With the new year underway, it’s the perfect time to jumpstart your resolutions. Whether you want to exercise more, build healthier habits or eat a little cleaner, the 75 Soft Challenge is a good place to start. This modified version of the 75 Hard Challenge, which went viral on social media, is easy to personalize and encourages healthy habits all year. Keep reading to learn more about the 75 Soft Challenge, the “rules” to follow and why it’s worth trying.
What is the 75 Soft Challenge?
The 75 Soft Challenge is a 75-day plan to create a healthy routine, and it might be a good starting point if you want to improve your overall health and well-being. It’s less intense than the 75 Hard Challenge, created by entrepreneur Andy Frisilla to “build mental strength and discipline.” The hard version includes rigorous daily workout plans, and strict eating and hydration schedules, which can be difficult to stick with.
Tami Smith, CPT, NASM certified macro coach and founder of Fit Healthy Macros, calls the 75 Soft Challenge “a more approachable alternative” to the original 75 Hard version. “The challenge focuses on adding healthy lifestyle habits to your daily routine for 75 days, with the goal of solidifying them as daily healthy habits by the end,” she says. “It encourages a healthy, balanced approach to long-term wellness without the strict confines of the original 75 Hard Challenge, which can feel overwhelming and unsustainable for some.”
While many people join the challenge at the start of the new year, this accessible plan is something you can follow any time you want to kickstart your wellness journey, says Kaleigh Ray, a running biomechanist and ACSM-certified exercise physiologist at Treadmill Review Guru.
75 Hard versus 75 soft challenge rules
Both the 75 Hard and 75 Soft Challenges encourage you to move your body, but the rules are more flexible and easier to follow for the latter.
75 Hard Rules:
- Two 45-minute workouts per day. One must be outside.
- Follow any diet of your choosing without cheating or consuming alcohol.
- Read 10 pages of a non-fiction or self-help book daily.
- Drink a gallon of water a day.
- Take weekly progress photos.
75 Soft Rules:
- One 45-minute workout per day with one rest day a week.
- Eat well by being mindful of your eating and drinking habits.
- Read 10 pages of any book daily.
- Drink 3.5 liters of water a day.
- Take progress photos at the start and end of your journey.
With the 75 Soft Challenge, the guidelines are sustainable and adaptable to daily life. “It doesn’t take the all-or-nothing approach by forcing you to start over or not allowing exceptions like 75 hard,” explains Ray. “This flexibility allows the 75 soft challenge to go beyond the 75-day time frame and combats obstacles that may cause you to give up.”
Benefits of the 75 Soft Challenge
@theteachingtoolbox We are back babyyyyy!! Let’s make this the best round yet!! 🤟🏽 who is with me in 2025?? #75soft #75softie #teacher #75softchallenge #newyear #goals #newyears #newyearseve #fypシ #fy
♬ original sound – Kayse
Smith notes that 75 Soft encourages consistency and balance without becoming your entire focus. Each of the challenge rules focuses on healthy habits that you can easily incorporate into your daily life even after you’ve completed the 75 days.
Exercise boosts weight loss
While 45 minutes of exercise every day may seem like a lot, you can break it up into smaller increments and select activities that best suit your lifestyle, such as walking, biking, yoga or even going up and down the stairs. This version also allows for a day of rest every week.
For the best results, Ray recommends choosing exercises that you enjoy and gradually adding variety to your training intensity. “Some days should be light with an endurance or recovery focus, while others can focus on strength, power and giving it everything you’ve got,” she says.
As for the perks of daily movement? Exercising every day not only promotes weight loss, but it also boosts your energy and improves overall health and longevity.
Eating well wards off heart disease and diabetes
Instead of taking a rigid diet and no-alcohol stance, Ray says the 75 Soft Challenge encourages you to be intentional about your eating habits and make good choices as often as possible.This may include adding foods higher in protein and fiber and limiting those that are high in saturated fat or added sugar.
“Choosing to eat more whole foods, protein and veggies can help you to lose weight, have more energy and reach your fitness goals,” adds Smith. What’s more, a diet rich in fresh produce, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats protects against heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Drinking more water curbs cravings
Many of us fall short on our hydration goals each day, so setting a reminder on your smartphone to drink up can be helpful. “Drinking water can lead to improved health, more energy, weight loss, clearer skin and less food cravings,” says Smith.
Keep in mind that the recommended 3.5 liters of water (about 1 gallon) for this challenge is a general number and may vary based on your individual needs. (Learn more about how much water you really need to drink in a day here.)
Reading protects your memory
“Reading daily helps to keep our minds sharp and our mindset in the place it needs to be in for us to continue to push through obstacles and create the best life possible for ourselves,” says Smith.
Unlike 75 Hard Challenge, in the soft version, you can read any book in any genre. And audiobooks count towards your daily goal, too!
Taking progress pictures revs motivation
You’ll want to take a progress picture at the beginning and end of 75 Soft, especially if one of your goals is shedding unwanted pounds. “As a personal trainer, one of the biggest challenges I had to overcome with clients was when they expected results too quickly,” says Ray. “But 75 days is a good time frame to see visible results. Daily check-ins are too frequent and can be discouraging for many exercisers.”
By the end of the challenge, you may notice that your clothes fit a little looser and your skin looks brighter, which can encourage you to keep making positive changes.
Camera shy? The photos also don’t have to be just pictures of you. Ray suggests taking progress pictures when you feel proud of yourself or snapping a photo of the books you’ve read, exercise challenges you’ve conquered and tasty meals you really enjoyed.
Give yourself grace during the 75 Soft Challenge
If you’re considering starting this challenge, Smith says to remember that you are human and don’t need to complete it “perfectly.” “Sometimes you’ll miss a workout, overeat on unhealthy foods or forget to read—this is normal and part of the process,” she says. “The most important thing you can do is commit to getting right back to your healthy habits as soon as you can.”
Ray adds that it should feel fun and not like a chore you have to complete. “Find healthy recipes you like, choose exercises you enjoy and read books you’re interested in to fully set yourself up for success.”
This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.