Lisa and Matt’s Journey with 75 Hard

Lisa Hunter here! I am going to share with you our storyline with this challenge! But first, what is the 75 Hard? A little history… it was created in 2019 by entrepreneur Andy Frisella, a podcaster and CEO of the supplement company 1st Phorm. 75 Hard is not a fitness challenge but a “transformative mental toughness program,” according to the program’s website.

Frisella created 75 Hard after interviewing James Lawrence, known as the Iron Cowboy for completing 50 Ironman races in 50 consecutive days across all 50 states. After Lawrence told Frisella that you must intentionally put yourself in places that are uncomfortable to develop mental fortitude, Frisella was inspired to create 75 Hard. The rules are

• Follow a diet (no alcohol)
• Complete two 45-minute workouts, one of which must be outdoors.
• Take a progress picture.
• Drink 1 gallon of water.
• Read 10 pages of a book (audiobooks not included).

Our journey began in the spring of 2022 when Matt told me he would do the program for the first time. I had heard of it at the time, but the thought of doing it never crossed my mind! “75 Hard?” I thought, “why would he do that?” Matt asked me if I wanted to join him, and my immediate reaction was, “nope!” With the combination of traveling a lot while he was doing it and some dread, I just didn’t see how I’d be able to do it.

I also knew that I wasn’t mentally ready to do the program. I felt like I had to decide for myself, not be asked to do it. Looking back, I think this was definitely the right decision. Instead of joining Matt with 75 Hard, I just supported him through it. (Side piece of health advice, don’t start a self-help program on “shoulds,” do it because you want to!)

Deciding to Do 75 Hard

After Matt had finished 75 Hard the first time, two of our good friends, Toby and Shelly, came up to us. They told us they planned to do the program starting on Sept. 1 and wanted to know if we would join them.

At first, I was hesitant because I have a tendency to give up on things easily. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to follow a program that strictly for a full 75 days. But at the same time, I thought committing to the program with friends was perfect. With someone else involved, I knew we’d be able to hold each other accountable, including at events.

I also looked at when the 75 days would end and saw it would end by Thanksgiving. Perfect timing,  Once I realized it wouldn’t interfere with the holidays, I was ready to jump in.

The Overall Experience

During 75 Hard, I was very focused. I feel like once you get about three or four weeks into the program, you have already hit a rhythm and know you aren’t going to miss anything. That’s especially important for a program like 75 Hard because if you miss a task, you have to start over at day one. Scary, right? For me, I wasn’t confident that if I started over I’d would finish the full 75 days, so you bet I was determined not to miss a task.

There were a few different challenges and fears during the program. One of the biggest was my mental space and how I thought about the challenge. I had to remind myself that the goal of 75 Hard isn’t about weight loss, decreasing my body fat, or any other physical fitness goal. It is about creating a routine and forming mental toughness. Before starting, I knew I lacked that routine and toughness, so reshaping this mindset was a big pitfall!

The fact that 75 Hard involves two workouts a day was also a big physical challenge, as your body never really gets a rest. You just feel sore and tired all the time! On top of that, you also are required to drink an insane amount of water and stick to a specific diet!

My biggest fear during the program was that I would get sick or injured to the point that I wouldn’t be able to complete it. Luckily, that never happened. I had some soreness, but it was never even close enough to make me consider having to quit.

Day One Was the Hardest – Largely Due to Circumstances,

I can’t talk about the challenges of doing 75 Hard without mentioning day one. That was the hardest day of the program for me, but a lot of it was because of the circumstances, not necessarily anything about the program itself.

We were moving our son Cole into college in Phoenix, so I was already emotional and stressed. If you’ve ever been to Phoenix in the summer, you know it is extremely hot. Because of our schedule, we had to do our daily walk in the afternoon. We could do the gym workout earlier in the morning in our hotel, but the walk had to wait.

The problem was that by the time we could do the walk, it was the afternoon (cough cough the worst part of the day since it’s so hot!) We ended up having to do a 45-minute walk without any shade. It was incredibly hot, and I remember questioning myself for why I ever signed up for it. “What is the point of this silly challenge?” I thought. Nevertheless, through the hot and miserable walk, we did it. And after that tough day, there wasn’t another day that was as hard.

But – I Felt Energized

While one of the big challenges of the program was the soreness and feeling tired, there was also a really interesting flip side to this. I felt like I got back all the energy I put into the workouts. Whenever I struggled to finish the two workouts, I would just tell myself that once I did both of them, I could take a nap later in the day - but I never had to take a nap! Overall, I just felt so energetic during 75 Hard. In fact, I felt my best during those 75 days.

How Doing It Together Helped

The fact that Matt and I were doing 75 Hard together made it much easier than it would have been otherwise. We could hold each other accountable. We could also do workouts together when we wanted, including when we were traveling. We’d do most of the gym workouts separately, but the time we had on our morning walks together was irreplaceable!

For me, the biggest reward of the program was completing it. I felt proud and accomplished that I completed the 75-day program and stuck to it. I put my mind to something, persevered, and achieved it. Another reward that I didn’t expect, was seeing the changes in my body. This isn’t necessarily in terms of measurable changes, but just seeing body changes in the photos and the inches I lost. The best part was the mindset change I experienced, from a weight loss challenge to a mental toughness challenge. Some lost weight was a nice benefit though!

Tips for Others

To anyone considering embarking on this challenge, I suggest that you get started early on in the day. We woke up at about 5 or 5:15 in the morning and would do our 3-mile, 45-minute walk. Then, we’d get a gym workout in later in the day. I also suggest starting to drink water early. A gallon is a lot of water, and you won’t be able to drink it all easily if you don’t start in the morning! 

This challenge was an incredible experience; I think there are so many individuals out there who want to learn how to follow through and stay disciplined throughout their day, I was one of them. The objective felt unreachable, but I learned that even I could learn to control myself and build the mental toughness I always wanted!