On this page
- What is the LIVEHARD program?
- What are the four stages of LIVEHARD?
- What changes in Phase 1?
- Why is there a 30-day wait before Phase 2?
- What are the Phase 3 rules?
- What does a LIVEHARD year look like on a calendar?
- How do you keep winning days between phases?
- Frequently asked questions
- Where do these facts come from?
The short answer (checked November 1, 2026): LIVEHARD is Andy Frisella's one-year mental toughness program. It has four stages: 75 Hard (75 days), Phase 1 (30 days, adds a cold shower, three extra Power List tasks and visualization), Phase 2 (30 days of the 75 Hard rules) and Phase 3 (the last 30 days before your 75 Hard anniversary, adding a conversation with a stranger and an act of kindness).
What is the LIVEHARD program?
LIVEHARD is a year-long mental toughness program created by Andy Frisella, who calls it "an Ironman for your brain." It has four stages that must be done in order inside one year: 75 Hard, then Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3. Every stage follows a zero-compromise rule with restarts for any miss.
The rules come from Andy Frisella's article What is the LIVEHARD Program? (January 1, 2023). He says the program builds "confidence, grit, discipline, fortitude, self-worth, self-belief, and self-esteem," which he treats as skills built through execution, not traits you are born with. He also says it is meant to be repeated every year, not done once.
What are the four stages of LIVEHARD?
Stage one is 75 Hard, 75 days. Stage two is Phase 1, 30 days with extra tasks. After a required break of at least 30 days comes Phase 2, 30 days of the original 75 Hard rules. Stage four, Phase 3, fills the final 30 days before the anniversary of your 75 Hard start.
| 75 Hard | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 75 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days |
| When | Start of your year | Any time after 75 Hard | At least 30 days after Phase 1 | Last 30 days before your 75 Hard anniversary |
| Gallon of water | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Read 10 pages of non-fiction | Yes | Yes (no audiobooks) | Yes | Yes |
| Two 45-minute workouts, one outdoors | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Follow a diet, no alcohol or cheat meals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Progress picture | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 5-minute cold shower | Yes | Yes | ||
| 3 extra critical Power List tasks | Yes | Yes | ||
| 10 minutes of visualization | Yes | |||
| Conversation with a stranger | Yes | |||
| Random act of kindness | Yes | |||
| If you miss a task | Restart 75 Hard | Restart Phase 1 | Restart Phase 2 | Restart all of LIVEHARD |
Source: What is the LIVEHARD Program?, checked November 1, 2026. The article lists the Phase 3 tasks as the five base tasks plus the cold shower and three critical tasks, then the two new ones; it does not list visualization in Phase 3.
What changes in Phase 1?
Phase 1 keeps every 75 Hard task for 30 more days and adds three: a five-minute cold shower that is genuinely cold, three extra critical Power List tasks toward your goals, and 10 minutes of dedicated visualization. You may start it right after 75 Hard or later, but missing a day restarts Phase 1.
The three extra critical tasks follow the Power List definition: things that move you toward your goals that you are not already doing, not chores or existing habits. The article is explicit that they are extra: if you already run a five-task Power List, Phase 1 adds three more on top.
Timing matters. If you finish Phase 1 too late in your year to fit the last two stages, the article says you restart the whole program from day one of 75 Hard.
Why is there a 30-day wait before Phase 2?
The official rules say you must wait at least 30 days after Phase 1 before starting Phase 2, and those days do not count toward it. Andy Frisella says this is by design, to teach the power of keeping momentum when no program is forcing you. Phase 2 then repeats the 75 Hard rules for 30 days.
What you do in that gap is up to you. It is the first point in the year where the structure disappears, which is why many people use it to keep a daily Power List or another daily system running.
What are the Phase 3 rules?
Phase 3 is the final 30 days before the anniversary of your 75 Hard start. You keep the five base tasks, the cold shower and the three critical tasks, and add a real conversation with a stranger and a random act of kindness each day. One miss, or a late start, restarts the whole program.
The article sets a high bar for both new tasks. "A greeting is not a conversation." And kindness should not be the same easy act every day: "Don't go out and buy 30 flowers to gift to new people each day."
What does a LIVEHARD year look like on a calendar?
If you start 75 Hard on January 1, 2027, it ends March 16. Phase 1 can run March 17 to April 15. The required break runs to May 15, so Phase 2 can start May 16 and end June 14. Phase 3 must run December 2 to December 31, 2027.
| Stage | Earliest dates if 75 Hard starts January 1, 2027 |
|---|---|
| 75 Hard | January 1 to March 16 |
| Phase 1 | March 17 to April 15 |
| Required break | April 16 to May 15 (at least 30 days) |
| Phase 2 | May 16 to June 14, or any 30 days before December 2 |
| Free stretch | June 15 to December 1 |
| Phase 3 | December 2 to December 31 (fixed by your anniversary) |
We worked these dates out from the official rules; the article's own example is a 75 Hard start on January 31, 2022, with Phase 3 from January 1 to January 30, 2023. The long free stretch before Phase 3 is the part most people do not plan for.
How do you keep winning days between phases?
The gaps are long: in the sample calendar there are almost six months between Phase 2 and Phase 3. A daily system keeps the habit alive. You can run a paper Power List, use the 75 Hard app, or use The Operator Standard, which plans five tasks a day from your goals.
Three options, from least to most structure:
- A paper Power List. Five critical tasks, every day, won or lost. It costs nothing but a notebook. See how the Power List works.
- The 75 Hard app ($4.99 a month in the US App Store), which tracks the program and lists Live Hard as the next step. See Andy Frisella's apps compared.
- The Operator Standard ($50 a month or $500 a year on the website). Its official FAQ says you can run 75 Hard inside it, and that it is "built to support your entire life long-term, not 75 days of it." ARCANE AI suggests daily tasks from your goals and a crew sees whether you won.
We work on The Operator Standard, so weigh that last option accordingly. Compare all three in The Operator Standard vs 75 Hard and read what to do after 75 Hard.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the LIVEHARD program?
One year. Andy Frisella's official article says all four stages, 75 Hard, Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3, must be completed over the course of a year, 'no longer, no shorter,' with Phase 3 ending on the anniversary of starting 75 Hard.
What are the Phase 1 rules?
Phase 1 lasts 30 days. You keep all five 75 Hard tasks and add a five-minute cold shower, three extra critical Power List tasks and 10 minutes of visualization every day. Miss anything and you restart Phase 1 from day one.
Do you have to wait between phases?
You may start Phase 1 right after 75 Hard or wait. After Phase 1, the official rules require at least 30 days off before Phase 2. Phase 3 must fill the last 30 days before the anniversary of your 75 Hard start date.
What happens if you fail Phase 3?
You restart the whole LIVEHARD program from day one of 75 Hard. The official article says a single miss in Phase 3, or failing to start it in time for your anniversary window, sends you back to the beginning.
Is there a LIVEHARD app?
The 75 Hard app from 44Seven Media lists the Live Hard program as the next step after 75 Hard and costs $4.99 a month in the US App Store. The official article also points to The Book on Mental Toughness for the full program.
Where do these facts come from?
- What is the LIVEHARD Program? (January 1, 2023): four stages, every task, timing rules, restart rules, the January 31 example, yearly repeat, The Book on Mental Toughness
- The Power List: Critical Tasks: what counts as a critical task
- 75 Hard on the US App Store: price and Live Hard follow-on
- The Operator Standard on the US App Store and the official page: prices, 75 Hard FAQ answer
All checked November 1, 2026. This page is from a member of The Operator Standard team; Andy Frisella did not write, review or endorse it. See our editorial policy.