'I fell in love with myself.' Why people are raving about 75 Hard

There’s no shortage of challenges on social media. Many of them test mental toughness, dedication and stamina, and the ever popular 75 Hard challenge is no exception.

The #75HardChallenge hashtag has more than 1 billion views on the platform, and the videos showcase drastic results. Some are physical — with before-and-after photos showing significant weight loss and muscle growth — but many also document a mental and emotional transformation.

After completing the 75-day program, TikToker Madison Jan said, “I fell in love with myself and my life again,” in a video that racked up 2.8 million likes.

So, what exactly is this program? Ahead, discover the 75 Hard challenge rules and whether it’s safe for you.

Who created 75 Hard?

The 75 Hard challenge was started by Andy Frisella in 2019.

According to Frisella, the program is not a diet nor fitness plan. He calls it a “mental toughness” program, like “an Ironman for your brain.”

Explaining on his website why he created 75 Hard, Frisella wrote, "I don’t care how good looking you are, how much your mom loves you, or how good your GPA is; at some point, life will kick your a--, and put you in a choke hold. Only mental toughness will save you."

"That’s why I created 75 HARD, a free program that will build that mental strength and discipline within you."

What is 75 Hard?

Frisella says his plan is less about building muscle and losing weight and more about exercising skills like determination, self-esteem, confidence and discipline. 75 Hard, though, seems to be as intense for your body as it is for your brain — given all the photos of 75 Hard devotees with chiseled abs.

Over 1 million people from all over the world have completed 75 Hard, according to Frisella’s website.

“It’s gaining a lot of momentum and a lot of steam, and the reason is that it works,” Frisella said in a 2020 episode of his podcast, in which he outlines the six 75 Hard challenge rules.

Frisella started the program after seeing people around him start and quit coaching programs and fitness plans. Before he sent 75 Hard out into the world, the 39-year-old entrepreneur wrote down the rules of his 75-day plan and attempted it himself.

The 75 Hard challenge rules

Frisella says the rules of 75 Hard are simple — but that doesn’t mean the plan is easy.

There are five daily tasks (plus one overarching rule) that must be executed consistently for the entire 75 days.

1. If you skip a day, you must start over. If you miss a task, you must start over at day one. “You can’t tweak the program to your liking. ... It’s supposed to be inconvenient and it’s supposed to be hard,” said Frisella. “In life, conditions are never going to be perfect; you’re always going to have to do things that you don’t want to do and the minute you start tweaking or compromising, that’s what opens the door to quitting.”

2. Pick a diet to follow, with no alcohol or cheat meals. You must choose a diet based on your goals and stick to it. But there’s a second caveat to the rule: No cheat meals and no alcohol. In a culture that depends on after-work drinks or wine once the kids are in bed, Frisella acknowledges the difficulty of this task. “Not a drop. Not a beer. Not a wine. Not a glass when you get home. Nothing for at least 75 days,” he said. “There’s a number of reasons for this: empty calories, psychological addiction, physical addiction. Also, we’re talking about detoxing your body for 75 days. ... You don’t understand how foggy you are because of this (alcohol-drinking) lifestyle.”

3. Drink a gallon of water daily. “Make sure you start early and be consistent throughout the day so that you’re not chugging a gallon of water before you go to bed,” Frisella said, which he admits he had to do a few times himself.

4. Complete two daily workouts. One of the most time-consuming parts of 75 Hard is the workouts: Two 45-minute workouts of your choice must be completed per day and one of those workouts must be done outside, regardless of the weather. “This is the point of the program — conditions are never perfect,” said Frisella. "One of the reasons that most people can’t get through life in an effective way is because the minute conditions are tough, they throw the towel in on their plan.”

5. Read 10 pages per day of a nonfiction book. “This is not entertainment time, this is not ‘Harry Potter’ time, this is learn new stuff time,” Frisella explained. “The book has to be a self-development book of some kind, and it has to be for personal growth.” He also stressed that it needs to be a physical book, not an e-book you read on your phone or tablet.

6. Take a progress photo every day. “This is not just to show your physical transformation. ... Once you start getting some progress, fitness or business or anywhere else, you start to forget the little details as you go,” said Frisella. These photos will help you remember the daily progress of your journey, he said. He also encourages people to take photos that show their body, recognizing that this may be difficult, but that these photos are for you only and don’t need to be posted.

The intensity of the program seems to be attractive to people who are seeking dramatic change and it’s taken off.

Frisella says he’s not surprised. “If you follow the program exactly as it’s laid out, you will be a completely different person,” he said. “You will look different. You will talk different. You will f------ think different. You will be a different human completely.”

Benefits of 75 Hard

Dr. Jordan Metzl is a sports medicine physician and author of “Dr. Jordan Metzl’s Workout Prescription,” and as a fan of mental and physical commitments, he can see the perks of a program like 75 Hard.

“In general, people have way more in their tank than they think they do,” Metlz tells TODAY.com. “I have found that different people respond to different concepts. Some like encouragement, others like a group (setting), while others find that just belonging to a club helps tremendously.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, adults who are physically active are healthier, feel better and are less likely to develop chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer — though you should always consult with a health care professional before starting a new diet or fitness program.

