In August 2019 I discovered Andy Frisella's podcast "The MFCEO Project", it came to me at exactly the right time in my life. I had been mentally struggling for the past 2.5 years with a complete overhaul of my life moving from Australia to Israel and was still in a "victim mentality" mindset. I started binge-listening to all of Ed Mylett's and Andy Frisella's podcasts and the overall theme was, take responsibility of your life, do the hard work, keep going, be authentic, take the harder road, never give up; and in time you will be happier and more successful. Slowly my mindset began to shift and I started seeing positive changes in my life. I discovered his #75Hard mental toughness podcast and was up for a challenge, so the next day I began the program.
75 Hard Daily Rules (for 75 days):
Follow a diet. This can be a diet of your choice with zero cheat meals.
No alcohol
Take a daily progress pic
2 workouts of 45 minutes a day (not back to back), one must be outdoors
Drink 1 gallon of water (approx. 3.8L)
Read 10 pages of a non-fiction book (audio books do not count)
You have until you go to sleep to complete the daily tasks. If you fail 1 task, you start from Day 1 again.
I went all in, 100% strict, no compromise on anything. I was like a soldier! On Day 28 of the program 2019 I failed, my food plan was too tight and I was struggling (it was Rosh Hashana here) and I wanted to eat a big meal and have a glass of wine with the family. Day 1 started again the next day. I failed again second attempt on Day 10, I knew it was likely (I flew a long haul flight to Australia and with the connection time I only completed one workout not two, and not outdoors). Even with not completing the program, these 2 attempts I felt more driven, purposeful, energetic and confident in my life, my mental toughness was growing.
Fast forward to March 2020, the first quarantine lockdown. I knew this was my time to succeed in completing 75 Hard. I adapted quickly to the worldwide pandemic, and found a "new" daily routine with home schooling, home training and running a training business online- not an ideal situation, it was thrive or survive and I chose to thrive. I made some positive changes in my work structure, had some tougher adult conversations and felt stronger within myself. I focused on winning each day. My training consisted of an upper body/ lower body split, with abs and yoga for recovery and walking daily. Halfway through, fatigue was catching up and I tripped and fell over walking, bruised both hands and knees. Normally I would have taken a few days off to recover, but failing was not an option so I got creative and changed my program and kept going. I completed the program successfully in May 2020, and desperately needed some recovery days! Phase 1 is the second part of the program, but my mind and body were not ready for another 30 days of going hard with extra tasks to complete- I tried many attempts but kept failing 1 thing every few days.
I continued most of the good habits (with recovery days for the next few months). In September 2020 Israel went into a second lockdown. I knew how well the first round went for me in March so I decided to do it again. In the beginning it seemed too easy, but then again fatigue set in and it became an ongoing challenge. My food plan this time around was a "reverse diet" to get myself out of a calorie deficit and into maintenance and finish in a slight surplus without gaining much body fat. I did this very successfully and put on only 0.5kg over the 75 days. I have read around 15 books over the past year which have helped develop my mindset, spirituality, relationships, confidence, knowledge in my industry, marketing and business.
This time around I took advantage of the situation and really focused on growing my outdoor training business within the community, to build a vibe and a tribe and continue to serve. I re-established fitness business connections in Australia and with the help of Dan - my business coach, I continue to set goals, push myself out of my comfort zone and grow with a positive mindset and a solution focused attitude. My mental health and wellbeing is 100% in a different place than I was only 1 year ago. I did the work, I made the changes, I chose "the harder path", am I am reaping the internal rewards. I completed the #75hard program for the second time this year last week (December 2020) and I am very proud of myself both mentally and physically for finishing. Again it was a battle with fatigue management and I knew I was pushing the boundaries, I became run down and a little sick within the last two weeks, but I modified my workouts, embraced the suck, and did it anyway.
Moving forward I have set new goals, I am keeping again all of the habits that I have instilled this year (and yes habits take more than 21 days to form- more like 8-12 months, but hey, everyone's different). I feel more at peace within myself and ready to hit 2021 running. Not everyday is happy and super productive but this is life and if it was easy it would be boring!
Personal business plug (it's my blog) - I write online monthly programs for home or the gym, I do online nutrition consulting and if you live in Zurit and Gilon (Israel), I run group outdoor training, with classes twice a day everyday. Please contact me if you need help with accountability, a periodised program that works, mindset, weight loss, getting stronger, leaner and becoming a beast, even while training at home...everything is possible!
I also have a private Facebook group -Kara Hirsch Fitness Inner Circle, which is totally free. I add weekly workouts, weekly challenges, and information about eating whole real foods, I would love you to join.