75-Day Hard Challenge: Experts warn over the viral health trend
While fitness fads are often prevalent on social media, experts have issued a warning over the one TikTok trend that may be causing more harm than good.
If you’ve been active on social media lately, then you may have come across the “75-Day Hard” challenge, which is prevalent on sites like TikTok and Instagram.
The challenge revolves around participants following a series of strict rules for 75 days, but Steven McQuillan, the lead writer at Compare.bet, has issued an urgent warning about why the challenge may not be as beneficial as you think.
What is the 75-Day Hard Challenge?
Over the years, thousands of people have participated in the 75-Day Hard challenge, posting their transformations across social media. Often referred to as ‘75 Hard’, the challenge aims to promote physical activity and healthy eating.
Over recent months, searches for “75-Day Hard” have increased by a staggering 477%, peaking in the early days of July. Searches for “75-Day Hard Rules” and “75-Day Hard Diet” have also been on the rise in recent weeks.
According to data from Google Trends, online searches for “75 Days from Today” have also soared by 104% in the past 30 days, hinting that people may be feeling pressure from social media to embark on a trending fitness fad.
Participants of the challenge are obliged to follow a series of strict rules for 75 continuous days. If a participant slips up, they must restart the challenge from day one. While the challenge’s severity may deter many, others believe that participating in the fitness trend daily is the quickest way to form positive habits. The challenge revolves around following five rules, which include:
#1 Follow a strict diet
The diet itself is up to the participant’s choice, but it must revolve around the goal of physical improvement. No “cheat meals” or alcohol are allowed throughout the duration of the challenge.
#2 Complete two 45-minute workouts a day
The challenge specifies that one of these workouts must be completed outdoors.
#3 Drink one gallon of water a day
While most professionals recommend drinking around 1.2 litres of water daily, the challenge instructs that participants must drink almost four litres daily.
#4 Take a progress picture every day
In compliance with the challenge’s goal of physical transformation, participants must take a picture of themselves daily throughout the challenge. Many participants choose to upload these progress pictures on social media, particularly on TikTok.
#5 Read at least ten pages of a book every day
To boost mental well-being, the challenge specifies that participants must read at least ten pages of a book daily. While the book is up to the participant’s choosing, the challenge specifies that audiobooks are not included.
What are the dangers of the challenge?
While the challenge focuses on implementing positive habits into your daily routine, it’s likely that the trend is causing participants more harm than good.
The challenge’s strict rules aim to promote discipline, but this can enable an “all-or-nothing” mindset. If participants fail to complete all aspects of the challenge in one day, then they are obliged to restart the trend from day one, invoking feelings of guilt and self-criticism. These negative emotions can result in low moods, self-isolation, and heightened anxiety levels.
As social media users typically share their progress and transformation photos online while completing the 75 Hard challenge, participants will likely end up comparing their fitness journeys with others. This consistent feeling of self-comparison can take a significant toll on your mental well-being and may create an unhealthy hyper-focus on appearance and body image, which can heighten feelings of dysmorphia.
While healthy eating is an essential component of mental wellness, following a strict diet has many downsides, particularly the risk of forming an unhealthy relationship with food. This challenge promotes calorie counting, which may sometimes lead to undesirable outcomes, particularly for younger participants.
The challenge also places an obsessive pressure on completing two workouts per day, which fails to consider other commitments like work and childcare. While completing daily exercise can have a positive impact on both your physical and mental well-being, the obligation to complete two 45-minute workouts in one day is often unrealistic.
As the 75 Hard challenge mainly revolves around excessive levels of physical activity, this creates a negative mindset around working out. Participants may feel as though they have to exercise out of obligation, rather than for enjoyment, and may not have enough time to rest and recover.
With 75-Day Hard being promoted across social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, many of the participants will be younger. Following strict rules around exercise and food can pose risks to younger audiences’ well-being.
While older audiences tend to take what they see on social media with a pinch of salt, younger viewers are often more impressionable, which is why the 75 Hard challenge can be harmful. Invoking habits of self-comparison and negative associations with body image is why it’s best for teens to steer clear of this challenge and look for healthier alternatives.
Warning signs parents should watch for
It’s important for parents to be aware if their teen is participating in any viral fitness challenges. Parents should maintain open communication when it comes to social media trends, particularly when it comes to diet and fitness fads. Keep an eye out for any signs of anxiety concerning missing workouts and excessive amounts of exercise.
It’s important to discuss the difference between healthy discipline and harmful perfectionism to avoid any feelings of self-deprivation. Parents should encourage teens to avoid taking social media content at face value and instead question the wider drawbacks surrounding fitness trend consumption.
Steven McQuillan, the lead writer at Compare.bet , has commented:
“Ultimately, the 75 Hard challenge has good intentions when it comes to promoting healthy habits, but fitness trends are rarely sustainable in the long run. Instead of cramming strict dieting and excessive workouts into a short time span, it’s more important to work on building more realistic and achievable goals over a gradual period.
“Short-term fitness challenges often have the potential to place participants under too much pressure, which can then create an unhealthy relationship with dieting and regular physical activity. This is why it’s more important to take a more measured approach to healthy eating and fitness.
“75-Day Hard can be accused of setting the standards overly high so that participants feel a sense of constant pressure and anxiety. The challenge’s ‘no excuses’ mindset fails to account for realistic obligations and obstacles, such as illness, work, and childcare.
“While the challenge aims to hold participants accountable when it comes to implementing healthy habits, it’s more likely that participants will take the trend’s rules ‘too far.’ This feeling of consistently striving toward perfectionism can ultimately result in burnout, often leading people to lose track of their fitness journey entirely.
“Instead of feeling weighed down by unrealistic goals, remember to set your own fitness goals that work within your routine rather than following what social media deems to be ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Building sustainable habits gradually, without the all-or-nothing approach, will always lead to healthier long-term outcomes."