Today I’m releasing something that I’ve talked about for a long, long time.

The IMPOSSIBLE standards.

In a world that shies away from impossible standards, we’re inundated with propaganda telling you to be less:

“That can’t be done”

“Aim lower”

“Stop trying so hard”

I’m going to step in and just let out one big.

F——– THAT

IMPOSSIBLE Standards

IMPOSSIBLE Standards are a standard. They are binary. Either you get there or you don’t. There’s no waffling, no half measures, and no consolation prizes.

Most people won’t like that. They’ll say they’re too hard or not realistic. They’ll give up before they start.

The proper response to an impossible standard is not to throw your hands up and pretend like you have no control over the situation.

Instead, you should go after it.

Fail. Get dirty. Bloody. Scraped up. Bruised. Then get yourself back up. And. Try again. (Thanks Aaliyah).

They’re called impossible for a reason. Most people can do this. But most people won’t train to become capable. And few will try.

The correct response to IMPOSSIBLE is NOT to give up trying, but to try any damn way instead.

Again, this is a set of standards. Not just a singular measurement.

These are supposed to be hard individually, not impossible. What makes them impossible is hitting them all within a reasonable time frame (30 days).

It’s difficult to do 50 pushups. But totally doable. Do that while running a good marathon time, fast mile time and still deadlift and bench a respectable amount? That’s a challenge.

So without further ado. Here they are. They will be updated here live, but the current iteration is below:

Name	Standard	Target	Last Test		Movement
Marathon	3:45	3:45		No	Endurance
Half Marathon	1:45	1:45		No	Endurance
Mile	6:00	6:00		No	Speed
Pushups	50	50		No	Bodyweight
Bench Press	1.25x BW	250		No	Barbell
100 Burpees	9:30	9:30		No	HIIT
500m Row	1:30	1:30		No	Endurance
2000m Row	7:00	7:00		No	Endurance
Pullups	20	20		No	Bodyweight
Squat	2x BW	400		No	Barbell
Deadlift	2x BW	400		No	Barbell
Single Leg Pistol	10 unbroken			No	Bodyweight
Handstand Hold	30 seconds			No	Bodyweight

Personally, they’re still a bit aspirational for me (basically an impossible list of fitness goals). That said, putting it out there – like putting the impossible list out there – is incredibly helpful for me to focus my training.

There are some athletes who may be able to hit them already. You may be able to do some. You probably can’t do all of them right now (if you can, right now, video it and I’ll send you some gear and we’ll put you down as the first finisher).

The current parameters (I reserve the right to update this as you guys become stronger, more badass and the “impossible” goal posts need to move).

• Complete the Standards within 30 days.
• Record them and have some sort of verification (video is best)
• Receive untold treasure and rewards.
• Do it again (must be a 6 month break between test dates).

Bonus points if you do it with an IMPOSSIBLE tattoo.

The goal is to be able to consistently be able to hit this standards. So, you can get multiple completions, but they have to be 6 months apart.

Coming soon, we’ll be releasing training program to hit the standards and some interactive, ongoing ways to get better at these individual skills on an ongoing basis.

In the meantime, write the standards down. Tattoo them on your brain. And get after it.

Coming out of Hell on the Hill 6 – I noticed a theme came out of nearly every conversation I had. They all started with these two questions:

• What challenge did you just do?
• What challenge are you doing next?

The best part about doing hard, ridiculous and sort of stupid challenges is that you filter out everyone not willing to do hard, ridiculous and sort of stupid challenges.

And, when you’re around those people – the types of conversations you have change.

How did that race go?

What’s the next challenge you’ve got coming up?

It’s not a posturing competition – it’s just the orientation of the people that show up.

Over and over, I started to notice that more and more of my conversations revolve around this and that those conversations are the ones I want to be having.

Case in point – last week – Chris threw out a rowing challenge. I’m not sure who took him up on it, but when I got back to my gym – I took a crack at it.

