Okay. Time to reveal what I’ve been holding back from you guys. I am doing my own version of the 75 soft challenge. In today’s blog I will tell you what I’m doing, how my challenge started, and what to expect with the updates each week as they take over Fitness Fridays. So, let’s begin.
What is 75 Soft?
So, 75 soft is a lighter version of 75 Hard. For those who have never heard of it, let me quickly explain. 75 Hard is a mental toughness challenge which consists of 2 45 minute workouts (one must be outside), stick to a diet of your choice, drink 1 gallon of water, read 10 pages of a non fiction book and take a progress photo. All of these must be done every day for 75 days. No alcohol, cheat meals or rest days are allowed. If you miss anything one day, you must start over at day 1. It sounds really tough, so people have adapted the challenge to be a bit easier. Thus, 75 soft was born.
My Version
So, what does my 75 soft look like? For 75 days I am going to aim to meet all my goals that I have made specific to me. First, I want to do a workout everyday, with one active rest day a week. The workouts must be a minimum of 30 minutes, excluding the active rest day. I want to eat healthier meals, no fast food allowed and stay away from alcohol, unless it’s for a social outing with friends or family. Next, I want to read 10 pages of any book and drink 3 litres of water. I will take a progress photo every 7 days instead of every day. And lastly, I want to pray for someone or some situation every day in an effort to grow in prayer. My start date was February 21, 2024 and the challenge will end May 5th.
Starting 75 Soft
February 21, as I mentioned, was my start day. I was working the night shift from February 20 over to February 21st, so I made my goal to drink my first litre of water between midnight and 6am. This was a success, much to my relief. During this time I also spent some time in prayer. I went to bed around 6am and when I woke up I took my first photos, so that I have a starting point for you all. Then I made myself a delicious breakfast. After that a coworker and I practiced making malasadas for an event coming up at the hotel in March. They were a success, much to our delight. We shared a meal of farmer sausage burgers and had a malasada for dessert before cleaning up.
Day 1 Continued
Once I was done cleaning up I went to my room to finish up my blog for the day, which was a book review. After that was posted, I started my next book and read the necessary 10 pages. I certainly could have read more, but I wanted a nap before work. Finished my second litre of water, then picked my workout for the day, and took my nap. It was a short one as I still had water to drink and a workout to do. My mistake: I picked the wrong workout to kick-start the challenge. It was a 45 minute kickboxing workout. This proved too much for me and I quit after 10 minutes, opting for a 20 minute Grow With Jo video instead. I drank about half of my remaining litre during the workout, took a shower, and finished my last bit of water just before midnight.
Day 2
Well, Day 2, much like day 1 of 75 soft, started out with a night shift. I armed myself with a cup of water, and brought some almonds to snack on. At one point I did end up eating some corn chips and salsa, but I’m not too worried about it. After sleeping a bit I got back to work on my challenge. I have found that when I first wake up, I’m thirsty. So, I drank some water. Then I had to go do some recording at the radio station for the hotel, followed by a trip to the grocery store to get a few items. Not as much as I wanted, but that’s what happens when money is tight. Water was easy on this day and by the time I went to my friend’s place in the evening for a workout, I only had half a litre of water left to drink. We did 45 minutes of working out, broken into 3 phases. Phase 1: while one of us did a dumbbell workout video from YouTube, the other rode the stationary bike. That was for 15 minutes. Then we switched and ended with a 15 minute yoga stretch to relax all the muscles. It was intense and I was still feeling the effects of the previous day’s workout.
Now We Are on Day 3
That leads us to today, day 3 of my 75 soft challenge. What I’ve noticed so far: it’s not as tricky as I first thought. I was certain that water would be tricky, but it’s not as bad as I thought. However, I do know myself well. I start strong, most of the time, and after a week I begin to fizzle out. So, next week will be the true test of how things are going with the challenge. Fitness Fridays will now be my updates on my 75 soft challenge and I will also try to post something daily, even if it’s just in a story, on social media for the blog. So, follow along as I do this challenge or, better yet, join me. Make it your own. Let’s grow in discipline together. As we know, anything can happen if we try.
