LiveHard — Phase 1
Once I completed 75Hard, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next besides sleep, eat fries and donuts, and not exercise. I originally planned to take a couple of weeks off from most of the activity. I ended up taking three weeks and did absolutely nothing related to 75Hard. Part of that inactivity was due to us taking a few days for a short road trip to Arkansas. Our hotel had ghosts but no workout facility. And no, we didn’t encounter any ghosts.
After we returned from our trip, I went back to the podcast (#208 of The Real AF with Andy Frisella) and re-listened to what Andy Frisella said about the three phases of the LiveHard program. Doing that solidified in my mind that I wanted to continue with the entire year-long program, so I started preparing for Phase 1. Each phase lasts only 30 days and has all the elements of 75Hard plus a few additional elements. As with 75Hard, if any part of the three phases is missed, you go back to the start of that phase. The only exception is Phase 3, which if you fail Phase 3, you fail the entire program. I know…it sounds far too strict, but let me tell you this: as cheesy as it sounds, once I completed 75Hard, my belief in myself was and is stronger than it ever has been (at 58 years old, that’s saying something). The strict rules are what makes the program hard and well worth doing.
Phase 1 can be completed immediately after 75Hard (or you can take some time off) and includes the following tasks:
All the elements of 75Hard
10 minutes of active visualization
Three additional Power List tasks
A five-minute cold shower
A few notes on the three extra items:
If your mind wanders when doing the 10 minutes of visualization, stop your timer and start over.
The five minute cold shower can be right after your normal, not-cold shower. You can’t stick a toe or arm in…it has to be full body in the stream of water.
To learn more about the power list, listen to Episode 16 of The Real AF with Andy Frisella (“Win The Day Ft. Ben Newman”). Simply put the Power List is a daily list of five action steps that put you closer to accomplishing your goals. For example, I have a goal of running a 5K. An action step on my Power List might be to run outside for five minutes. If you do all five of your Power List items for the day, you’ve won the day. For Phase 1, the Power List starts with the five elements of 75Hard, then you add three additional items of your choosing to your list.
As I took some time to prepare for 75Hard, I did the same thing for Phase 1. First, I found a spiral notebook that I really liked to use for my daily Power List items. Inside the cover I taped a list of what is required for Phase 1. The day before I began I wrote out my Power List for the first day. Next, I knew the 10 minutes of visualization was going to be a challenge for me, so I scoured the internet for pictures to use for a vision board to help me keep my focus for the full 10 minutes. Having the pictures has been extremely helpful. As for the cold shower, there’s just no advanced preparation for that!
I am a week into Phase 1, and I’m enjoying being back into the program. I’ve been a little more diligent with my workouts in that I kept to my running in the morning and yoga or a walk in the evening and on weekends for the first week. The current weather where I live is brutal…it’s summer and we’re suffering through triple digits. That has affected what workouts I’ve done and when. If I’m going to run I have to get up early-some time during the 5:00am hour-to be able to run in reasonable temperatures. I can run in cold weather, but 90 degrees or above is too much for me, unless it’s raining. So much for being an all-weather runner. I’m hoping and praying for some wet weather and cooler temperatures soon. If I sleep in my first workout has been on the stationary bike. The great thing about that is I’m getting to bond with my 13 year old over “Stranger Things” while I ride. It’s not my favorite kind of show, as I don’t do scary, horror or gore, and there’s a lot of all three in the show. As long as she’s in there with me and I’m watching during daylight hours, this is good for me. This particular workout for me is more about the bonding than it is exercising, although I do still work up a good sweat.
Eating keto is just a what I do at this stage in my life, though I’m struggling to get back into ketosis. The three-week break was a fun time to eat things I don’t normally get to eat, but I just plain feel better not eating those things. I began Phase 1 at 157 pounds, and I’m down a couple of pounds already. But I’ve been trying to lose this weight since 2019, and I’m ready to get it done.
Progress pictures, the gallon of water, and reading are all going well. I’m currently reading “The Art of Living”, by Bob Proctor, and it’s a good read. My favorite reads during 75Hard, in case you’re looking for suggestions, are “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl (a challenging but worthy read), “Soundtracks”, by Jon Acuff (my favorite!) and “Love and Respect” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs (a fantastic book on the dynamic between husbands and wives). My three additional daily power list items of my choice have been to write for 30 minutes, homeschool planning, finish my vision board, learn a new business, and even a few household tasks that sometimes get set aside for too long (changing the tasks once I accomplish it).
The cold shower has been a surprise for me. It’s not nearly as bad as I was expecting! The first one was the most challenging, with the initial 90 seconds being fairly unbearable and me making it through the remaining time by continuing to move around (while staying in the water) and telling myself I could do it. As the days have gone by, it has become more bearable, even enjoyable. Another big surprise for me was that I didn’t have to run for a warm robe immediately after my cold shower. Our bodies are amazing machines-fearfully and wonderfully made-and I was amazed to realize that my body was warming up on its own, and I didn’t need the warm robe.
The 10 minutes of visualization has been the most difficult aspect of Phase 1. My mind constantly feels like there are squirrels running rampant up there, and I’ve struggled to get those never-ceasing thoughts to slow down. This was the exercise I needed to make that happen. For my first day of Phase 1, I think I started my timer over five or six times before I was able to focus even remotely well on visualizing. But the more I do it, the better I get and the better able I am to slow those squirrelly thoughts down. Another bonus: I’ve noticed those visualizations have slipped into my mind throughout the day, reminding me of what I’m trying to accomplish. They’ve been a nice surprise throughout my days.
So far Phase 1 has been a great experience. As I finish this blog post, I am on Day 8. The next two days will be particularly challenging as I have things going on both evenings, and it will be a real test to see if I can get through all of my Phase 1 tasks before my events. Just one more opportunity to do The Hard.
