75 Hard Phases 1 and 2 – My Experience and Advice

My experience tackling Phases 1 and 2 of the 75 Hard Challenge! I cover what the 75 Hard Phases involve, why I decided to do them, how they compared to 75 Hard, and some final takeaways and advice.

One of the best things I did in 2022 was 75 Hard. I have a previous blog post where you can read all about my experience completing the 75 Hard challenge. But did you know the challenge doesn’t have to end there?

The Live Hard Program

75 Hard is actually part of a year long Live Hard Program designed by Andy Frisella. He says to, ‘think of it like an Ironman for your brain.’

The Live Hard Program has 4 stages:

• 75 Hard – for 75 days
• 75 Hard Phase 1 – for 30 days
• 75 Hard Phase 2 – for 30 days
• 75 Hard Phase 3 – for 30 days

After completing 75 Hard, I felt really motivated and excited. So knew I wanted to take it on 75 Hard Phase 1.

How to Do the 75 Hard Phases

There are a number of guidelines on how to go about completing the 75 Hard phases in the Live Hard Program. Basically you need to complete all four stages within a one year period if you want to finish the whole program.

• You can start Phase 1 immediately after finishing 75 Hard, or you can wait any amount of time to start it. I finished 75 Hard on April 18th and completed it on July 1st. I then initially started Phase 1 on August 15th, but decided to restart it on September 1st. I did it over the month of September (which is conveniently 30 days!)
• Between Phase 1 and Phase 2 there’s a mandatory break of at least 30 days. I then wanted to start Phase 2 on January 1st. But life got in the way and I ended up starting it for real on February 1st.
• Phase 3 has to be completed in the final 30 days leading up to the anniversary of starting 75 Hard. I started 75 Hard on April 18th, 2022, so if (it’s a big if) I wanted to do Phase 3 I would need to begin it on March 19th to complete the Live Hard Program on April 17th, 2023.

What is 75 Hard Phase 1?

75 Hard is a 30-day program that you can do after completing 75 Hard. It looks a lot like 75 Hard with the usual daily tasks, but there are some extras to add to your list:

The usual 75 Hard daily tasks:

• Take a Progress Picture
• Complete 2, 45 Minute Workouts (one must be outdoors)
• Read 10 Pages of a Non-Fiction, Self-Development Focused Book (No Audiobooks)
• Drink a Gallon of Water
• Follow a Healthy Diet (No Alcohol or Cheat Meals)

The 3 extra tasks for 75 Hard Phase 1:

• 5-minute cold shower
• 10 minutes of visualisation
• 3 Power List items

Andy Frisella’s Power List Tasks

Andy Frisella talks about a Power List of critical items to move you forward in your goals. For 75 Hard Phase 1 you come up with three to complete every day. He describes them like this:

Critical power list tasks are tasks that you must complete every day to help you make progress toward your goals. These aren’t checklist tasks, tasks on the program, chores, or habits that you already have developed. Critical tasks are the most important things you aren’t already doing that will help create the future you want for yourself.

The 3 Power List Items on my list were:

• Read a chapter of the Bible – to move me forward in my most important goal of deepening my relationship with Christ
• Do 10 mins of Korean – to move me forward in my desire to learn conversational Korean
• No phone in bed – to move me forward in my goal of bettering my sleeping habits

Daily Tasks on 75 Hard Phase 1

Essentially my list of daily tasks to complete during 75 Hard Phase 1 consisted of 10 items: the 5 regular 75 Hard tasks, and the 5 extra Phase 1 tasks. Here’s a screenshot of my Day 6 of 75 Hard Phase 1. I made a list like this every day of 75 Hard Phase 1 and checked it off throughout the day.

I also shared the completed list at the end of the day on my Instagram stories (note the time on this day was 12:42am, so not the best for getting to bed at a reasonable hour, but I’m still working on that goal). Sharing my list publicly was a helpful way to keep myself accountable, but it was mostly for me to keep track of everything. And who doesn’t love checking things off a list?!

What is 75 Hard Phase 2?

In 75 Hard Phase 2 you basically do 75 Hard again, but for 30 days instead of 75 days. The point of this phase is about recovery. I tried to keep up with some of my additional tasks from 75 Hard Phase 1, just because they were great daily habits I wanted to re-integrate into my life. But some days I didn’t get to them, and that was ok.

Why did I decide to do 75 Hard Phase 1 and 2?

There’s a number of reasons why I decided to do 75 Hard Phases 1 and 2. I think the tasks are good ones, and provide motivation to add healthy habits and tasks that I want to be incorporated into my daily life.

I also just had a really great experience doing 75 Hard. It was just the push I needed to get back into healthier habits and to better prioritise my own health and wellness. Especially after the pandemic and a trying two years of family challenges.