The HHS recommends adults aim for at least 75-300 minutes of exercise per week depending on the intensity of each workout, but notes there can be additional health benefits to completing more than 300 minutes weekly.

Metzl said it’s OK to attempt to reach higher amounts of active time.

“As long as you’re paying attention to your body and making sure pain isn’t changing the way you move, this should be fine,” Metzl adds. “Obviously aches and pains that worsen need to be checked out, but this seems more of a commitment to commitment, which I think is a great thing to try.”

Kelley Kitley, a licensed clinical social worker and women’s mental health expert, also sees pros to programs like 75 Hard.

“This model could be helpful for people who are trying to create major behavior changes,” Kitley tells TODAY.com. “It’s very structured and easy to follow (and) offers an accountability component with taking pictures to visually see progress made. And, as a cognitive behavioral therapist, I love the reading component to help keep yourself motivated and grounded.”

Drawbacks of 75 Hard

To start, the 75 Hard challenge is a substantial time commitment.

“The average person in today’s society doesn’t have the time to commit to that without sacrificing somewhere else in their life,” Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, a physician and director of The Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders at Mount Sinai in New York, tells TODAY.com.

Hildebrandt also thinks there may be psychological consequences for some people who attempt 75 Hard.

People with eating disorders, for example, may be triggered into relapse by the success-failure rollercoaster that 75 Hard is likely to create for them. Hildebrandt fears that, even for people with no history of disorder, the high chance of failure built into 75 Hard may cause people to lose motivation.

Similarly, 75 Hard requires an all-or-nothing mentality, Kitley points out. While that may be helpful for people trying to kickstart a health journey, once you complete the program, you may "let the pendulum swing in the other direction" if you don't have a proper plan for once you're finished, Kitley says.

In fact, many experts believe small, gradual lifestyle changes that you can build on and adjust are much more effective than temporary, drastic ones.

Last, some people may risk injury if they attempt to complete 75 Hard because of the intensity of the exercise element. Dr. Shane Davis, sports medicine physician at Tufts Medical Center, says to listen to your body if you can’t finish and discourages everyone from doing the challenge for longer than 75 days. Rest and recovery are essential to health, and this challenge doesn’t allow for much of that, increasing the likelihood of injury, he adds.

Why 75 days?

On his website, Frisella wrote that he chose 75 days "because that is how long it will take for you to develop these skills ... skills that will stick with you long after you’ve completed the program."

"You don’t achieve what I’m talking about by doing the program for just a few days or a few weeks," he added.

That said, there’s no magic number associated with making a lifestyle change, and no science or research to back up 75 days specifically, Davis tells TODAY.com.

“The longer you do something, the more likely you are to build that and reinforce that,” he explains, but 75 days won’t automatically make you maintain a mental, fitness and healthy-eating regimen.

By day 75, you might notice a difference in your appearance and how you think, but it may not be a sustainable change because it happened so intensely and quickly.

What happens after you complete 75 Hard?

After you complete 75 Hard, it’s natural for your body to crave rest, and you might find yourself reverting to old habits once it’s over.

Dr. Asad Siddiqi, sports medicine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, says he applauds the commitment required of the challenge — but he suspects it doesn’t always lead to permanent lifestyle changes because 75 Hard isn’t sustainable.

“Sustainability is the holy grail of lifestyle modification,” he tells TODAY.com.

Adds Davis: “In some ways, being strict with something that’s not sustainable is less productive.”

So, have a plan for after you complete 75 Hard, a slower, less rigid routine that you can follow longterm. Davis recommends picking aspects of 75 Hard that you found enjoyable and sticking with those moving forward. For example, read any book you like, and allow yourself rest days from exercise so your joints and muscles can recover. A routine you don’t dread is one you’ll stick to.

Does walking count as exercise for 75 Hard?

Absolutely. “Walking is a great form of exercise and it’s attainable for everyone,” says Davis. Because 75 Hard calls for two workouts per day, “something like walking or low-intensity exercise is a necessity because it might not be safe otherwise,” Davis adds.

To check if you’re walking intensely enough, Siddiqi says to try talking while you do it. You should be able to maintain a breathy conversation, but you shouldn’t be able to sing.

Is 75 Hard safe?

Exercise, diet and mental health are highly individualized, and for that reason, Siddiqi says there’s a “high likelihood for harm when it comes to the strict engagement” required of 75 Hard.

While it’s not necessarily dangerous, anyone who is inexperienced with exercise might overexert themselves, and others might restrict their eating too much or over-hydrate without intending to.

If you’re looking to get fit and 75 Hard is appealing to you, Hildebrandt recommends looking at your goals first.

“Most people want a better life,” says Hildebrandt, but most people don’t actually need strict rules to get there. “At the end of the day, the best outcomes come from the things that you can truly enjoy and integrate into your life,” he explains.

Some people may enjoy the challenge of completing 75 Hard. “There are people who are driven in that way,” Hildebrandt says.

But if the intense rules don’t feel like fun to you, that’s OK. Hildebrandt says that all most of us need is more movement in our lives. “At the end of the day, it’s just about moving.”

If you’re not sure what that movement should look like, consult your doctor.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com