I have been working on a battle plan with the Iron Council for about three quarters. One of those quarters with the correct level of accountabilty with a number of people in my battle group. The battle plan is made up of a number of daily tactics to help you make material progress towards the goals and vision you have in your life. h front liner sport detail. The Iron Council is the brain child of Ryan Michler at The Order of Man.
The Battle Plan works on 4 key areas of improvement; Calibration, Connection, Condition & Contribution.
Calibration. Calibration is about getting right with yourself first. Too many men focus on others first because they believe that is what is required of a man. Unfortunately, they focus too heavily on others at the expense of their own well-being. If you truly want to help others on your journey, you have to ensure you’re capable of doing so, which means taking care of yourself. Calibration represents your mental and emotional health, mindset, psyche, soul, and spirituality.
Connection. Connection is the focus of building deep and powerful relationships with your family, colleagues, neighbors, coworkers, and band of brothers. There is no such thing as a self-made man. Every man must learn to connect with others across all facets of life to ensure he and others are successful.
Condition. Condition is the focus on your physical health—more specifically, diet, nutrition, fitness, exercise, sleep, stamina, strength, and conditioning. It is impossible to become the man you are meant to be without the ability to keep your body in optimal working order. Contribution.
Contribution is your ability to become a man of value. At times, you will be compensated for your contribution (employment, for example). Other times, you will not (service and charitable work). Whether you’re trying to connect with your family and friends, launch a business, and/or grow your bank account, your ability to contribute more than you currently do will make all the difference.
There are a lot of similarities between the Battle Plan format at the goals of 75 Hard:
- Follow your diet (condition)
- 45 minute workout outside (condition)
- 45 minutes workout anywhere (condition)
- Drink one gallon of water (condition)
- 10 minutes / 10 pages of a non-fiction book each day (calibration)
- Document the effort
75 hard was developed by Andy Friscella and has similar goals as the Battle Plan does. The program is not a weight loss program or a fitness program but more about developing rock-solid discipline to get things done even when it is difficult or you do not feel like doing it.
The program helps to build confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-belief, fortitude, and grittiness.
I am doing this program in parallel to executing my Battle Plan with the Iron Council. I have added one more daily task to my plan, which is to focus at least 30 minutes each day on my business. I believe that part of the reason this plan was created was to create that discipline you need to compete, create a business, and run a successful business so I am applying that out of the gate.
I have created a custom template based on the standard 75 Hard format to allow you to customize and add to the core goals to complete the program.
Download the template in PDF Format or, Download the template in Word Format.
Download the Microsoft Work Template here:
To comment and support please follow my Patreon post.
Please track my progress below:
Day #1
I completed day #1.
Day #2
Day #3
Today was a bit of a difficult day balancing work and getting both my workouts in.
Day #4
Today was a tricky day. The food was the hardest. I do not watch calories right now and am focusing more on quality foods that support my gut health. I have been focused on loading up on “superfoods” and “enjoy” items recommended by my Viome test results. I had a little more of the “minimize” items.
Day #5
Watching my video today shows that I have a long way to go. While 75 Hard is more about discipline and building a system of success, I do hope to make some physical gains and weight losses. In the video, I can see excess fat in my neck and face and I am sure this is having a direct impact on my ability to get rid of my sleep apnea.
Will have to get at it. My BMI is still in a range considered obese. Would definitely lover to get to the overweight range while completing 75 hard.
Day #6
No major challenges today. I have to be careful with my diet. While I am not breaking any rules so to speak, and I have not cheated, I am borderline and could do better. Additionally while not officially part of my 75 Hard plan, I have maintained financial focus and not made any unplanned purchases for 6 days.
Day #7
Got it done!
Day #8
Struggling a bit with allergies. Was a crazy day with kids. Brother in the Brigade Battle Team pushed for me to get at it. I need to start ramping up the intensity of the workouts.
Day #9
Good day, today. Fairly strong. Completed 165 minutes of exercise by adding an additional 45 minutes of evening outdoor activity.
Day #10
Day 10 is in the books.
Day #11
Continue to plug away. I am keeping to the plan. I feel like I can start to step up in all categories. Pushing to do more with the workouts, diet, reading and the blog. This coming weekend will be a challenge sticking to the plan on Saturday through Monday because will be traveling to Michigan to spend Easter with the family. Going to be challenging to keep my workout and diet routine.
Day #12
Knocked day 12 out before heading to Michigan to celebrate Easter with the family. Forgot to document before leaving so short video once I go to Michigan.
Day #13
Happy Easter!!!
Day #14
This was a crazy day! Luckily getting to bed on time is not part of 75 Hard. Worked in Michigan, 3 hours travel back to Ohio. Just knocking off 75 Hard today at almost 11:30PM. Have to get a earlier completion time tomorrow.
Day #15
Day #16
Hit it “kind of hard” today. Weight and BMI are both down but lots to go. Even though this program is not around weight loss, I have an expectation that the discipline I am challenging myself will get me to BMI level I have not seen since I was running in the mountains of Japan and swimming 3-5 times a week.
Day #17
Another day in the books!
Day #18
Day #19
Day #20
25% of the way there!
Day #21
Day 21 is in the books. I was getting nervous about the workouts today. Hit a mental wall and it started raining. The mental block was to just get moving, once I did, I hammered it out. I am still having to be careful because of my bone spurs in my achilles but running better that I have since my late 30’s and early 40s.
Day #22
I have completed another day. I am going to reprint the sheets because the permanent marker is bleeding right through the progress checklist!
Day #23
Another great day!
Day #24
Hit it hard today. It was a bit of a struggle. I am trying to take the diet portion to the next level. I am toying with getting rid of coffee and rice.
Day #25
Increasing the amount of exercise each day. Hit some milestone on BMI and Weight today. I know that is not the goal of 75 Hard but the discipline and persistence are starting to pay off.
Day #26
Another day in the books!
Day #27
Another great day! Both workouts completed before noon!
Day #28
Day 28 is complete. Highlights of the day were walking in the rain and completing a record high of 270 pushups! Both workouts completed before early afternoon.
Day #29
Day 29 is in the books.
Day #30
Bad weather today! Lots of rain. I think I just made it but as you can see from the video. Lights rain during the workout.
Day #31
It is Friday! The rain has stopped! Day 31 is complete!
Day #32
Today had a nice 1 hours run. Knocked out 310 push-ups and a 45 minute ruck.
Day #33
Liking the Go Ruck!
Day #34
Kind of a low energy day but got it down. Everyone has allergies or colds. Not sure what.
Day #35
This was a killer day. I have dropped below 98kg (97.7kg). This one of my “dangerous weights” in that I have hit this range a couple of times over the last few years only to rebound. Will have to fight thought to get to the next level.
Additionally the outdoor workout was 4 hours at the Cleveland Zoo as a helped for my kids school field trip. A great time except for my kids friends all yelling, “hey why can’t your day keep up?” I was pretty down about them kicking my butt but then my wife reminded me, I was the only one not tired at the end of the day. I may not have to 25 year old legs anymore but my endurance and strength has definitely improved.
Day #36
Another day completed
Day #37
Another day completed. Fighting allergies and a cold!
Day #38
Another day completed. Still fighting allergies and a cold!
Day #39
Day #40
Day #41
Day #42
Day #43
Day #44
Day #45
Day #46
