"I completed the viral TikTok 75 Hard Challenge and these are my results" (2023)

if you have seen this12-3-30 Trainingo25-7-2 TrainingChallenges, chances are you've encountered them too75 Hard Challenge. It has been viewed two billion times using the hashtag #75HardChallenge, but don't let its popularity fool you.

For those unfamiliar, the 75-Day Plan was created in 2019 by motivational speaker, podcaster, author, and supplement company owner Andy Frisella as a "transformative mental toughness program."

You should consult your doctor or other healthcare professional before attempting the 75 Hard Challenge.

in itswebsitehe writes, "75 HARD is the only program that can permanently change your life...from the way you think to the discipline you put into each task." The site also claims that more than 100,000 people thanks to the program "changed their lives completely." Sounds pretty impressive, right?

To be honest, the challenge isn't backed by science (read an example), and many argue that the extreme grind is unsustainable, restrictive, and potentially dangerous. With only 24/7 access and guidance from experts, I decided to give it a try and find out the truth so you don't have to. This is what happened.

Content Warning: Mentioned overtraining and restrictive eating.

The 75 Rules of Hard Dare

The 75 Hard Challenge consists of six "non-negotiable rules" that must be adhered to for 75 days:

• Follow a diet, any diet.
• Absolutely no alcoholic beverages or cheat meals (it is not specified what counts as a cheat meal)
• Complete the 45 minutestraining sessionsper day (one of them must be out at any time)
• Drink 4.5 liters of water a day
• Take a picture of daily progress
• Read 10 Inspirational Pages of Nonfiction Every Day

Do you think it's too much? there's more If you can't complete these six tasks every day, you'll have to start over on the first day. Frisella admits that it may seem intense, but if you get through it, she states that "you'll be the toughest, most disciplined version of yourself on the other side."

75 hard challenge perks

Shooting according to all the above rules is final.Nosuitable for everyone (more on that later), but there are some rewards some can get, as well as the idea of ​​setting yourself a routine for 75 days (as long as it's not too strenuous).

• This can help you develop healthy habits.

"It will give you a sense of direction and structure," says Alex Parren, nutritionist atsuper zeros, Tell us. "For example, the nonfiction reading rule might encourage him to set aside time each day to expand his knowledge and help reduce stress and screen time."

• His physical condition improves.

"If you follow a good diet and exercise program for 75 days (although not as intense as this one), you're sure to improve your fitness and weight management," adds Eleanor Thrupp, nutritional therapist atbut intimate, "Drinking as much water as possible (but not necessarily as much as 15 gallons) will also keep you hydrated and make you feel more energized throughout the day."

• It is customizable.

Unlike other, more prescriptive challenges, the 75 Hard Challenge has an element of choice, he says.four fiveAmbassador and celebrity of the PTJenny Francis Townson. “You choose the diet that suits you best, you choose the exercises and you choose the books you want to read. It makes it more personal for you, which is good." As we always say, each body is individual.

75 risks in difficult challenges

Despite glowing reports from the TikTok world, every expert I've spoken to about this feature agrees that the risks of the 75 Hard Challenge far outweigh the benefits. This is why:

• Lack of scientific evidence.

"Frisella doesn't provide any scientific evidence of how the components of the program work or demonstrate mental toughness, so it's really an arbitrary set of rules that have to be followed every day," says the psychologist and eating disorder expert.Raquel Evans.

Parren agrees, stressing the "drink 4.5 liters of water a day" rule. "A person's water intake should be tailored to their individual needs, including body weight, muscle mass, exercise intensity, climate, and amount of sweat," she says. "For many people, drinking 4.5 liters is too much and can have negative physiological consequences."

• The 75 Hard Challenge can potentially put you at risk of injury.

The fact that the 75 Hard Challenge does not include anydays offIt's a big no-no, says personal trainerHanna Lewin. "Rest and recovery are an essential part of progress and I think it's incredibly irresponsible not to include them in the program," she says. If you run out of rest days, you are also at a much higher risk of injury.

And since the fitness rule is open to interpretation—you get to choose which exercises to do—some can overdo the workout and lead to unsafe routines. no mentionheatingoCoolingneither, which also increases the risk of injury.

• The 75 Hard Challenge can damage your relationship with food.

