Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then it’s highly likely that someone you know has been participating in and posting about the “75 Hard Challenge” on social media. But if you’re still unfamiliar with it, then we should explain that it’s a 75-day plan created by motivational speaker, podcaster, author, and supplement company owner Andy Frisella, and it was created as a way to help others change their lives for the better and lose weight.
For Teen Mom 2 star Cole DeBoer, it was exactly what he needed to help him get rid of his self-proclaimed “dad bod”. To do the challenge correctly, though, Chelsea Houska‘s husband had to follow a diet, work out twice a day for at least 45 minutes, drink four liters of water per day, read 10 pages of nonfiction per day, take a 5-minute cold shower, take progress photos every day, and perform other unrelated tasks like a random act of kindness or talk to someone in person daily.
To us, this challenge sounded tough, but Cole recently sat down for an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife and revealed why doing the challenge was one of the best decisions he’s ever made — leading us to wonder whether or not we should try doing it ourselves.
“I needed something more challenging” than normal, everyday workouts, Cole revealed. He said he has “always been competitive” throughout his life and started to feel like he was “getting a little bit of a dad bod” due to “eating everything in sight.” Especially during quarantine. So once Chelsea mentioned the challenge to him a couple months ago, he decided to start just two days later.
And because his “family was involved” along the way, and “watching” him do the challenge, Cole said, “I didn’t want them to see me fail.” So that’s primarily what kept him motivated throughout all 75 days. And it’s a good thing Cole’s family did help him because if he missed out on doing any one of the challenge’s daily tasks, he would have had to start all over again.
In the end, Cole lost a total of 15 lbs. from beginning to end, which you can see in the before and after pics above, but the biggest change he noticed was more mental. “It was just how I feel in general. I feel good, feel healthy, and when I’m out playing with my kids outside [now], I’m just ready to go. I’m not tired. I’m non-stop now, so I think I’m feeling more healthy and motivated to do things,” he told us.
Cole also explained that his diet included “eggs, [and] ezekiel bread.” He also said, “I became a huge fan of avocados, and I never ate avocados before. [I ate] just meat, no sauces — you know, I didn’t church it up — [it was] just basic. And I had to drink a gallon of water per day.”
And thanks to supplements (NG NUTRA) sold at a local store in South Dakota, Cole said he was able to “plow through” both of his workouts on a daily basis without getting sore. In fact, he said the supplements “played a massive role” in helping him complete the challenge.
But that also doesn’t mean the challenge was easy for Cole. He went on to say that he’d often have to implement “goofy” workouts in the morning — like “throwing around a cinder block” — to keep himself motivated. And let’s be honest — everyone who’s been working out at home during quarantine knows it’s not always easy to stay motivated, so we’re happy that Cole shared this valuable tip with us to use in the future. Someone get us some cinder blocks, STAT!
Anyway, Cole thinks that anyone who’s looking for a serious change in their life should “dive in” and try this 75-day plan. “It’s definitely worth it,” he said, and if you need more proof than that, just take a look at his result above.
Want more from Cole? Catch new episodes of Teen Mom 2 every Tuesday at 9pm on MTV.