75 Hard vs 75 Soft: Which Challenge Fits You?

Quick answer: 75 Hard asks for two 45-minute workouts a day, one outdoors, no alcohol, no cheat meals, a gallon of water, 10 pages of non-fiction and a daily photo — and its published rules send you back to day 1 for any miss. 75 Soft is a lighter, forgiving version with one workout a day, a rest day, three liters of water, and no penalty for a missed goal. Choose on the failure rule first. Everything else is volume.

Both challenges run for 75 days. Both give you a daily list. That is where the similarity ends.

The two, side by side

75 Hard's rules as published by the program; 75 Soft as described by WebMD. Informal versions of 75 Soft vary.

What 75 Hard actually asks

The program's published rules state two workouts a day, "a minimum of 45 minutes long, they must be 3 hours apart from each other, and one of the two workouts MUST BE OUTSIDE." Alongside that: a structured diet with "zero alcohol, and absolutely NO CHEAT MEALS", a gallon of water a day, at least 10 pages of non-fiction — audiobooks explicitly do not count — and a daily progress photo.

The consequence is the part everyone quotes: "if you mess up on ANY task, at any time during the 75 days of 75 HARD ... you start over at Day 1." Day 74 counts for nothing if you miss it.

The program presents this severity as the point rather than a side effect. Its own material argues that modifying the rules defeats the purpose: the difficulty is the product. Whether or not you agree, take the position seriously — it explains why "75 Hard but with one workout" is not 75 Hard.

For the task-by-task detail, see the 75 Hard rules explained.

What 75 Soft actually asks

75 Soft grew out of social media as a lighter answer to the same idea. There is no official rulebook and no single owner, so versions differ. In the version WebMD describes, you take a photo on the first and seventy-fifth day, are mindful of food and avoid alcohol except for social occasions, drink three liters of water, read 10 pages a day of something that is not on your phone, and exercise with one active rest day each week.

And the crucial clause: "You are not punished if you're unable to meet one of the daily goals."

The difference that decides it

Not the water. Not the reading. The failure rule.

A restart rule removes negotiation. When one missed session costs you 40 days, there is nothing to discuss at 9pm in the rain. That is the whole mechanism, and for some people it is the only thing that has ever worked.

No penalty removes the cliff. When a bad day costs you nothing, a bad day does not become a bad month. For people who abandon anything the moment it stops being perfect, the forgiving version finishes and the strict one does not.

Neither design is superior. They fail different people.

Ask yourself one question, honestly: in the past, have you quit things because they were too hard, or because you broke them once and could not face restarting? If it is the first, run Soft. If it is the second, the hard rule is your friend, because it moves the decision to a moment when you are rested and serious.

The volume difference is bigger than it looks

Two 45-minute sessions a day is ninety minutes, every day, for eleven weeks. Ten and a half hours a week of training, before travel, showering, or the shopping and cooking the diet requires.

Set that against the floor for adults in public health guidance: the World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week for adults aged 18 to 64. 75 Hard is roughly four times that, sustained, with no scheduled rest day.

That is not a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to be realistic about your starting point, to make one session genuinely easy on most days, and to get medical clearance if you have any condition or injury that makes a jump like this risky. 75 Soft's structure — one session, one active rest day a week — is far closer to what most bodies and most calendars can absorb.

Alcohol and food

75 Hard's alcohol rule is absolute for 75 days and its diet rule allows no cheat meals, though the program leaves the choice of diet to you. 75 Soft asks you to be mindful of food and permits alcohol on social occasions.

This is where most people underestimate the difference. Eleven weeks with no exceptions covers birthdays, weddings, holidays, and every work dinner in between. Look at your calendar before you start rather than after.

Which to run

Run 75 Hard if you want a fixed external standard you cannot argue with, you have the ninety minutes, and a hard reset motivates rather than paralyses you.

Run 75 Soft if the realistic alternative is doing nothing, if you have caring duties or shift work that make a fixed ninety minutes impossible, or if you are coming back from injury or a long gap.

Write your own if neither list fits your sport, your body, or your life. A 2024 review of habit formation found that habits which were self-selected were more successful than those assigned without the person's choice. Authorship helps. Leniency does not — write it hard, then hold it.

There is no shame in the lighter version. There is real cost in starting the heavy one five times and finishing none.

Running either one honestly

Whatever you choose, fix the rules in writing before day 1 and keep the record somewhere you cannot quietly edit. A challenge you can re-interpret at midnight is not a challenge.

That is what Unbroken is for: you write the pact, your witnesses see each day as you bank it, and the days you have earned stay in the Record even if a run resets. If you want to see the standard version laid out first, the 75 Hard tracker holds the published rules unchanged.

If you are leaning toward the hard version, work through the complete prep checklist before you pick a start date. Most failures are logistics, not willpower.

75 Hard is a trademark of its owner. Unbroken is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by 75 Hard, 75 Soft, or their creators.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between 75 Hard and 75 Soft?

The failure rule. 75 Hard's published rules require you to start over at day 1 for any missed task. In 75 Soft, "you are not punished if you're unable to meet one of the daily goals." The workload differs too, but the reset is what changes how the 75 days feel.

Is 75 Soft easier than 75 Hard?

Considerably. One workout a day with a weekly active rest day, three liters of water instead of a gallon, and alcohol permitted on social occasions. It still asks for daily effort for eleven weeks, which is not nothing.

Can I do 75 Soft first and then 75 Hard?

Yes, and for many people that is the sensible order. Finishing a lighter challenge builds the schedule, the logistics, and the evidence that you keep promises. Then raise the standard.

Is two workouts a day safe?

It depends entirely on you, your training history, and what the sessions are. Ninety minutes a day is roughly four times the 150 minutes a week that WHO sets as an adult floor, so treat the jump seriously: make one session low intensity, sleep, eat enough, and get medical advice if you have any doubt.

Are the 75 Soft rules official?

No. 75 Soft spread through social media without a single rulebook, so versions differ. Pick one version, write it down before day 1, and stop reading other people's variants.