Andy shares all the positive stories & transformations that have been seen by people who have participated in this free guide & program. You can purchase the app for Android or Apple on their respective App Stores which provides a great place to track your progress each day.
So what do you have to do?
It’s pretty simple - Each day for 75 days straight, you will:
do two 45-minute (minimum) workouts. You can do whatever your fitness level is at the time with at least one being outside.
Stick to a nutrition/eating plan. This is not a diet - just pick a plan that you like & stick to it. I’m personally going gluten free.
No cheat days. At all. No sweets. No alcohol.
Drink (minimum) 1 gallon of water.
Read 10 pages of a physical book. For our challenge, I will post a few suggestions each week of what I’m reading also with a book of the month to read together. (See below)
Take a progress picture (only keep it for yourself if you want) and/or write a journal entry on your thoughts, feelings, progress, failings, etc.
You can get the official 75 Hard app or there are several free options in the App stores. I have also created the below document to track if you want to print:
Hard 75 Daily Tracker - Printable
The Company & Black Ops Book Society
As part of this challenge, I will be recommending a book for each month to read together. It will officially be called the Black Ops Books Society (BOBS).
For January, I am recommending we read Grey Zone Ethics: A Practitioner’s Guide to Making Ethically Difficult Decisions by Daniel Pace & Anna Simons. From their book description:
The special operations community has an ethics problem. While forward, operators frequently encounter lose / lose situations, and the community isn't preparing them properly to pick the best option. In part, the problem stems from the difficulty of the situations themselves, but it also stems from the community's treatment of ethics training as an individual task, when in reality it is not - it's a collective task, and it requires as much training as any other special operations skill set. This book presents a training plan to remedy that problem.
While the lessons and methodology presented are tailored to the special operations community and the problem it faces, they are applicable to many organizations that have to prepare their people to navigate ethically difficult terrain.
My aim is to post here on The Company page, as well on the Instagram and Facebook pages, on progress, thoughts, discussion topics, etc. At some point, we will work on setting up a Telegram and/or Discord for greater communication.
Be on the lookout for a fuller writing on the January Company challenges, but for the time being, check it out here on our Instagram: