A new year means its time for a new youthats what Im told, anyway.

What are the rules of 75 Hard?

These can include walks or restorative yoga.

One must be outdoors no matter the weather.

No alcohol or cheat meals.

Take a progress photo every day.

Read 10 pages of a book; audiobooks dont count.

If you go to the75 Hard website, you wont see these rules.

Youre supposed to get on an email list to have them sent to you.

What 75 Hard gets right

Im going to be generous here.

Youll note that the exercise program is do two workouts and the diet plan is follow a diet.

Reading books is fine.

There, Ive been as charitable as I can be.

Now lets talk about what 75 Hard gets wrong.

Butwhydid I stick to the plan?

Because I knew it would make me stronger.

I hit my first-ever 101-kilo front squat (222 pounds) during that program.

I did hard thingsbecause the payoff was going to be worth it.

This is where 75 Hard feels like it was designed by an alien or a robot.

Athletes work hard, so lets make people work hard.

Athletes follow a schedule, so lets make people follow a schedule.

But its like a car with no engine.

Might look OK from the outside, but theres nothing inside to power it.

Frisella patches over this major plot hole mainly by yelling at you.

And if the rules dont work for you?

Its all your fault.

For example, the introductory email says this:

You will be tempted to cheat and compromise.

You will not be tempted by me … you will be tempted by yourself.

Um,yourethe one setting the rules, Andy.

When you make a small compromise to yourself, it engrains that decision pattern in your life.

It rounds-off the sharp corners of what should be an exceptional life.

But theyre just a bunch of dumb rules.

If you miss a days photo, youve broken the rules and have to start over.

The progress photos also contribute tootherpeople being drawn into the challenge.

The marketing page for 75 Hard has nine different peoples before-and-after photos.

For a bigger person, as a total of fluid intake for the day, thats nottooextreme.

But then come the caveats.

Frisella hasreportedly saidthat:

This doesnt include fluids from food.

This doesnt include any other beverages, including flavored water.

Cases of healthy people dying from water intoxication are rare, butthey exist.

Yeah, we can do better than that.)

75 days is about 10 or 11 weeks.

Here are some programs that fit the bill:

Hal Higdons Spring Training base-building plan for runners.

Its 10 weeks, with four runs and two strength training days each week.

You get a time trial every other weekend to benchmark your fitness.

Couch to 5K, the classic program to gently introduce people to running.

Its also 10 weeks, and starts off with easy intervals.

Youll do three walk/run workouts each week.

The Strength Athletes beginner powerlifting program.

Youll lift four times per week.

Pick one, mark the workouts on your calendar, and pair it withappropriate nutritionto support your goals.

In 75 days, youll be a stronger lifter or a more capable runner, no pointless suffering required.