2 seconds slow.

But now I had a goal.

One bad weekend off and an otherwise un-noteworthy workout later – I got him.

Later that night, he got right back at me.

• I’ll text my brother and we’ll see who invoiced more over the weekend.
• Ping your friend to see who did more sales on their e-commerce biz.
• Race your rival to write that book proposal you’ve been sitting on.

It’s not about being better than the other person (even though that’s exactly what it’s about). Beat your friends. Smoke ‘em. But don’t smash them into the ground.

Make each other better.

Somewhere along the line – the switch – the societal story on success -got flipped.

Don’t compete.

Everyone’s a winner.

You’re just great as you are.

Garbage.

I hate to break it to you, but as it turns out – “who you are” might suck. You might be underselling yourself, cutting yourself way too much slack and being the worst version of yourself possible.

And deep down, you know it too – which is why you might have just cringed.

Who you are right now, might not be that great.

But who you could be – is much, much more.

But even it’s uncomfortable to get called out by a friend and have them pull you on towards something better – it’s better than being left sitting in the dirt as the rain starts to fall and pretending the mud being created is bathwater.

If you sit there long enough, you can convince yourself that you’re doing just fine when in reality, you’re laying in filth.

Trash that noise.

Get competitive with your friends.

• Challenge each other to make more money.
• Challenge each other to get more fit.
• Challenge each other go give more back.

Talk smack. Kick their ass. Suffer together.

Get better. Together.

Then do it all over again.

If you need a group to do it with, stay tuned here – I’ll running some challenges every week.

Every year the hill brings it’s own anger. Every year it shows it in a new way.

The first year was HOT.

The second year it rained.

This year, I thought I was ready…

Spoiler alert: you’re never ready.

This year, I thought I’d write a practical guide to Hell on the Hill – by the numbers – mostly determined by the thoughts going through my head as I did it.

Pre-Hill

The music is blasting,. You’re jacked on inspirational stories. Jesse and Sara donate $1,000 to a charity for every runner and before the race each runner takes a minute to tell about their story.

-After a 5 minute break and it’s time for the starting line.-

You’re jacked on inspirational stories. The music is blasting.

Start Line – “Let’s do this – LFG!”

Hill 5 – “Getting after it. I’m making great time.“

Hill 8 – “I’m at 10, right? You gotta be kidding me.“

Hill 20. – “This clicker is busted. I hate everything about this. Counting is a scam”

Early 30s – “I’m slowing down already. There is no way I’m going to finish”

No damn way.

I’m not even 1/3rd of the way done and I’m already slowing down.

Every Year, Hills 30-45 are the Dark Night Of the Soul
Far enough to be hard, but not far enough to see progress. It’s easily the hardest part of The Hill every year for me – even though it’s not physically the most demanding.

Hill 45 – “It’s hot as hell, but somehow I’m also almost halfway. Get to 51”

Hill 51 – “Finally, less to do than I’ve already done”

Hill 60 – “Mathematically, if you keep going, you will finish. Do not stop.”

Put your head down. Shut your brain up. And go.

Forget the counter. Forget the timer. Just get after it.

Up. Down. Up. Down.

Chunk it up. Stay cool. Keep going.

Then finish.

100 – “Boom. Done.”

Now do a bonus lap for good measure.

Enjoy.

#respectthehill
#youcandoanythingforfourhours
#grassgrowsback
#yougoupyougodown
#chipaway

previous HOTH recaps | HOTH4

What’s the thing?

The thing you’re meaning to do, but haven’t done “quite yet.”

It’s difficult, it’s hard, and you don’t want to do it yet.

Most people would say you need to do something else. Relax, lower your standards and do something easier.

But what if you don’t?

What if you need way more stress in your life.

If you’re feeling slow, stuck or need a change. Maybe you don’t need to have things be easier, or do less.

Maybe you need to wake the hell up.

