’75 hard’: The viral fitness challenge is back – but is it really the best way to spend January?

Name: 75 Difficult.

Age: 75 Hard was actually invented in 2019 by Andy Frisella, an author and podcaster.

So why are we talking about it now? Because this new year everyone is.

Going viral? On TikTok? You got it.

And it’s a fitness challenge, right? “This is not a fitness challenge,” says Frisella on his website.

Then what is it? “75 Hard is a transformative program for mental toughness.” He says he spent 20 years figuring out how to master mental toughness.

And what should you do? Follow a healthy diet plan, without alcohol or “cheat” meals.

For 75 days? I am I’m starting to miss dry January. And on each of those days you should do two 45-minute workouts, one outside, and drink three and a half liters of water.

Two workout! Sounds difficult. Precisely! It’s in the name.

What like…I don’t know, you have a job, or a family, or a life? AAnd it sounds like a fitness challenge to me! You also have to read 10 pages of a book. Nonfiction.

What?! Well a) Alone 10 pages? That doesn’t sound difficult. And b) What does he have against fiction? Frisella is more into books about self-improvement – ​​personal development, finance, entrepreneurship, that kind of thing.

The more I hear about it this plan, the less I feel like it It. I think so However, Frisella knows what he is talking about? Well, he’s not a doctor, or even a qualified personal trainer, and he doesn’t define what a healthy diet is.

So what do he has? 3.3 million followers on Instagram.

I see. And what does a real doctor say? NHS GP Sam Whiteman told the BBC that “it hasn’t been studied” in a clinical setting, and he’s not sure if it’s better than, say, just going to the gym three times a week. You should compare it to a simpler regimen to see what the results are. However, it is clearly a good idea to get people more active.

What does Dr. Whiteman recommend? A visit to the NHS live well website with useful information about exercise, weight, alcohol, diet etc.

The NHS Live Well website It’s hardly going to go viral, right? WHERE. But social media has proven to be innovative and adaptable in coming up with variations on the 75 Hard Fitness challenge…sorry, “transformative mental toughness program”…that may be more realistic and achievable for some.

Like? 75 Medium, even 75 Soft.

Consisting of? You can eat an unhealthy meal every now and then, exercise 45 minutes a day and have a recovery day every week. Moreover: reading.

Fiction? Let’s say yes!

Say: “I will then try a 75 Soft to Medium…”

Don’t say: “…as soon as I finish Finnegans Wake.”