‘75 hard’: the viral fitness challenge is back – but is it really the best way to spend January?

Name: 75 Hard.

Age: 75 Hard was actually invented in 2019, by Andy Frisella, an author and podcaster.

So why are we talking about it now? Because this new year everyone else is.

Going viral? On TikTok? You got it.

And it’s a fitness challenge, right? “This is not a fitness challenge”, Frisella says on his website.

What is it then? “75 Hard is a transformative mental toughness programme.” He says he spent 20 years figuring out how to master mental toughness.

And what do you have to do? Follow a healthy diet plan, with zero alcohol or “cheat” meals.

For 75 days? I’m beginning to miss dry January. And on each one of those days you’ve got to do two 45 minute workouts, one outside, as well as drink three and a half litres of water.

Two workouts! Sounds hard. Exactly! It’s in the name.

What if … I don’t know, you have a job, or a family, or a life? And it sounds like a fitness challenge to me! You also have to read 10 pages of a book. Nonfiction.

What?! Well a) Only 10 pages? That doesn’t sound hard. And b) What has he got against fiction? Frisella is more into self-improvement books – personal development, finances, entrepreneurship, that kind of stuff.

The more I hear about this plan, the less I’m into it. I guess Frisella knows what he’s talking about though? Well, he is not a doctor, or even a qualified personal trainer, and he doesn’t stipulate what constitutes a healthy diet.

So what does he have? 3.3 million followers on Instagram.

I see. And what does an actual doctor say? NHS GP Sam Whiteman told the BBC that “it has not been studied” in a clinical setting, and he isn’t sure if it’s any better than simply going to the gym three times a week, for example. You would need to compare it to a more basic regime to see what the results are. Getting people to be more active is, however, clearly a good idea.

What does Doc Whiteman recommend? Visiting the NHS Live Well website, which has useful information about exercise, weight, alcohol, diet etc.

The NHS Live Well website is hardly going to go viral, is it? True. But social media has shown itself to be innovative and adaptable in coming up with variations of the 75 Hard fitness challenge … sorry, “transformative mental toughness programme” … that might be more realistic and achievable for some.

Such as? 75 Medium, even 75 Soft.

Consisting of? You can have the odd bevvy, and unhealthy meal, 45 minutes of exercise a day and a recovery day each week. Plus, the reading.

Fiction? Let’s say yes!

Do say: “I’ll try a 75 Soft to Medium then …”

Don’t say: “… just as soon as I’ve finished Finnegans Wake.”