Realize who the hell you are to say something like that and go back through what you’ve been through:

• You need to remember how bad that job was.
• How much it sucked to be overweight and be out of breath when you walked up a flight of stairs.
• How much it would suck to look someone in the eyes and tell them you failed.

You think things are bad now?

• You think it’s hard to hit the gym?
• You think it’s hard to send that invoice?
• You think it’s hard to make that phone call?

It’s only going to get harder.

Besides, you might not even be at your limit – you might just be stuck in a rut on low gear. Operating a mediocre version of yourself, bored on easy mode, and upset that you’re not making any progress.

You’re trying to street race in first gear.

Yeah, I get it.

Life is hard. You’re stressed. Money is tight. You can’t remember the last time you weighed this much. You have a lot of stuff going on.

But you have enough air to breathe so you’re not dead yet.

So maybe you need to wait till things get easier.

Or maybe you need things to get harder. To get backed up against a wall, with the walls closing in.

Are you really going to go out like that?

Become the person that can handle it.

Lean into it and fight your way out.

• Hit the gym.
• Send the invoice.
• Make the call.

Do the thing.

It’s only going to get harder.

I wrote this blog post a year+ back but never published it. I was going through my drafts and decided to share it today.

The other day, I ran across this tweet I really like:

I responded:

I got a question from a reader afterwards that asked what do you do when you physically feel like you can’t do that due to fatigue, illness or something else altogether.

I responded with a tweet storm but thought I’d share it with anyone on IMPOSSIBLE who’s dealing with similar issues.

So, without any further intro, here’s your simple action plan for when you feel like crap.

Maybe it will help.

Move Every Day

Sitting all day and feel weak? That’s because you’re sitting around all day feeling weak!

Your muscles aren’t doing crap, so they get worse and worse and moving every day is harder and harder. Soon, doing anything is a chore and everything is a big deal.

Easy fix: move every day.

Endorphins are real. Use them.

Run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, at least do something on your foam roller.

Cut Down On Sugar

Happy! Sad! HAPPY SAD HAPPY!

Ever feel like that?

You’re lacking emotional control, but your body is also screwing with you.

If you’re eating a normal diet, it’s almost guaranteed that you’re eating too much sugar and too many carbs.

They make you happy in the moment and screw you over in the long term.

Sugar messes with your body and screws with your mood.

Cut it down gradually.

Note that I’m not saying to cut it out completely. That’s because if you’re like most people, you’ll end up shivering in your closet like a heroin addict going through withdrawal.

But, cut it down over time and watch your moods level out, your mental clarity sharpen and you start to have greater control over your emotions.

Laugh

Laugh.

Force yourself to laugh about something every day. Find 15 minutes of comedy on Youtube or Netflix and anything Bill Burr does. Anything.

Doing something that sucks? Find the funny in it. There’s always something funny.

Running an ultra marathon back and forth over a 1 1/2 mile course over and over again? Laugh at the absurdity of it.

Running up a hill 100 times in a row. Just because you can? Hard AF, but hilarious if you zoom out and you’re one of the people on the boat laughing.

If you look for it, there’s always something to laugh about.

Even if you just do the thing where you look at an meme online and breath quickly through your nose – that counts.

Remember: Pain hurts less when you laugh at it.

Do Something Meaningful

People are taught that happiness = lack of pain.

People say that “you deserve happiness” like you can sit on your couch and happiness just descends from the heavens around your head.

That expectation is making you miserable. Full explanation here.

Pain isn’t bad. Pain just exists. But you get to choose the types of pain you get to experience. The pain of getting worse sucks. The pain of getting better is awesome. Pain for something worthwhile is awesome.

In other words, the pain of sitting on the couch and feeling awful sucks. Your muscles will ache, your lower back will hurt as your muscles atrophy and get weaker.

But, if you go to the gym, you feel pain too. It’s hard. But the pain of a workout lasts builds towards something bigger (being stronger, having more energy, being better).

