75 Hard is a mental toughness program that Andy Frisella introduced in 2019. You follow five rules every day for 75 days: follow a diet, complete two 45-minute workouts with one outdoors, drink a gallon of water, read 10 pages of a physical nonfiction book, and take a progress photo. If you miss any rule, you restart at day one, according to Frisella's official program rules.
You should not treat 75 Hard as a medically tested fitness plan. Cleveland Clinic's medical review says that two 45-minute workouts a day may be overly taxing, especially when you are just starting a workout routine. It also warns that not giving your body time to rest and recharge when it is fatigued could eventually lead to overuse injuries.
The five official 75 Hard rules
You must complete every rule every day if you want to follow 75 Hard as its creator defines it. The program does not offer partial credit or planned rest days.
| Rule | What you do | What you need to decide before you start |
|---|---|---|
| Follow a diet | You choose a diet that supports your stated goal. You have no cheat meals and drink no alcohol, according to the official rules. | Write down exactly what you will eat and what you will exclude. Ask a qualified professional for help if dietary restrictions or a history of disordered eating affect your choice. |
| Complete two workouts | You complete two 45-minute workouts. You do one outdoors and separate the workouts by at least three hours, according to the official rules. | Choose activities, times, locations, and a realistic bad-weather plan. |
| Drink a gallon of water | You drink one gallon of water each day, according to the official rules. | Ask your doctor whether this fixed amount suits your health, activity, medication, and environment. |
| Read a physical book | You read 10 pages from a physical nonfiction or self-development book. Audiobooks do not count, according to the official rules. | Pick your first book and place it where you plan to read. |
| Take a progress photo | You take one progress photo every day, according to the official rules. | Choose a private storage method and decide what boundaries will make the photo feel acceptable to you. |
The details matter. One long workout does not replace the two separate sessions. An audiobook does not replace the physical pages. Completing most of the list does not satisfy the official rules.
If you alter a rule, you create a custom challenge rather than completing 75 Hard as Frisella defines it. That may still suit you better. Just name your plan honestly.
What happens when you miss a day?
You restart at day one if you miss any task, even when you notice the mistake late in the challenge. Frisella states that penalty directly in the official 75 Hard rules.
That rule creates the program's sharpest trade-off. You gain a simple standard because you either complete the full list or you do not. You also lose room for illness, travel, disrupted sleep, unsafe conditions, or a genuine need for rest.
Before you begin, decide which promise you want to make:
| Your priority | The clearer choice |
|---|---|
| You want to complete the creator's program exactly | Follow every official rule and accept the restart penalty. |
| You want a demanding routine with room to adjust | Build a custom challenge and define your own missed-day rule. |
| You need a gentler structure | Review the 75 Soft challenge rules before you commit. |
| You want to choose every task yourself | Use the custom 75-day challenge guide. |
Do not quietly change the rules halfway through and then argue with yourself about whether the attempt counts. Choose the standard before you start.
What Cleveland Clinic and Penn State Health say about 75 Hard
Medical experts question the rigid structure, especially when you start without an established exercise routine or choose restrictive food rules.
The exercise schedule leaves no planned rest days
You complete two workouts every day under the official rules. Penn State Health's clinical exercise physiology guidance explains that rest supports a sustainable fitness routine and advises you to build activity gradually when you start from little or no regular exercise in its review of 75 Hard and fitness resolutions.
Cleveland Clinic also warns that the daily workload may contribute to overuse injuries, especially when your current fitness level does not prepare you for the schedule, in its medical review.
You do not need to prove commitment by ignoring pain, illness, dizziness, exhaustion, or advice from your clinician. Stop and seek appropriate help when your body or circumstances give you a reason to do so.
The diet rule gives you no nutritional standard
Frisella lets you choose the diet, so the rule does not tell you what to eat or whether your choice meets your needs. Penn State Health questions the sustainability of restrictive diet rules in its clinical exercise guidance.
Matthew Sacco, PhD, also raises concerns about body image and the program's rigid mindset in the Cleveland Clinic review. If you have experienced disordered eating or distress around food and body image, talk with a qualified professional before you start.
One water target does not fit every person
The official program gives you a fixed daily water rule rather than a target based on your health and circumstances. Cleveland Clinic advises you to consult your doctor before attempting the challenge in its medical guidance.
Ask before you start if you have a health condition, take medication, exercise in extreme conditions, or feel unsure about the amount. Do not treat a challenge rule as personal medical advice.
The restart rule can turn one mistake into a total failure
The official restart penalty makes consistency easy to judge, but it can also strengthen all-or-nothing thinking. Sacco discusses that concern in the Cleveland Clinic review.
You can reject that mindset without rejecting discipline. A missed task tells you what disrupted your plan. You can use that information to adjust your schedule, your environment, or the challenge itself.
Does 75 Hard work?
You cannot rely on published research to promise a specific physical or mental result from 75 Hard. Cleveland Clinic notes the lack of published scientific evidence about the program itself in its medical review.
You may still value its clear rules or the satisfaction of following a difficult schedule. Those personal reasons do not turn the program into a proven treatment, fitness prescription, or guaranteed transformation.
A better question asks whether the exact rules fit your current health, schedule, and goals. If you need to ignore professional advice or hide warning signs to keep your streak alive, the rules do not fit you.
How to prepare for day one
Set up the work before your first morning. You will find the challenge much harder to interpret once you feel tired or rushed.
Use this preparation checklist:
- Write each rule in precise language.
- Define your diet without vague exceptions.
- Schedule both workouts and identify the outdoor session.
- Choose your first physical book.
- Place your water bottle where you will use it.
- Decide when and where you will take your progress photo.
- Plan how you will handle travel, weather, late work, and social events.
- Ask your doctor about the challenge if your health, medication, current activity, or food history gives you any concern.
- Decide whether you accept the official restart rule.
- Put your daily tasks somewhere you can mark them complete.
You can also use a printable 75 Hard checklist if paper helps you see the whole day at once.
How to track your own version with Her Glow Up
Complete the health and rule decisions first. Then choose a tracker.
We make Her Glow Up: 75 Day Challenge for a custom approach. You can plan your own daily tasks and mark each one complete. When you finish a day, Her Glow Up lets you attach a progress photo.
Her Glow Up never resets your challenge to day one when you miss a day. Her Glow Up lays out every day of your challenge from the start and keeps the days you completed, according to the Her Glow Up product page.
That makes the distinction clear:
- If you follow official 75 Hard, you accept its restart rule.
- If you build a custom challenge, you choose your rules and keep an honest record of the days you completed.
- Her Glow Up does not claim affiliation with 75 Hard, according to the Her Glow Up product page.
Apple lists Her Glow Up: 75 Day Challenge under App Store ID 6762516265. When you want a configurable daily checklist with optional progress photos and no forced reset, you can download Her Glow Up.
Your practical decision
Choose official 75 Hard only when you understand every rule, accept the restart penalty, and feel confident that the workload fits your situation. Ask your doctor before you start when you have any health concern.
Choose a custom challenge when you want structure without treating one missed task as permission to erase your completed days. Write your rules, track each day honestly, and adjust your plan when your health or circumstances require it.
Put this into practice
Her Glow Up: 75 Day Challenge is our best app for applying this lesson to your own next step.