75 Hard has a cult following. Is it worth all the effort?
Two daily workouts of 45 minutes. One gallon of water. 10 pages of a non-fiction book. A diet. No “cheat meals” or alcohol. For 75 days.
And if you mess up, you have to start from the beginning.
Sounds like a lot? It should be so. The program, called 75 Difficult, is intended to build mental resilience. Some say rigidity makes it great, and others say that makes it problematic.
Since its founding in 2019, 75 Hard has developed something of a cult following, with practitioners posting daily photos and videos of their progress, sometimes racking up millions of views on TikTok And Instagram. One of Reddit's biggest subredditswith over 44,000 members, is committed to the program.
But is it useful and are the changes sustainable? Psychologists say that while the program may provide mental health benefits, certain vulnerable groups may be pushing themselves too far without reaping the benefits. Exercise experts also say the regimen could be too taxing for those who are not yet young and active, and could lead to physical harm.
“It may sound really cool and exciting and useful, but is this something that is actually ultimately useful, sustainable and good for the person?” asked Dr. Thea Gallagher, a clinical psychologist and director of wellness programs at New York University.
“It would be great to see more and more rigorous research around these exciting programs-slash-challenges,” she said.
Andy Frisella, the creator of 75 Hard and a motivational speaker, encourages people to talk to a medical professional before starting the program. His team did not respond to a request for comment.
Why do people do 75 Hard?
According to Mr. Frisella, who said in a 2022 episode of his podcast that he spent twenty years developing 75 Hard, tens of thousands of people have completed the program, which is intended to help people build resilience, grit and perseverance, among other things.
“This is the Iron Man equivalent of climbing Mount Everest,” Mr Frisella said on the podcast. “Whatever it is that you see all these other people doing that they're so proud of – this is the equivalent of that for your brain.”
People who have completed the program have said on social media that it helped them boost their confidence, lose weight, try new workouts and continue with what they set out to do. Many complete it in the first 75 days of the year, while others start it when they need a reset.
Outdoor workouts, no 'cheat meals', no alcohol
What is most difficult about the program varies from person to person. But many have taken issue with the requirement of two daily 45-minute workouts and the avoidance of “cheat meals” (that is, deviating from the diet you have chosen for yourself) and alcohol for the duration of the program.
Mr. Frisella explained that the workouts can be at any intensity level, even a walk. At least one of the two daily workouts should be performed outdoors.
One participant on TikTok went during a walk outside during a snowstorm, another completed a strength training session training in the rainwhile another was jumping rope 45 minutes outside at night. Others varied their indoor workouts by alternating running, strength training, yoga and more.
By getting outside, the program reinforces the lesson that “conditions are not always going to be perfect,” Mr. Frisella said in a 2019 episode of his podcast.
The daily workouts must be kept at a distance with at least three to four hours.
The program notably lacks built-in rest days.
The program also urges participants to follow a diet – for example a vegetarian, vegan or ketogenic diet – but Mr Frisella doesn't give much advice on what it should be, only that people should choose 'a diet that promotes the health of improves people'. your physical health.”
Participants must follow their chosen diet without deviation, or else restart the program.
Alcohol is strictly prohibited.
Accomplishing tasks can build trust
“Something like that could boost someone's self-confidence or mental strength,” says Dr. Kate Gapinski, an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of San Francisco.
“When you see that you are able to complete something so difficult, and actually stick with it for 75 days, which is quite a long time for a significant habit change, I saw that inspiring confidence about other difficult tasks to come,” she said.
The program promotes certain behaviors that psychologists encourage their patients to engage in.
The tasks that can be completed quickly – namely the ten pages of reading a nonfiction book – are exactly the kind of bite-sized tasks that experts say can encourage people to create change in their lives.
But challenges can arise when tasks are too big or feel unmanageable. “If you do something that requires a lot of energy, motivation and dedication, the problem is that if you don't succeed, people sometimes end up feeling demoralized and worse off than when they started,” said Dr. Gallagher. .
Is the rigidity of the program harmful?
Some participants take the program very seriously. The program “is difficult for a reason,” according to one poster wrote on the subreddit. “If you don't like that, go somewhere else, or at least don't be angry when people call you out on your changes to the program.”
But several health experts raised concerns about such strict regimes.
The exercise requirements can be concerning for inactive or weak people, says Patrick J. O'Connor, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Georgia.
“Ninety minutes a day would be excessive for some people and for some people it could cause injury,” he said. “Often the greatest risk of injury is when someone goes from very little to quite a lot.”
Mr O'Connor pointed out that the program required a total of 630 minutes of exercise per week – more than four times as much as recommended by federal officialswhich amounts to 150 minutes of 'moderate intensity physical activity' and two days of strength training.
There are also concerns about the mental health impact of such a program without exceptions.
“I would not recommend the program to people with an active eating disorder,” says Dr. Gapinski. “With eating disorders, we're actually trying to increase comfort about the types of foods that are consumed,” she said, adding that treatment emphasizes moderation.
It may be more helpful for people to find small tasks that are meaningful to them, rather than choosing a prescriptive program, said Dr. Alexandra Gold, a clinical psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
“I think if someone just gets a prescription like, 'Oh, you do these things,' it doesn't necessarily come from them, and that's also a big factor in consistency and sustainability,” said Dr. Gold.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of modified versions of the plan have emerged, including 75 Soft. In that version, the water requirement is lower and only one daily workout of 45 minutes is required.