Nearly five weeks was my initial attempt at completing 75 Hard. If you follow this blog, you’ll know that I failed after ten days. However, I restarted, and yesterday marked twenty-one days into attempt number two. The common belief is that turning something into a habit takes three weeks (twenty-one days). Whether that is true or not, I have no idea. But what I do know is that I do not want to turn away from living this way.
I think I look pretty great – probably the best my body has ever looked. But the way I feel, both physically and mentally? That is unmatched. I wake up every day hungry (literally and metaphorically) and ready to face the day head-on. I feel as if nothing can stop me from my mission of achieving everything I want in this life.
Not only that, but I feel as if the quality of my relationships has drastically improved. I make the time to call friends I haven’t seen in quite some time. I have meaningful conversations. I’m more open and honest. I’ve been laughing and smiling more, and those things are infectious. My bad habits are falling by the wayside, replaced with new healthier habits.
In short, “75 Hard” has been a godsend.
By this far in the endeavor, I thought I’d genuinely miss eating meat. I don’t. I’m eating more fruits and vegetables than I ever have. I probably need to eat more protein daily, but I’m not necessarily trying to add muscle. I’m trying to become leaner to be quicker, and more agile when I get the chance to play soccer.
I have always resented myself for not being a better soccer player during my “high school career,” but that doesn’t do me any good. I can’t change the past, but I can change my future. I can be the best soccer player I can be right now, here in the present. Being the best player I can be will make me a better coach. Ultimately, that I what, I care about the most. As a young coach at the high school level, I often get the chance to play with our student-athletes at practice and ‘open fields.’ So by being the best I can be on the field, I can drive them to be better players themselves. Competing against players that are better than you – and this applies to any sport, hell even things like chess, video games, and any other kind of competition – you will become better yourself. You’ll consciously or subconsciously pick up on things happening and later apply them to your skillset.
A month ago, I was about 190 pounds, probably around 25% body fat. This morning, I am 179.6 with approximately 16% body fat. I want to get both of those numbers down to about 170 lbs and 12% body fat.
Good thing I still have another 54 days!
One thing I still really need to lock in and fine-tune is my morning routine. My bedtime and waketime variability is not quite where I want it to be. You’ll often hear very successful people talk about getting up early to maximize the day. For the longest time, I thought that was hogwash. But you know what? I haven’t been anywhere near as successful in my life as all of those people. Going through this endeavor with 75 Hard has shown me there is quite a substantial amount of truth. I always find on the days when I wake up early, I get more done and breeze through my things to do in a given day. When I wake up later, I still get everything done, but it takes longer, and I’m more stressed out about getting things done. Not only this, but typically, the evening is when you want to have your free time with other people or do something relaxing. If you’re waking up later, it’s much harder to find that time for yourself and others.
My ideal morning routine would be to wake up at 6:00 A.M., walk for 45 minutes, eat a light breakfast, read, journal, do my daily affirmations, work out, and start the day. I’m writing this part for myself as a reminder that this will help me get things in motion. If you think it sounds like a good morning routine, I invite you to join me.
Footy Foster 