75 Hard is a 75-day challenge with five daily rules: follow a diet with no cheat meals and no alcohol, do two 45-minute workouts (one outside), drink a gallon of water, read 10 pages of non-fiction and take a progress photo. Miss any task on any day and you start again from day 1. Its creator calls it a mental toughness program, not a fitness plan.
It has been one of the most searched fitness challenges for years, mostly thanks to before-and-after posts on TikTok and Instagram. Here are the actual rules, what they do well, where they go wrong, and the easier versions that may suit you better.
What is 75 Hard?
75 Hard was created by Andy Frisella, an American entrepreneur, supplement-company founder and podcaster. He describes it as a free 75-day mental toughness program, and is blunt that it isn’t meant to be a fitness challenge. The point is to prove to yourself that you can keep a set of commitments every day, with no excuses. The fitness changes are a side effect.
The program itself is free. There’s a paid book and app if you want them, but you don’t need either to do it.
The 75 Hard rules
Every day for 75 days, you must:
- Follow a diet. Any diet that suits your goals, with no cheat meals and no alcohol.
- Do two 45-minute workouts. They must be at least three hours apart, and one of them must be outside, whatever the weather.
- Drink a gallon of water. That’s a US gallon, about 3.8 litres.
- Read 10 pages of non-fiction. It has to be educational or self-improvement reading, and audiobooks don’t count.
- Take a progress photo.
The restart rule: if you miss any task, on any day, you go back to day 1. Frisella allows no modifications or substitutions, which is the bit that makes it hard.
What 75 Hard gets right
Strip away the hype and some of it is sound:
- It makes training non-negotiable. Ninety minutes of movement a day adds up to more than 10 hours a week, far above Australia’s physical activity guidelines.
- 75 days without alcohol is good for sleep, recovery, body composition and your wallet. If that’s the part you’re dreading, read our guide to giving up the booze.
- Simple, binary rules remove daily decisions. You either did it or you didn’t.
- The reading habit often outlasts the challenge.
The problems with 75 Hard
Too much training, too soon
Two workouts a day, every day, for 75 days with no rest days is a lot, particularly for someone starting from the couch. Cleveland Clinic’s review of the challenge flags overuse injuries as a real risk for beginners. Recovery is where you adapt; see why most men train too often and recover too little. The rules don’t say how hard a workout must be, so make one of the two each day a walk or easy session.
‘Any diet’ includes bad ones
The rules only require you to follow a diet. That could be a sensible high-protein plan or a crash diet that leaves you exhausted by week three. If fat loss is the goal, aim for a moderate deficit with enough protein to protect muscle; our high protein foods list is a good place to start.
The water rule isn’t based on anything
A gallon is about 3.8 litres. Australia’s nutrient reference values put an adequate fluid intake for men at around 2.6 litres a day, with more needed in heat or with heavy training. Most healthy men can drink 3.8 litres spread across a day without problems, but don’t force down large volumes in one go: drinking far more than you need, quickly, can dilute the sodium in your blood. Drink to thirst, with more on hot or long training days.
All or nothing
The restart rule is the challenge’s signature, and its biggest weakness. Cleveland Clinic sports psychologist Matthew Sacco says the approach “speaks to this idea that we’re supposed to be able to suck it up.” Restarting on day 61 because you fell asleep before reading your 10 pages can teach you that you’ve failed, when 60 days of consistent training is a win.
Daily photos and Australian summers
A daily progress photo can feed body-image worries for some people, so take it, but don’t scrutinise it. And a mandatory outdoor workout in January in much of Australia means training in serious heat; move it to early morning or evening and read our tips on how to train in the heat.
What results can you expect from 75 Hard?
There are no studies of 75 Hard itself, so results depend entirely on where you start and the diet you choose. Ninety minutes of activity a day, no alcohol and a structured diet will usually mean fat loss and better fitness for most men. What’s less certain is whether you’ll finish.
Plenty don’t. One Australian writer made it 31 days before calling it quits, which is a common story. If you do restart, the habits you built in those weeks still count.
75 Soft, 75 Medium and other alternatives
75 Soft is the best known easier version. Its rules, as Cleveland Clinic describes them, are: eat well and only drink alcohol on social occasions; do one 45-minute workout a day, with one active-recovery day a week; drink 3 litres of water; and read 10 pages of any book. Missing a day doesn’t send you back to the start.
75 Medium sits in between, though there’s no single official version. Most versions keep one daily workout, a mostly strict diet (often with one planned cheat meal a week) and no alcohol, and drop the restart rule.
If you’re starting from scratch, a shorter structured plan is a better first step. Our free 28-day military calisthenics plan builds up over four weeks, with rest days and a test on day 1 and day 28 so you can see your progress.
Should you try 75 Hard?
75 Hard suits you if you already train regularly, have no injuries, and want a hard reset on discipline, drinking or diet. Skip it, or pick 75 Soft, if you’re new to exercise, carrying an injury, have a history of disordered eating, or tend to treat a missed day as total failure. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or another medical issue, talk to your GP before doubling your training.
75 Hard FAQ
What are the 75 Hard rules?
Every day for 75 days: follow a diet with no cheat meals or alcohol, do two 45-minute workouts (one outside, at least three hours apart), drink a gallon (about 3.8 litres) of water, read 10 pages of non-fiction, and take a progress photo. Miss any of them and you restart from day 1.
Can you drink alcohol on 75 Hard?
No. Alcohol is banned for all 75 days. 75 Soft allows it on social occasions.
How much water do you drink on 75 Hard?
A US gallon, which is about 3.8 litres a day. Spread it out across the day rather than drinking large amounts at once.
Do you have to restart 75 Hard if you miss a day?
Yes. Under the official rules, missing any task on any day sends you back to day 1. 75 Soft and most versions of 75 Medium drop this rule.
Does walking count as a 75 Hard workout?
The rules set the length (45 minutes) but not the type or intensity, so many people count a brisk walk as one of their two daily workouts. Making one session easy is a smart way to reduce injury risk.