"We know that most diets that limit calorie intake and list 'good' and 'bad' foods are not sustainable in the long term," says Evans. And just like the fitness rule, the program doesn't dictate what "diet" to follow. “This is a problem because it can cause some people to drastically reduce their calorie intake or eliminate an entire food group,” says Evans. "This can be dangerous to their health, especially if they have increased the amount of movement they do as part of the challenge."

• Your mental health may suffer.

For Sarah Cannon, psychotherapist fromlive well uk, the mental health implications of pursuing the 75 Hard Challenge are concerning. "Play with the all-or-nothing mentality: You're either mentally strong or you're failing, there's no middle ground," she says.women's health. "If you can't keep up the intensity of the challenge, you can feel like you're not good enough and that can hurt your self-esteem."

And let's not start by taking "progress photos" every day. "This level of self-monitoring and comparison can lead to low self-esteem and body image, which is ironic considering that the goal of the challenge is to increase self-esteem."Kirsten Odicountedwomen's health.

Who should avoid the 75 Hard Challenge?

Anyone who thinks can be triggered by enforcing dietary rules, strict exercise habits and progress photos, Evans says. If you've ever dealt with an eating disorder, body dysmorphia, or exercise addiction, this is definitely not for you.

Lewin also emphasizes that those with injuries or existing health problems should consult a doctor before accepting the challenge.

With that in mind, I approached the 75 Hard Challenge with caution, vowing to listen to my body and not push myself too hard, and to always follow the advice of the experts. Please note and do not try this at home.

5 things I learned from the 75 Hard Challenge

1. There are many good things when it comes to exercise.

The first and most obvious thing that struck me about the 75 Hard Challenge was the importance of rest days. Although one of my daily 45 minute workouts was ayIn the park, after three weeks without days, my body was struggling and suffering from sore knees and sore Achilles tendons. I was alsoexhausted.

Francis-Townson says this is not surprising. "Lack of rest means our muscles don't have time to repair themselves and inflammation doesn't have time to subside, leading to pain and injury."

Lewin agrees that overtraining will do more harm than good, very validly pointing out that if you're too exhausted or too exhausted to put in a workout to the best of your ability, it defeats the point of a challenge from the start. .

So after three weeks I decided to reduce the intensity.HIIT trainingI did (from five a week to two a week) and continued with morelow impact trainingAsYogamipilates. While that helped, it was still too much for me to train every day, so after about four weeks, I started giving myself one day off a week. I don't think you should force yourself to exercise if you don't feel like it, and although I've always exercised regularly, I know it's not doing me any favors.

See how weeks one and three compare.

• Week 1:
• Monday: F45 Class
• Tuesday: F45 Class
• Wednesday: 5K run
• Thursday: F45 Class
• Friday: Class F45
• Saturday: F45 class
• Sunday: 5K race

• week 3:
• Monday: 1 hour yoga class
• Tuesday: 45 minute Pilates video on YouTube
• Wednesday: walk/run
• Thursday: Yoga video on YouTube
• Friday: Class F45
• Saturday: Pilates video on YouTube
• Sunday: Class F45

And youthey areIf you are considering trying the 75 Hard Challenge, Parren strongly recommends that you seek the advice of a qualified fitness professional to ensure that your training plan is safe and effective.

2. Diets don't work

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I'm not a fan of diets. I admit I used to be drawn to the diet culture of cutting carbs and denying myself "evil" foods (anyone know what that means?), but now I'm at a point where I firmly believe you should force it to eat. a way that brings you joy.

However, for the purposes of this challenge, my interpretation of a "diet" was to be dairy-free for the entire period. I thought dairy isn't always my opinion (I've had stomach issues from overeating in the past), so giving it up for 75 days might be beneficial. Also, there are so many great alternatives these days (great non-dairy Ben & Jerry's), so it wasn't too difficult for me.

The real fight on the nutrition side was the "No Cheat Meals" rule. I'd say 80% of my diet is "healthy": I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, make sure I'm getting enough protein, and watch my fiber intake.

At the same time, I love pizza, burgers, and donuts, and while the rules aren't specific about what counts as a "cheat meal," I'm not sure this is sanctioned and it was hard to avoid. My boyfriend and I love to eat out on the weekends, so we'd have to go to "healthy" restaurants or I'd have to opt for superfood salads while he wolfed down pizza, garlic bread, and brownies. Not that one.