It’s possible I was trying to recapture those initial feelings I experienced doing 75 Hard of motivation and accomplishment, that made those first 75 days so impactful for me.

So, what were the results?

My Approach to 75 Hard

My approach to 75 Hard Phases 1 and 2 was quite different to 75 Hard. And I think there were pros and cons to my experience as a result.

I went into 75 Hard determined to complete the challenge and all of the daily tasks to a tee. I measured out a gallon of water every day. And made sure I drank every last drop. I timed my 45-minute workouts, and tried to ensure there were at least a few hours between the workouts to really follow the ‘rules’. Basically, I paid a lot of attention to following all of the 75 Hard guidelines.

I experienced a lot of positive outcomes from 75 Hard, and I think it’s a lot to do with how closely I was trying to follow the protocol. The guidelines gave me parameters to focus on, and I’m the kind of person who appreciates that. I felt driven to meet those expectations, and the perfectionist in me wanted to do so as, well, perfectly as possible.

It wasn’t easy, but I so appreciated the feeling of accomplishment that came from pushing through those hard days, and that 75-day period was one of the more productive and disciplined I’ve had in my life. I miss it sometimes!

But, there were also downsides to me approaching 75 Hard this way. In order to check off the daily tasks and requirements, I made some decisions that I wouldn’t want to make on a consistent basis long term – like doing yoga at midnight to fit in my second workout, or drinking half a gallon of water right before bed to finish my water intake requirements. Sleep is important too! And I struggle a lot with it. So long term, I the healthier decision for me would be to just go to bed, and to give myself a better chance of sleeping through the night.

Taking a Different Approach to 75 Hard Phases 1 and 2

As a result, going into 75 Hard Phases 1 and 2, I took a less hard-lined approach. I wanted to make the structure of 75 Hard part of my daily life, and I used these Phases as a way to help facilitate that habit forming process. I still completed all of the required tasks every day. But I roughly estimated my water intake, and counted herbal tea as part of that gallon of water (hot tea is how I get through the winter!) I also didn’t time my 5-minute cold showers (which were definitely my least favorite part of the challenge), but just tried to count it out in my head. I’m sure there were times I was short of 5 minutes, but even so I felt like I got the point of the task.

I ended up restarting both Phases because at first I felt like I wasn’t doing them as well as I did 75 Hard. I thought I could probably do them ‘better’. Eventually I let go of my need to complete the challenge ‘perfectly’ though, because that’s not why I was doing it.

I think that Andy Frisella, the creator of 75 Hard, would probably say I didn’t properly complete Phases 1 and 2 of 75 Hard.

But I didn’t do it for Andy Frisella. I did it for me.

Some Final Takeaways and Advice

75 Hard is all about what you put into it. I was fully committed to the first 75 days of the challenge, and I got a lot out of it. During 75 Hard Phases 1 and 2, I was a bit more loose with it, so I probably didn’t grow as much in my mental toughness as I could have.

BUT I gained in a lot of other ways. I’ve been learning how to incorporate the healthy habits and tasks of 75 Hard in a more sustainable way. And that’s really valuable to me. Daily walks are an almost automatic habit. I definitely drink more water than I ever did before, even if it might not be 1 galloon every day. And I now try to read a chapter of a book every day, even if it’s not 10 pages.

So my main piece of advice for taking on 75 Hard and its subsequent phases, is to make the challenge your own. Put your best into it, and get out of it what you need to do, whatever that looks like for you. If you’re the type of person who needs strict guidelines and hard-lined rules to push you to get things done, then go for it. I’m glad I approached 75 Hard that way myself, because I finished off Day 75 knowing I could do it.

But if you sometimes need to tone down perfectionistic tendencies in order to have a healthier lifestyle balance, or you need to adjust guidelines to be more realistic for you and your current situation, I personally think it’s ok to adjust this, and any challenge, to get what you need to get out of it. Others might disagree. But you’re likely not doing it for them. You’re probably doing it for you. So do what’s best for you!

My Future with 75 Hard

I don’t know if I’ll do 75 Hard Phase 3. Writing this blog post made me realize if I wanted to try to complete the Live Hard Program, I better decide soon! And the completionism in me is already balking at the idea of not finishing the program off, even if not perfectly…So stay tuned to see what I decide. Right now I don’t even know myself.

Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Maybe someday I’ll try the whole Live Hard program again with a more regimented approach. But even if I don’t, I feel like I’ve gotten out of 75 Hard what I’ve wanted to for now.

And I’m really grateful for what I’ve learned through the experience.

Have you done 75 Hard, and/or any of the Phases? Do you want to? I’d love to hear from you, feel free to comment below, send me a DM on Instagram, or an e-mail anytime!