75 Hard or Soft (fitness) challenge

I was on Instagram a few days ago and I saw one of my friends was doing the 75 Hard Challenge, only she was doing a soft version...I read through her description of the challenge and I am like, "I can do that!" I really need SOMETHING to get me back into a routine of working out and eating what I am supposed to eating. I got all out of sorts with all the traveling we have done this summer and I need some kind of motivation to get me started. Are you familiar with this fitness challenge? I wasn't. Apparently, it's the newest rage and some people hate it and say it's too much, and should be modified. Yet the creator of it says, "If you modify the program just to say you completed it, did you really succeed? No. That's the problem with your whole life ... you constantly modify your plans & goals so you can say you completed them. By doing that, you never achieve what you're actually capable of, and you'll end up feeling worse about yourself, because you know deep down you cheated."

While I see his point I am debating which one I want to do. I am leaning toward the soft version because I need something to motivate me and not defeat me. I do not know that I can work out twice a day for 45 minutes, and I am sure that I don't want to 😂😂 But, I am getting ahead of myself. 

What is the Hard Challenge?

According to the creator, Andy Frisella, it is a "transformative, mental toughness program, designed to gain more confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-belief, fortitude, and grittiness."

What do you do:

• Pick a diet, any diet, and stick to it for 75 days. No cheats, no alcohol. (for me I will be sticking with Paleo)
• Drink one gallon of water a day
• Two 45 minute workouts, one must be outside
• read 10 pages of a non-fiction leadership/self-help book (audiobooks do not count)
• take a photo of yourself every.single.day to show the progress
•  do random acts of kindness
• everything must be done 
  
• no tweaks, substitutions, or misses. Breaking a rule means starting over from day one.
  

**I could not actually get to the author's version of the hard challenge, so these are the rules I picked up from other posts.**

So then, what is the soft version? I also found several modified versions of this, but here is what my friend is doing:

• every day for 75 days
• Workout for 45 mins
• Read 10 pages of leadership book
• Drink one gallon of water
• Healthy Diet (I’m doing an almost vegetarian diet, with the exception of fish and *some dairy.)
• She is adding to the challenge, getting up at 7:30am to spend time reading my Bible.
• The kicker, if you fail one day, you have to start back at DAY 1

So, what am I doing to do???? What would you do?

 I think I am going to try to do the hard challenge, to a point, but I guess slightly modified (insert eye roll). I will stick to all things Paleo diet. I do not drink alcohol, so no problems there. I will attempt two forty-five-minute work outs, but they may have to be modified, broken up over the day, and possibly inside (I am a slacker who knows it is supposed to rain the next 6 days so I don't want to commit to outside, LOL). I will do my best to get outside 45 minutes a day, but I am going to give myself grace because I do not know if my current health level can handle it, but if I start with lighter exercises, like 2 45 minute walks, it may be doable. So, in that way it will be modified, with the original intent to try to do 2 work outs, they might just need to be shorter than 45 minutes, especially when I add cardio back in. I am also going to try to drink the gallon of water and have bought a water bottle that will help me keep better track of my liquid intake. Since I only drink coffee and water, it shouldn't be too hard, and thankfully I don't have to give up coffee to do this!!! Reading 10 minutes in a leadership book is not a problem for me, I have a lot that I have been wanting to read 😉 and you all know I LOVE to read! Take a photo of yourself every single day, um, no thanks, not interested, will do it once a week on Monday, any less and I might forget, but day 1 and 75 for sure, and with the intent to do weekly. Doing random acts of kindness...if the opportunity presents itself, sure, if not, probably not going to worry too much about it. If I miss a day, I will follow the rules and start over.

So, the reason I posted about this here is because I NEED accountability and I would LOVE for some people to do it with me!!! I found a printable on this website, so I can track my progress. If neither of the versions work for you, here is an article for five more options of tweaks. 

I plan to start on Monday, August 16th. Between now and then I am going to double-check that I have all the food I am going to eat, look at my calendar and schedule for the next week and block out the time to work out between the appointments and things we have, and figure out which self-help book I want to start first and figure out what kind of exercise I want to start with. Whew! If you are still reading give yourself a pat on the back, I did not mean to be so wordy, LOL!!!

Who wants to join me and have some accountability? You can pick any version that works for you, pick the best day to start (I didn't start immediately because I needed planning days to set myself up for success, not failure), and let's encourage each other to the finish line!!! I hope to blog about the journey and how it is going along the way. Who's in? What are your thoughts? Am I totally crazy and need to find a better way to motivate myself??? I would love to hear all your thoughts (and maybe some encouragement even if you don't join in 😉).