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You are not born with confidence, grit, the ability to believe in yourself, fortitude, endurance, perseverance, and a drvie to win. These are all things that have to be developed within your life. Recently, 75 HARD has become viral for developing these traits through a health challenge that spans 75 days, intended to create a new lifestyle and personal discipline. 

If you mess up once, you have to start over. If you mess up on day 74, you have to start over. Mental toughness is the main challenge during the 75 days, and “each failed attempt drains a little more hope from your tank, to the point where you’re running on E,” said Andy Frisella, the creator of 75 HARD, on his website. 

To complete this challenge, you have to follow 5 critical rules every day: follow a diet of your choice with no alcohol or cheat meals, participate in two 45-minute workouts (one has to be outside), drink one gallon of water, read 10 pages of a personal development book, and take a progress picture. Because of how difficult  this challenge is, Frisella recently released a version called 75 Soft, which has you eat healthy in general, participate in one 45-minute workout with one rest day, drink 3 liters of water a day, and read 10 pages of any book. 

75 soft was created due to the harder version not being backed up by science and potentially leading people to injuries due to creating a high-intensity, no-break lifestyle that only certain people with the correct schedule, no underlying health concerns, a good relationship with food, and steady mental health can typically attain. 

“It’s realistic in the sense that anyone can do it, you do have to be in the right spot mentally because it is difficult, time-consuming, it takes preparation and willpower,” Zach Lohner, a wrestling coach in Florida said. 

Along with mental health needs, physical health needs can also become a factor for those starting the challenge. On the 75 HARD website, a disclaimer says, “you should consult your physician or other health care professional before starting 75 HARD or any other fitness program to determine if it is right for your needs. Do not start 75 HARD if your physician or health care provider advises against it.” 

Priyankaa Joshi, a writer for Women’s Health Magazine, tried the 75 HARD challenge and took away five key things to consider before you decide to start 75 HARD. The first was how exhausted your body becomes from working out twice a day with zero rest. There is no time for your muscles to recover in between, so being able to switch up workouts is key. Joshi noticed that by week 3, she was having knee and achilles pain, even with one of her workouts just being a simple walk outside. Doing more low-impact workouts, such as yoga and cycling, can help prevent injuries in comparison them being high-impact workouts. 

This is the part that college students, specifically athletes, may struggle with when it comes to the challenge. Because you have to workout twice a day, a two hour practice for example, only counts for one workout. If your sport has two workouts a day but they are both inside, you have to workout for a third time in order for it to count. This type of continuous stress can lead to mental and physical burnout.  

Beginning in 2014, the NCAA has continuously researched burnout in student athletes and how it can lead to clinical depression and other symptoms related to mental health. Currently, 47 percent of student athletes experience burnout during their collegient career. 

Along with prioritizing two workouts a day, following the strict diet is also a key factor to acceiving success.  

Joshi also reflected on recent studies that have also shown strict diets like this are not foolproof.  

“Having food that’s off-limits can often make you crave it more and you’re likely to overeat those foods when given the opportunity,” Psychologist and Eating Disorder Specialist, Rachel Evans said. This is exactly what Joshi experienced after the challenge, she went “overboard” with all the food she was not allowed to eat. 

Along with the diet comes the drinking of water, which was the hardest part for Lohner but the easiest for Boston, Massachusets resident, Emma Haselhuhn. 

“I’m a big water girl, I drink my water religiously, so that was easy for me,” Haselhuhn said. She completed this challenage recently after witnessing successful outcomes. 

To this point, Joshi had a negative experience with the challenge, all except for going sober. Joshi had a good relationship with alcohol before the challenge, so giving this up was easy and refreshing from the start, but that could be different for others. During social events, Joshi decided to drink non-alcoholic beer and she found it didn’t significantly change her experience, she even felt more energized for workouts, she slept better, and she did not feel as anxious about small things. 

For Joshi, completing this challenge would be better if you find what works for you, so something similar to 75 Soft. Life is about balance and to complete 75 HARD, your whole life has to revolve around the challenge. Before completing this challenge, be sure to evaluate your daily schedule and travel plans during the 75 days. 

“‘Healthy habits aren’t so healthy if they’re impacting your mental health,” Joshi said. Working a full-time job along with trying to balance a personal life and this challenge took a severe mental toll. 

“We have to consider at what point health-enhancing behaviors actually become unhealthy,” Evans said. “If someone is stressing over completing the tasks each day and their mental or physical health has been negatively impacted, then it’s a red flag that what they’re doing is no longer healthy.” 

On day 50, Priyankaa Joshi quit the challenge. However, both Zach Lohner and Emma Haselhuhn completed the challenge. 

“You definitely get to the middle and think ‘I’ve only done 50 days or 20 days’ and there feels like there is so much time, but again that’s where the mental part comes in with building these habits and to me it would have almost felt weird to stop doing it, like you’ve come this far you might as well finish it,” Haselhuhn said. 

Joshi, Lohner and Haselhun were living three very different lives while doing this challenge and all had different experiences. Lohner began the challenge to just “do something hard” while Haselhuhn started it to “create structure.” 75 HARD may not be a match for you to create healthy habits, but may be perfect for someone else. First, set your goals and try to improve what you need as much as you can. 

“First, you need to set realistic expectations and start where you’re at right now,” Lohner said. “If you don’t workout now and start going once a week, that’s already improving 100%”.