You looked at 75 Hard: two workouts a day, a gallon of water, and back to day 1 if you slip once. You want the version you can do with a job, a social life and the occasional bad week.
That's 75 Soft. The hard part isn't the rules. It's still doing them on day 38.
The 75 Soft Challenge rules
75 Soft is an informal challenge that spread on TikTok as a gentler take on 75 Hard; Marathon Handbook credits it to creator Stephen Gallagher. Nobody publishes an official rulebook, so this is the version Cleveland Clinic, WebMD and Marathon Handbook agree on:
| Rule | 75 Soft | 75 Hard (for comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| Exercise | 45 minutes a day; any activity, walking and yoga included | Two 45-minute workouts a day, one outdoors |
| Rest | One active-recovery day a week (stretching, walking, yoga) | None: both workouts every day |
| Food and drink | Eat well; alcohol only on social occasions | A strict diet, no cheat meals, no alcohol |
| Water | 3 liters a day | A gallon a day |
| Reading | 10 pages of any book | 10 pages of nonfiction |
| Photo | Optional: day 1 and day 75 | A progress photo every day |
| Miss a day | Keep going | Start again from day 1 |
Where sources differ: Healthline describes another variant with 30 minutes of exercise four times a week and 5 minutes of daily meditation, and it lets 10 minutes of audio replace reading. Marathon Handbook says audiobooks don't count. Pick one version before day 1 and write it down, so you aren't renegotiating the rules on a tired evening.
General wellness only, not medical advice. 3 liters of water isn't right for everyone (for example, with kidney disease), so check with a doctor first if you have a health condition, and stop if something hurts.
Why 75 Soft drops the restart rule
In 75 Hard, one missed rule on day 60 sends you back to day 1. For a lot of people that turns a slip into quitting. A Cleveland Clinic psychologist quoted by WebMD notes that perfectionists can get overly stressed by missed days.
75 Soft asks for good-faith effort instead. That makes the real challenge consistency over 11 weeks, which is a tracking problem more than a willpower one.
How to track 75 days without quitting
- Four boxes a day. Exercise, water, reading, food. A paper grid, a notes app or a habit tracker all work; what matters is checking them the same day.
- Pick the rest day now. Same weekday every week, planned as a walk or stretching, so it never becomes a skipped day by accident.
- Count days done, not the chain. "52 of 75" survives a sick week. A streak counter doesn't, and 75 Soft doesn't ask for one.
- Keep a bad-day version. A short walk, the water, a few pages. If 45 minutes is far off today, build up like our beginner workout plan does.
- Make it a game if that helps. Points and rewards keep some people going past week three; our guide to gamifying your to-do list covers how.
What if you miss a day?
You keep going. Cleveland Clinic and WebMD both say there's no penalty and no restart. WebMD's advice is to note the slip and make sure it doesn't become a daily habit.
The rule that helps most: never miss twice. One missed day is noise; two in a row is how the challenge quietly ends. If a broken streak has made you quit before, read why one missed day feels final.
Tracking 75 Soft in Taskoria
We build Taskoria, so weigh this with that in mind. Add the four rules as daily tasks: each one you complete deals damage to a monster, so a day with three of four done still counts.
Miss a day and only the streak bonus resets. There is no HP loss and no lost levels or gear, which fits a challenge without a restart rule. Limits: no web app, and it isn't a workout or meal planner. It's free on iOS and Android, with an optional subscription. More in the player guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does walking count for 75 Soft?
Yes. WebMD and Marathon Handbook both count walking and yoga as exercise for 75 Soft, as long as you reach the daily 45 minutes. Cleveland Clinic lists walking as a good activity for your weekly active-recovery day.
What happens if you miss a day of 75 Soft?
Nothing official: you don't restart at day 1. Cleveland Clinic and WebMD both say there is no penalty for a missed day. Note it, get back to the rules the next day, and try not to miss twice in a row.
How much weight will I lose on 75 Soft?
There is no reliable number, and 75 Soft isn't a weight-loss programme. Experts quoted by WebMD say it isn't a good fit for significant weight-loss goals. If weight is your aim, talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Is there a 75 Soft Challenge tracker app?
Any habit tracker that lets you set daily tasks works, and dedicated 75 Soft apps exist too. Taskoria is a habit RPG where each completed task damages a monster and a missed day only resets the streak bonus. It is free on iOS and Android, with an optional subscription.
Try Taskoria free
Your daily rules deal damage, bosses fall, and a missed day only resets the streak bonus. Free to download on iOS and Android.