Find the things that have meaning. Find the pain of getting better.

Do that.

Make SOME sort of progress each day.

Get Some Sleep

I like to think that I can get away without as much sleep as I need. Know what happens?

My body gets 8 hours of sleep. Whether I like it or not.

I can shortchange it for a bit – 6 hours here, 6 hours there – but after a while, my body gets 8 hours.

I’ll crash out for a 12 hour “nap” and my body will get the sleep it needs.

Want help falling asleep? Magnesium is your friend. Try it. It’s magical and you’re probably deficient in it anyways.

Still having trouble falling asleep – make sure you crossed off the something meaningful part on your list + push yourself physically (see the top of the post). Run a marathon and do something meaningful and still try telling yourself that it’s hard to fall asleep afterward. Good luck.

Naps Are Your Friend

Tired all the time? Sleeping too long? 

Waking up at noon and feeling like SH*T?

Try this instead.

Sleep 7 hours. Then get your A$$ out of bed by listening to this.

Then get up, drink cold water and move immediately.

Start your day, get stuff done and then get tired as hell at 1 or 2pm.

When you do – take a nap. 20-45 minutes max. Use this app. You’ll feel like a newborn baby coming into the day.

While everyone else is dragging, you’ll be like a puppy running around the office.

Here’s how you take the perfect power nap #boom

Oh, you work and can’t just nap in the middle of the day? You get a 30 minute lunch, right? Power eat the lunch at your desk and then sneak off to your car or a dark corner and take the power nap. Sound weird? Do it anyways. I dare you.

Take Lots of Alone Time

People are exhausting. Take alone time – otherwise you’re gonna get cranky.

While you’re at it, be judicious about who you give your time to and make sure that they’re adding to your life and not just draining it of energy and purpose.

You don’t need to answer every phone call. You don’t have to hang out or go to every function you’re invited to – especially if the people are mean, uninteresting or draining.

Be Consistent

You know what’s a great way to make NO progress?

Do something.

Then forget about it.

Then try it again.

Then not do it for a long time.

Then give it another shot and realize it’s still as hard as it was the first time.

That’s a great way to feel like you’re putting forth a lot of effort but making NO progress.

By the way, despite it being just as hard every single time you “re-try”, you’ll get approximately nothing done. 

Instead, be consistent.

Even if you’re not perfect every day, make sure you move forward and do something.

No zero days.

Get Sunlight

Get outside.

Yeah – that thing you’re avoiding because you feel like a slug. Go out into it, experience the sunlight and try to crack a smile.

Time that nap with some time outside – even better.

Now, you might be saying:

Hey Joel, I live in the Midwest, Canada or somewhere in Indiana. I haven’t seen the sun in 6 months and I’m not even sure that it is actually a real thing. I’m starting to think it’s a conspiracy designed to make me depressed until April.

Good point. I get it.

Here’s what you do: get a UV lamp. Stick it on your face. Brighten up buttercup. Winter will (eventually) be over…maybe (no guarantees if you’re in Indiana).

Also, if it gets bad, you can always move to a place with more sunlight. Seriously. That’s what I did. 

DO NOT GIVE UP. Keep Going

Whatever you do, do not give up. Keep going.

If you’re not dead, the game is not over. It’s only “over” when you give up.

Failing, screwing up or having a bad day is not failure. It’s just a bad day. Calm down, pick yourself back up and keep going.

In an ultra-marathon, you don’t fail if you run slower than normal. You only fail if you quit, pack your bags and walk off the course.

Stay the course.

Don’t quit.

You Got This

An object in motion stays in motion. It’s true for every object in the universe, and it’s true for you. Want to do more stuff? Starting doing more stuff (and then do more). Want to know why you feel so sluggish? It’s probably because you’re acting sluggish.

Act like the thing you want to be.

Act like it. Then be it.

You got this.

Now go do it.

If you’re interested, here’s the full tweet-storm that started this post.