75 Hard Checklist - GORUCK Style

75 Hard is a mental toughness program that's been around since 2019, thanks to our friend and entrepreneur Andy Frisella. While it's not technically a fitness challenge (instead it's a "transformative mental toughness program"), it does require participants to complete a checklist every single day. Some of those tasks are fitness related. For some, it might be the hardest 75 days of your life. But that's a good thing. We all need hard things to mold us into men and women of character, to prepare us for the challenges of life. Now, just because it's hard doesn't mean it's complicated. In fact, 75 Hard is pretty simple. Let's check out the 75 Hard challenge, GORUCK style.

75 Hard Resources

There are a few resources you'll want to check out before starting 75 Hard. To get the most out of your 75 days, include a variety of workouts. You'll be working out twice a day, after all, and you want to keep it interesting.

• GORUCK's 75 Hard Checklist: watch your progress with our printable 75 Hard Checklist. Make an X each day you complete the critical tasks of 75 Hard. Hang it on your fridge, in your office, or wherever it'll serve as a reminder to keep going. And what makes this resource even better is that it's completely free.
• What is Rucking?: Rucking is the foundation of functional fitness. Just ask every Army infantry and Special Forces candidate. Rucking is an outdoor workout, and you'll need to do one of those every day to keep up with 75 Hard.
• The Benefits of Rucking: read all about why we ruck, and the benefits of walking with weight on our backs.
• Sandbag workouts: training with sandbags can be done indoors or outdoors. It's a versatile way to train strength and cardio, and training sandbags give you an affordable home gym, in one piece of equipment.
• Tribe 'n Training: join GORUCK's thousands-strong group of people pushing boundaries, getting stronger, and spending quality time together outside. There are tons of benefits, and you're bound to meet someone else taking on 75 Hard.

GORUCK's 75 Hard Checklist

If you miss a day, you've got to start back at day 1. No excuses, no substitutions, no compromise. 75 Hard is all about discipline and the massive mental toughness benefits that come from seeing the mission through, from going all in on yourself. It's about building good habits and learning something about yourself. The best part about 75 Hard is that anyone can do it, no matter where they're starting. While the program has physical tasks, it's not a physical challenge. Remember, it's all about mental toughness. If you can forge some of that, physical transformations are a byproduct. 75 Hard is your chance to prove to yourself that you're strong and capable. Let's take a closer look at our 75 Hard checklist, GORUCK style.

1. Complete 2 45-minute workouts

Each day, you must complete 2 45-minute workouts, and one of these must be outdoors. That sounds good to us. After all, rucking is a low impact exercise with plenty of benefits and is best when done outside. That's why throughout this 75 Hard challenge, we have remained consistent in making our outdoor workout always a ruck - and you should too. It's accessible for beginners, too (check out our beginner's guide). 

Rucking for 75 Hard

While rucking is a lower impact exercise than running, we don't recommend beginners ruck every day, even during 75 Hard. Rucking is an exercise that requires building endurance over time, so supplement other outdoor activities like sandbag training, yoga, or calisthenics & kettlebells. During 75 Hard, you'll have 14 workouts per week. At GORUCK HQ, we have a few different types of workouts we do...

1. Rucking: the central piece to our training is rucking. Why? It builds strength, improves cardio, and torches calories. It's a total body workout that we get to do outdoors.
2. Sandbag training: we train with sandbags because it's the most fun we have while working out, and they're perfectly versatile. You can push, press, swing, carry, and throw our indestructible sandbags.
3. Strength training: this includes calisthenics (bodyweight exercises like pushups and squats) and Ruck PT, which is using our rucksacks and weight vests in those same exercises. Try wearing a weight vest or ruck plate carrier to increase the challenge of your bodyweight workouts.
4. No impact training: these aren't necessarily easy workouts, but they do take a lot of the stress off our joints. These can be recovery workouts, cardio sessions, or unique ways to mix up training. Try swimming, rowing, yoga, rock climbing, or biking for a no impact workout.

Using our above four favorite ways to workout, here's a plan for your 14 weekly workouts:

• Monday: AM ruck (outdoors), PM Sand Medicine Ball workout (outdoors)
• Tuesday: AM ruck (outdoors), PM sandbag training (outdoors)
• Wednesday: AM no impact training (indoors/outdoors), PM strength workout (indoors)
• Thursday: AM no impact training (indoors/outdoors), PM ruck (outdoors)
• Friday: AM strength workout (outdoors), PM strength workout (indoors)
• Saturday: AM ruck (outdoors), PM sandbag training (outdoors)
• Sunday: AM no impact training (indoors/outdoors), PM sandbag training (outdoors)

2. Follow a diet

75 Hard doesn't require you to follow any specific diet, but you do need to pick some kind of structured eating plan. If you already eat clean, set your sights on 75 days with no cheat meals. That's not a recommendation. It's a requirement. To participate in 75 Hard, you've got to follow the checklist exactly, starting over on day 1 if you miss something. Our team doesn't participate in 75 Hard for fun, we do it because it's life-changing. So don't miss any days of good, clean eating.

3. No alcohol or cheat meals

Discipline Equals Freedom, as Jocko says. 75 Hard is for everyone, including those who have weddings, parties, and cocktail hours coming up. Giving up alcohol for 75 days will have a positive effect on your physical and mental health. Skipping alcohol and cheat meals, here are some of the effects our team has seen...

• Sleep better: it's no secret that alcohol disrupts sleep, but so do sugary snacks and heavy meals. Whatever your beer or cookie of choice is, your mind and body will benefit from 75 days without.
• Improved workout recovery: sleeping better always leads to better recovery from training. Clean eating, too. 75 Hard is a mental toughness challenge, but it's also great for your physical wellness.
• Skin health: the daily photo documents your muscle definition and weight, sure, but at the end of your 75 Hard checklist, your skin will glow. That's what 2+ months of clean eating and no alcohol does.
• Reset your taste buds: humans are meant to eat clean and stay hydrated. After drinking a gallon of water every day for 75 days, you're going to feel those times when you're not optimally hydrated. You're going to keep craving water after completing 75 Hard. Similarly, eating clean for this long resets your sugar cravings. You're going to notice how great fruits and vegetables taste after 75 days without heaps of processed sugar.

4. Drink one gallon of water

Most people don't drink enough water, and Andy Frisella says this is daily 75 Hard requirement has caused plenty of people to fail and return to day 1. Remember, 75 Hard may be simple, but it's not easy. Get started early in the day so you're not chugging most of your water at night. Also, get a container with measurements marked on it. Don't guess how much water you're drinking; it's likely not enough. This task may seem easy, but it's sent plenty of people back to day 1. If you don't have a water bottle marked with measurements, this one will get the job done.

5. Read 10 pages of a book

Reading is good. Period. We live in an overwhelmingly digital world, and it's good for humans to break away from screens and notifications for a few minutes each day. There are plenty of good fiction stories out there, or you can read nonfiction to learn something new. We recommend starting with The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. You'll be reading (at least) 750 pages during the transformation. Put together a reading list of books you've been putting off. It's just 10 pages per day, but it's going to create a habit. That's what 75 Hard is all about.

6. Take a progress picture

This is for accountability and documenting your progress. And you will make noticeable changes in your physique if you complete 75 Hard. Those physical changes are the result of newly forged mental toughness and discipline. If you're taking your progress pictures on a smartphone, put the day number in the corner of the picture (many phones allow you to draw on the screen). This makes tracking your progress easier.

Our GORUCK Checklist

Ready to get started? Save our GORUCK 75 Hard checklist. And send us a message on Instagram with progress reports. Follow us @goruck.