The 75 Hard Challenge — a 75-day regimen that provides strict rules for diet, exercise and self-improvement — doesn’t hide the fact that it’s demanding and difficult to do. “Hard” is right there in the name.
Still, it’s buzzy and popular, with participants showing off impressive results on social media. The #75HardChallenge hashtag has more than 1 billion views on TikTok.
For people who want to join the movement, but find it too difficult, there’s 75 Soft, which can be a more feasible way to do the program, experts say.
“I think it’s both doable and realistic for most people,” Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, tells TODAY.com.
“When getting started with a health, fitness and nutrition routine, the best one is always going to be the one that’s not so overwhelming,” added Louise Valentine, a certified personal trainer, the 2023 American College of Sports Medicine Practitioner of the Year and owner of Breaking Through Wellness.
What is 75 Soft?
It’s a gentler, less intimidating and less strict version of 75 Hard. It still has daily guidelines for diet, exercise and self-improvement, but the rules are more flexible and less demanding.
The 75 Soft Challenge is widely credited to have been created by Stephen Gallagher, a fitness influencer in Ireland known as @stephengfitness on TikTok.
In a video he posted in 2021, viewed 2.5 million times since then, Gallagher describes the challenge this way: “It’s like the 75 Hard, but for people who don’t have the time for two 45-minute workouts a day.”
75 Hard vs. 75 Soft
Here is how the two challenges compare:
75 Hard challenge rules
Do the following every day for 75 days:
- Pick a diet to follow, with no alcohol or cheat meals.
- Drink a gallon of water daily.
- Complete two 45-minute workouts of your choice every day. One must be outside, regardless of the weather.
- Read 10 pages per day of a non-fiction book.
- Take a progress photo every day.
- If you…
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