45 Soft Challenge: Rules and How It Compares to 75 Soft

The 45 Soft Challenge is a shorter, 45-day version of the popular 75 Soft Challenge. The daily tasks are the same — a 45-minute workout, healthy eating, water, and reading — but you commit to 45 days instead of 75. If you've wondered what the "45 Soft" rules actually are and whether it's worth doing over the original 75, here's a clear, honest breakdown.

What is the 45 Soft Challenge?

The 45 Soft Challenge is a 45-day habit-building challenge that uses the exact same daily tasks as the 75 Soft Challenge — one 45-minute workout, a healthy diet, plenty of water, and 10 pages of reading each day — but over a shorter window. It's a lower-commitment on-ramp for people who find 75 days daunting.

45 Soft Challenge rules

The 45 Soft Challenge is community-created, so there is no single official rulebook — but the version most people follow mirrors 75 Soft exactly:

1. One 45-minute workout a day — any activity counts, with one active-recovery day per week allowed.
2. Eat a healthy diet — no strict plan; just eat sensibly, with room for the occasional treat.
3. Drink water daily — most versions use 3 liters (about 100 oz); some borrow the 75 Hard target of a gallon, so pick one and stay consistent.
4. Read 10 pages — any book, any genre.
5. Alcohol only on social occasions — not banned outright, just kept in check.
6. No restart if you miss a day — you simply pick back up the next day. This forgiveness is the defining feature of every "Soft" challenge.

Because it's unofficial, details like the exact water amount, whether you take progress photos, and whether rest days are allowed vary from person to person. Treat the list above as the common core and adjust the rest to fit your life.

45 Soft vs 75 Soft: what's the difference?

The only real difference is the length. The daily tasks are identical.

Note the naming quirk: the "45" in 45 Soft refers to the number of days, while the "45 minutes" is the daily workout length — the two numbers are a coincidence, not the same thing.

Is there an official 45 Soft Challenge?

No. Unlike the 75 Hard Challenge, which has a strict published ruleset, the 45 Soft Challenge has no named creator and no canonical rules — it spread on TikTok and Pinterest as a shortened remix of 75 Soft. The parent 75 Soft Challenge was itself popularized on TikTok around 2021 without a single universally credited originator. That means you have permission to adapt the 45-day version to your needs, but also that you shouldn't treat any one poster's rules as gospel.

Should you do 45 Soft or 75 Soft?

Both build the same habits — the question is how long you want to commit.

Start with 45 Soft if the idea of 75 straight days feels overwhelming, you're brand new to fitness challenges, or you want a defined finish line you're confident you can reach. Hitting Day 45 is a real win, and a completed 45 Soft beats an abandoned 75 Soft every time.

Go straight to 75 Soft if you want the deeper, more durable habit change. Research on habit formation suggests longer, consistent repetition makes new behaviors more automatic — and 75 Soft has far more resources, guides, and community behind it, simply because it's the established original. Many people also treat 45 Soft as a stepping stone: finish the 45 days, feel the momentum, and roll straight into a full 75 Soft Challenge.

Either way, the daily tasks are the same, so nothing is wasted if you decide to extend partway through.

How to start the 45 Soft Challenge

Pick your Day 1, decide how you'll cover each daily task, and — most importantly — track it, because visible streaks are one of the strongest motivators for finishing any challenge. Whether you commit to 45 days or the full 75, the four daily tasks are identical, so you can track them the same way. The free Soft75 app lets you check off your workout, water, reading, and healthy eating each day with milestone celebrations and a private, offline-first experience — and if you catch momentum at Day 45, you'll already be set up to continue toward 75.

Ready to build the habit? Read the full 75 Soft Challenge rules to see the daily tasks in detail, or compare it with the tougher variants in our 75 Soft vs 75 Hard guide.