What Is The 75 Hard Challenge And What Does It Feel Like: Ed Armstrong

Caitlyn Davey • April 2, 2025

The 75 Hard Challenge is a 75-day health and fitness trend that has built a reputation for being one of the toughest around.


Created by Andy Frisella—author, entrepreneur, and host of the 'Real AF' podcast—this challenge is less about fitness alone and more about developing mental toughness.


What is the 75 Hard Challenge?

The challenge demands strict adherence to six main principles every day for 75 consecutive days:

  • Take a five-minute cold shower
  • Read 10 pages of non-fiction each day
  • Follow a diet (no cheat meals or alcohol allowed)
  • Work out twice a day for at least 45 minutes
  • Drink four litres of water
  • Take daily progress pictures


Important: If you miss any task, you must start over from Day 1.


Insights from the Rebuild Health and Fitness Podcast


On an episode of the Rebuild Health and Fitness Podcast, Ed Armstrong, a mental health coach from Sydney who has completed the challenge multiple times, shares his experiences.


Ed discusses:

  • Why he took part in the challenge
  • What it feels like to complete it
  • The ethical considerations behind extreme challenges like this


Coach’s Perspective: Is the 75 Hard Challenge Right for You?

While completing the challenge can lead to amazing physical transformations, many coaches express reservations about the underlying philosophy.


Key concerns:

  • The "work hard, no sleep, strict diet" approach isn't sustainable long-term.
  • Working out twice a day (for 45 minutes each session) may not be ideal for most people's health or recovery.
  • Following a highly restrictive diet without flexibility can sometimes create an unhealthy relationship with food.


That said, components like:

  • Reading 10 pages daily
  • Drinking sufficient water
  • Cold showers for resilience
  • Tracking progress with photos are generally seen as beneficial habits.

Ed's Personal Experience

For Ed, completing the 75 Hard Challenge was a powerful tool for:

  • Building mental toughness
  • Advancing career development
  • Improving personal discipline


He explains that Andy Frisella's challenge includes four total phases, spanning over the course of a full year if followed completely.


Final Thoughts: Who Is It Really For?

The 75 Hard Challenge is best viewed as a mental resilience course—not a health optimization plan.


It’s designed to test your commitment, push you past your comfort zone, and build mental toughness.


However, it’s not recommended for everyone, especially if you're:

  • Looking for a balanced, sustainable health routine
  • Dealing with recovery needs, injuries, or burnout risks


As Ed sums it up:

"It's about pushing yourself when you don't feel like working out."

If your goal is to test your limits and challenge your discipline, the 75 Hard might be a worthy endeavor.


If you’re seeking long-term health, you might want to adapt the principles into a more sustainable approach.

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Sometimes you do everything right, and shit still doesn’t go to plan.
 Last weekend I ran in the Gold Coast Marathon, my first ever marathon. I trained properly, my body felt relatively good (all things considered when preparing to run 42.2km), I carb-loaded, and my race day nutrition was dialled in.
 I was ready.
 We set off. Jess and the kids met me at different points on the course with signs, the atmosphere was great. I loved seeing the kids with their signs. Pacing felt on point. The first 21km? Easy. I felt great. Maybe I should’ve drunk more water, but I didn’t think too much of it at the time.
 At 25km, I felt slower, but pace wise I was still holding well. I’d kept telling myself throughout the day "The race starts at 30km." And let me tell you, it does.
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 I hadn’t taken on enough water. Usually, I can get away with lower fluids. Not this time. Dehydration crept in. hard.
 At 35km I was in survival mode, one foot in front of the other, flicking between moments of pain and little short lived waves of “let’s go.” But by 39km I was delirious. I could see the finish line, I hit the 40km mark (where I thought enjoyment might return to finish), and I collapsed.
 I was gone. Scary stuff.
 The last few hundred metres were a complete blur. All I remember is the crowd, the medics, and about five paramedics suddenly around me. I was vomiting, shaking, confused, in and out of it. I had this overwhelming, indescribable feeling, and honestly, for a moment, I thought I could die.
 My memory went. I couldn’t recall the day, the year, where I lived, or how to spell. I only knew who Jess and the kids were, and that I didn’t want them to see me with wires in me. 
 My temperature had hit 40°C. Blood pressure crashed. Thankfully, the medics and paramedics were incredible, I had a drip running into me within 10 to 15 minutes.
 As I already knew, I’m stubborn. I wanted to run it all. Not walk. Not stop and breathe and In hindsight, I should have. 
 Seems like my mind was just a bit stronger than my body on the day. I never thought I could push myself there in all honesty. 

Am I gutted? Of course, I was only 2km away but I gave it everything I had on that day. Heat stroke, exhaustion, and dehydration got me. 

I am always reminded here of the quote ‘The man in the arena’ look it up if you need. 
 Will I run 42.2km again? Yes, I feel I need to. 

Would I do things differently, now I’ve run 40km under race conditions? You bet, lessons learnt. Always lessons. Never be scared to not succeed. Be scared to never try in the first place. 
 We go again.
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