Sometimes we all need a good reset. Approaching life with a fresh perspective and better habits could set us up to live in a more energized, more optimistic, less stressed way. And for a lot of us, a challenge within a specific time period could be just what we need to shake up our current lifestyle, from what we eat to how we spend our down time.
This might explain why so many ambitious people have found themselves drawn to a challenge called 75 Hard. As its name suggests, it’s hard—and while that’s supposed to sound motivating, experts say it might not be the best approach.
How Does 75 Hard Work?
75 Hard has been around since 2019, but it saw a resurgence in popularity in the latter part of 2025 and early part of 2026. It’s a challenge developed and promoted by motivational speaker and entrepreneur Andy Frisella, who lays out five strict rules (or, as he calls them, Core Values) that you have to observe for 75 days. That’s a little less than two and a half months, and if you slip up or take a day off, you have to start all over again from the beginning.
The Core Values include:
Follow a diet or nutrition plan. It could be any diet of your choice. You could do paleo, Whole30, Mediterranean, low-carb, low-fat, vegan, or something else that seems appealing to you. The important part is that you adhere to it, without taking a day off.
Two 45-minute workouts daily. As with your diet, you have options. You could do strength training, running, swimming, yoga, or anything else. But you must exercise twice a day, with at least a three-hour window between workouts. At least one of the workouts must be outdoors. And you can’t take a day off.
Drink 1 gallon of water daily. That’s more than is recommended by the U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Read 10 pages of a nonfiction book daily. Reading is a good mental workout, and nonfiction can often help you pursue self-improvement in other aspects of your life. In the case of 75 Hard, listening to audiobooks isn’t considered reading.
Take a daily progress picture. This helps you stay focused and reminds you of the self-improvement journey you’re on.
Is It Effective?
It’s not simply that 75 Hard is demanding—it’s also the fact that you can’t take a day off from it. While this is intentional to help you build discipline and stay dedicated, it could cause more harm than good. The Cleveland Clinic refers to “pain and discomfort” as being intentional features of the program.
The problem? A lot of it is overkill. For some people, a twice-daily workout routine isn’t practical. A restrictive diet feels unsatisfying. A daily progress pic becomes obsessive. Overall, the challenge’s rigidity could leave people feeling burnt out instead of motivated. And although people who’ve completed the challenge might swear by its ability to help them develop better habits, this is merely anecdotal. There’s no actual scientific evidence to support 75 Hard.
Lea Genders, NBC-HWC, a board-certified health coach, personal trainer, and workplace wellness coach, says 75 Hard ignores the principles of behavior-change science. “It usually sets people up to fail and reinforces the ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset that keeps people stuck,” she says. “It is usually more effective to work on one behavior change item at a time, rather than trying to overhaul your whole life in 75 days.”
Similarly, dietitian Chelsey Amer, MS, RDN, says she wouldn’t recommend the 75 Hard Challenge, but she does see some of the concepts behind it being beneficial.
“Consistent exercise, getting outdoors, a well-balanced diet, and drinking enough water are principles we should all strive to follow, but the rigidity and excessive time devoted to diet and exercise in the 75 Hard guidelines are not realistic for most people, even for the 75 days of the challenge,” she says.
Can I Still Try It?
Here’s the thing: Nobody is saying you can’t try 75 Hard, or even that it will be bad for you. Genders points out that many people thrive when they’re pushed past their comfort zones into high-pressure environments. If you’re somebody like that, 75 Hard could potentially help you get into the best shape of your life. “But what works for the minority sets everyone else up to feel discouraged, when something that sets them up for failure causes them to fail,” Genders says.
Because that’s the reality: 75 Hard is something most people will fail. And Amer is just as clear as Genders on how that might do more harm than good if you don’t have the right mindset: “Anyone with a history of disordered eating, eating disorders, excessive exercise, or even dieting should especially avoid the 75 Hard Challenge due to the strict rules and guidelines,” she says.
Can I Make It More Realistic?
If you like the ideas behind 75 Hard but don’t want the inflexibility, then you can adapt it:
Take a day off. If you give yourself flexibility with your eating plan or take a day off from exercise, it’s easier to stick with these habits long term—even beyond 75 days. “The way it stands now, you have to start over from day one if you fail, which doesn’t account for most people’s busy lives,” Genders says. “Behavior change is not always about discipline. Fitness is a lifelong commitment, not a 75-day challenge.”
Start smaller. If you’re not used to exercising, 45 minutes twice a day could feel like a lot. Amer points out that a 20-minute workout can still be beneficial, especially for someone at the start of their fitness journey.
Focus on one habit at a time. Tackling diet, exercise, hydration, and reading at the same time can be overwhelming. You’ll be more consistent if you learn one healthy habit before you try developing another. Start eating better, and then once you’ve learned to be consistent, you can focus on exercising regularly. “It will take longer than 75 days, but then again, your results will last longer than 75 days,” Genders says.
Focus on better instead of best. Amer explains that the mindset of “no cheat meals” is too restrictive. “Instead, aim to eat a well-balanced diet and focus on adding in more nutritious food in your daily diet from your current baseline,” she says. “Instead of forcing yourself to drink one gallon of water daily, replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water to increase your water intake while also reducing your sugar intake.”
When you take a softer approach instead of a hard one, suddenly building healthy habits doesn’t seem…well, it doesn’t seem as hard!