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By the fourth week, she couldn't stop thinking about sweet foods. I tried to satisfy my cravings with 85% dark chocolate, but it definitely wasn't enough. Once the challenge was over, I overindulged in all the foods that I had denied myself. That's to be expected, says Evans. "Food that is taboo can often make you crave more, and you are likely to overeat when the opportunity presents itself."

Cannon is also not a fan of cheat meals. "Using the phrase 'cheat food' ascribes morality to food," he explains. "Getting out of the way and eating something we tell ourselves we can't eat can lead to feelings of guilt and shame and even cycles of overeating and restricting ourselves."

A balanced diet has room for all the foods you enjoy, experts argue, and I couldn't agree more.

3.Quitting alcohol can be really empowering

One aspect of the 75 Hard Challenge that I found beneficial was the lack of alcohol. I'm not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a few cocktails on Friday nights, and for me, drinking is an unavoidable part of social life, so I wasn't too sure I'd be able to do a full 75-day T. However, once I got started, it was surprisingly easy and enjoyable.

I found that I had more energy for my workouts, slept well, and worried less about the little things. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that I could handle social situations without the crutch of a drink. Instead I opted for non-alcoholic beer or brewed non-alcoholic gin (excellentNutfor this) and tonics. It's not something I'll move on from, as I prefer the taste of actual alcohol, but it was an enlightening experience to know that I can easily enjoy social events without alcohol, and I'm glad I did.

4.You have to listen to your body and find what works for you.

Not surprisingly, some of the rules didn't work for me. For example, photographing progress was too stimulating so I stopped after the first week, drinking 4.5 liters of water was too much (I averaged 2 liters) and who really has time to do 90 minutes every day of exercise (I have about half together)?

I also didn't like how it was all inclusive. Life is all about balance, but with the 75 Hard Challenge, it's easy to neglect other important areas of your life, like relationships, hobbies, and socializing. Also, the fact that if you miss a day you have to start from scratch is downright ridiculous. You wouldn't be human if you didn't make mistakes from time to time, and that doesn't justify punishment.

"This sets people up for failure, as life is unpredictable and can often derail the best-laid plans," says Cannon. "The only way to see your success is when you follow those strict rules that someone else created, instead of doing what has real value and meaning to you." In other words, it is imperative to make some positive lifestyle changes. , but following a set of rules set by someone who doesn't actually know anything about you isn't the best way to go.

Evans adds: "It's a much better idea to tune in to how you're feeling and decide what would benefit your mental and physical health on any given day."

Lewin's recommendations? Take some time to reflect on his own routine and personal goals. "Once you've evaluated this, seek the advice of a qualified professional who can help you with a plan to get you there." As we always say, if it's your lifestyle, you're much more likely to follow it.

5. "Healthy" Habits Are Not So Healthy When They Affect Your Mental Health

On paper, I was the epitome of "healthy" during the challenge. I exercised a lot, ate as much nutritious food as I could, drank a lot of water, and avoided alcohol. If I've posted progress photos, you may have seen a physical change, but mentally the challenge has taken its toll and that's important.

I was super busy at work and had a lot going on in my personal life, so following the six rules every day was exhausting.

"We need to think about when healthy behaviors actually become harmful," says Evans. “When someone is upset about completing daily tasks and their mental or physical health has been negatively affected, it is a red flag that what they are doing is no longer healthy.”

He's right, and with that advice in mind, on day 50 I decided enough was enough and completed the challenge. Do I feel guilty for missing the 75 days? No way. The challenge no longer worked for me, and that certainly doesn't make me a failure, and neither do you.

the game

I can confirm that I would not recommend the 75 Hard Challenge. who knew I admit that Ipaper binTake some positives out of the experience, like reading more and drinking less, but that's about it. There are many more effective and less extreme ways to challenge yourself and work on your health and fitness.

“Ultimately, you have to be kind to yourself and realize that you can work towards your goals with what you have now. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Progress trumps perfection,” says Cannon. speak louder

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please contact us.Hit, the UK-based charity that hopes to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders.
T:0808 801 0677MI:help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk, Under 18 Years of Age:fyp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk