75 Soft vs 75 Hard vs 75 Medium: the rules side by side
75 Hard asks for two 45-minute workouts, a gallon of water, a strict diet, 10 pages and a daily photo, with a restart on any miss. 75 Soft cuts that to one workout, three litres of water, flexible eating and no restart. 75 Medium sits between them. Rules vary by source.
General information, not medical advice. Stop if you feel dizzy or unwell, and ask a professional about any health concern.
The one-minute comparison
All three run for 75 days and ask for daily tasks. They differ in how much they ask and in what happens when you miss. The 75 Soft and 75 Medium rules were written by community members, not by the creator of 75 Hard, so every outlet words them a little differently. The table uses the versions in the sources below, and says where they disagree.
| 75 Hard | 75 Soft | 75 Medium (one version) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diet | One plan, no cheat meals, no alcohol | Eat well, alcohol only on social occasions | Any plan, followed about 90 percent of the time, no alcohol |
| Workouts | Two of 45 minutes, one outdoors | One of 45 minutes, plus one active rest day a week | One of 45 minutes, no rest day |
| Water | One gallon (3.8 L) | 3 litres | Half your body weight in pounds, in ounces |
| Reading | 10 pages of non-fiction | 10 pages of any book | 10 minutes of self-development content, any format |
| Photos | Daily | Sources differ: none, or Day 1 and Day 75 | Day 1 and Day 75 |
| Extra | None | None | 5 minutes of meditation or prayer |
| If you miss | Restart at Day 1 | No restart | Within the 90 percent allowance, no restart |
For 75 Hard the official page confirms the diet, workouts and restart. Water, reading and photos come from other write-ups of the full rules.
75 Soft in practice
Soft keeps the daily structure and the reading and water habits, and drops the parts that cause burnout: the second workout, the strict diet and the restart. WebMD calls it a watered-down version of 75 Hard, and quotes a primary care sports medicine specialist who says it suits beginners while 75 Hard sets the bar too high for novices. Another sports medicine physician, quoted by TODAY, calls it "both doable and realistic for most people".
Two cautions. The diet rule is vague on purpose, so the same experts suggest picking one to three concrete habits, like a food journal or swapping one snack. And one quoted physician is skeptical of forcing a fixed water amount, while a trainer calls 3 litres a good guideline, so treat it as a guideline, not a test.
What it means for your week
The workout rules change your week more than anything else. Using the CDC's adult guideline of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week as a yardstick:
- 75 Hard: two 45-minute workouts, seven days, is 630 minutes a week.
- 75 Medium (this version): one 45-minute workout daily is 315 minutes a week.
- 75 Soft: one 45-minute workout with one rest day is 270 minutes a week.
Even the softest version clears the baseline, which is part of why the experts we read are comfortable recommending it to people who are not yet fit.
75 Medium in practice
75 Medium is the least standardised of the three. The version we read from Marathon Handbook asks for one workout, no alcohol, flexible 90 percent diet adherence and a meditation or prayer minute. That article also says the 90 percent buffer conflicts with other outlets that still say you restart on a miss. If you choose Medium, write your exact rules down before Day 1 and do not change them mid-run.
Which one should you pick?
| If this is you | Start with |
|---|---|
| New to exercise, or coming back after a break | 75 Soft |
| Active, want strictness but no second workout | 75 Medium |
| Active, loves rules, can protect two daily slots | 75 Hard |
| Tends to quit after one slip | 75 Soft or Medium, or a challenge with a built-in recovery |
| Has any medical condition, injury or eating-disorder history | Talk to a doctor first, then a softer version |
Marathon Handbook and others present Soft as a stepping stone. That is a reasonable path: finish a version you can win, then raise the bar.
Build your own version
None of these is a law. What makes any of them work is a short, fixed list you repeat daily and a visible count. You can do that on paper, in a notes app, or in a challenge app; the free checklist has a 75 Hard and a 75 Soft list. Ninety, for example, lets you pick your daily disciplines from a list of 99 and flag some as hard rules that break your streak and others as soft rules that only count toward today. It runs 90 days, not 75. If the idea of a safety net appeals, see how missing a day works on 75 Hard and compare it with other ways to track a run.
The short checklist before you choose
- Write the rules you will follow, in one sentence each.
- Decide now what happens if you miss: restart, pause or carry on.
- Put the start date in your calendar and a daily reminder next to it.
- Tell one person.
Still unsure? Read the complete 75 Hard rules and the honest worth-it guide first.
Questions people ask
Who created 75 Soft?
TODAY reports that Irish fitness influencer Stephen Gallagher, known on TikTok as @stephengfitness, is widely credited with creating 75 Soft. It is a community variant, not an official 75 HARD product.
Do you restart if you miss a day on 75 Soft?
No. WebMD and Cleveland Clinic both say you are not penalised and do not restart the 75 days. You are expected to hold yourself accountable and carry on.
Is there one official 75 Medium?
No single official rule set exists. The version we read has one 45-minute workout, no alcohol, a diet followed about 90 percent of the time and a Day 1 and Day 75 photo. Other write-ups differ.
Should I do 75 Soft first, then 75 Hard?
Several writers present Soft as a stepping stone. A sports medicine physician quoted by WebMD says 75 Soft suits beginners and that 75 Hard sets the bar too high for novices.
Sources
- WebMD: what is the 75 Soft challenge Read via a page-to-text summary. Soft rules, no restart, quotes from three clinicians.
- TODAY: what is the 75 Soft challenge Read via a page-to-text summary. Hard versus Soft table, creator credit, quotes from a sports medicine physician and a trainer.
- Cleveland Clinic: the 75 Soft challenge Read via a page-to-text summary. Four Soft rules and no restart.
- Marathon Handbook: the 75 Soft challenge Read via a page-to-text summary. Soft rules, audiobooks not counted, photos dropped.
- Marathon Handbook: 75 Medium challenge rules Read via a page-to-text summary. One published version of the 75 Medium rules; other versions differ.
- CDC: physical activity guidelines for adults Read via a page-to-text summary. 150 minutes of moderate activity a week.
- 75 HARD official info page (Andy Frisella) Read via a page-to-text summary. Official rules that are stated on the page.
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