75 Soft vs 75 Medium vs 75 Hard: which one to pick
All three last 75 days. All three ask for a workout, water, clean food and reading, every day. The difference is how much of each, and what happens when you slip. Pick the wrong one and you quit in week two. Pick the right one and you finish.
Who made each challenge?
- 75 Hard is Andy Frisella's programme, from 2019. The name is a trademark, and the official rules are published.
- 75 Medium and 75 Soft are community versions. They grew on social media from people who wanted 75 Hard's shape with less load. Nobody owns them, so you will see small differences between versions online.
The rules side by side
Workouts
- 75 Soft: one 45-minute workout. One day a week can be active recovery.
- 75 Medium: one 45-minute workout, plus 10,000 steps a day.
- 75 Hard: two 45-minute workouts, one of them outdoors. No rest days.
Water
- 75 Soft: 3 litres (about 101 oz).
- 75 Medium: 96 oz (about 2.8 litres).
- 75 Hard: one gallon (128 oz, about 3.8 litres).
Food
- 75 Soft: eat well. Alcohol only at social events.
- 75 Medium: eat clean, with one flex meal a week.
- 75 Hard: a diet you choose, with no cheat meals and no alcohol.
Reading
- 75 Soft and 75 Medium: 10 pages of any book.
- 75 Hard: 10 pages of non-fiction. Audiobooks do not count.
Photos
- Only 75 Hard asks for a progress picture every day.
A missed task
- 75 Hard: back to day one.
- 75 Soft and 75 Medium: no fixed rule. You choose strict or keep going before you start.
Full rules for each: 75 Soft, 75 Medium and 75 Hard.
How much time does each one take?
Count only the workouts and the reading, at about 15 minutes for 10 pages:
- 75 Soft: about 7 hours a week.
- 75 Medium: about 7 hours a week, plus the walking for 10,000 steps. On a desk job, that can be 5 to 8 more hours on your feet.
- 75 Hard: about 12 hours a week, plus getting changed and showering twice a day.
Is 75 Soft or 75 Hard better for beginners?
For most beginners, 75 Soft or 75 Medium. 75 Hard is built to be hard. It is a test of will more than a training plan. If you have not trained in a year, two workouts a day from day one is a lot for your joints, and the reset rule makes one bad day cost weeks.
Starting easier does not lock you in. Many people finish 75 Soft and do 75 Hard next. A finished easy challenge beats three failed hard ones.
If you feel lost before you even begin, that is normal:
“I’m just completely lost on where to start.”
Which one should I start with? A 5-question test
Answer each one honestly.
- Have you trained at least 3 times a week for a month in the last year? No: start with 75 Soft.
- Can you protect 90 minutes a day, every day, for 75 days? No: rule out 75 Hard for now.
- Do you sit for most of your working day? Yes: 75 Medium's step goal helps you most.
- Have you started and quit a challenge before? Yes: choose 75 Soft or 75 Medium, and pick the keep-going rule for missed days.
- Do you want the full test, with no exceptions? Yes, and you passed 1 and 2: 75 Hard.
What if I want results, not just discipline?
Most people want both. This line from a beginner's post is common:
“I want to lose weight but also gain some muscle.”
Any of the three can get you there if the food rule is real and the workouts include strength work. 75 Hard's second workout adds activity, not magic. For a realistic idea of what changes in 75 days, read 75 Hard before and after.
Can I switch versions halfway?
You can, but decide the rule first. Moving down from 75 Hard to 75 Medium on day 30 is fine if you say so and start counting the new challenge. Quietly dropping a rule while you keep the old name is how people stop trusting their own tracker.
“But I am craving that finish.”
That feeling is what keeps you going in week eight. Pick the version you can finish.
How to track whichever you pick
Paper works: we have a free 75 Hard checklist and a 75 Soft tracker. Fit75 is an iPhone app that has 75 Easy, 75 Medium and 75 Hard built in, and lets you set your own list for 75 Soft.
Fit75 is a 75-day challenge app and is not affiliated with 75 Hard.
The quiz below asks about your training so far, and suggests the version and plan that fit.