75 Hard Supplements Stack: An Honest 2026 Guide

This article is informational and is not medical advice. Talk to your physician before starting any supplement, especially if you take medications, are pregnant, or have a health condition. Supplements are not part of the official 75 Hard rules.

Search “75 Hard supplements stack” and you’ll get a wall of affiliate posts pushing the same five or six brands. Almost every one of them is selling something.

This guide is different. We make Reset75, a tracker for 75-day challenges. We don’t sell supplements, take affiliate kickbacks from supplement companies, or recommend specific SKUs. That’s the whole point: a brand-agnostic, evidence-based look at what actually helps when you’re doing 75 Hard, the program created by Andy Frisella.

Worth saying upfront: Andy Frisella is also the founder and CEO of 1st Phorm, a supplement company. When you read his “personal stack,” you’re reading his own product line. That’s not automatically bad. It is a conflict of interest worth flagging, because most articles ranking for this keyword don’t.

What 75 Hard Actually Demands of Your Body

The official 75 Hard rules ask for the following every day, for 75 consecutive days:

Two 45-minute workouts, one of them outdoors
A full gallon (about 3.8 liters) of plain water
A diet of your choice with no cheat meals and no alcohol
10 pages of nonfiction reading
A daily progress photo

The mental load is the point of the program. But there’s a physical load underneath it. Two workouts a day, often with a calorie-controlled diet, plus heavy fluid turnover, increases your body’s demand for sodium, protein, recovery, and sleep. None of those demands require a supplement, but a few well-chosen ones can make the 75 days easier.

A note before we go further: the rules say nothing about pills or powders. You can finish 75 Hard taking zero supplements. Anyone telling you the program “requires” their product is selling, not informing.

The Electrolyte Case (The Most Important One)

If you only take one thing from this article, take this: a gallon of plain water plus heavy training plus a low-sodium diet is the textbook recipe for hyponatremia.

Hyponatremia is when blood sodium drops below 135 mmol/L (the standard clinical threshold per the Cleveland Clinic). Mild cases cause headaches and nausea. Severe cases cause confusion, seizures, and in rare endurance settings, death. Drinking large volumes of plain water without replacing sodium is a recognized risk factor, particularly during heavy sweating.

Sweat sodium loss varies enormously between people. A normative analysis by Baker and colleagues (2019) found a range of roughly 230 to 2,070 mg of sodium per liter of sweat across athletes. That’s an order of magnitude. Two people doing the same workout can lose wildly different amounts of salt.

Now the rule clarification most articles miss: the official 75 Hard FAQ is explicit that the gallon must be plain, unflavored, non-carbonated water. Electrolytes, flavor powders, pre-workouts, and greens powders don’t count toward your gallon. They’re allowed, just on the side.

So what’s reasonable in practice? A basic electrolyte product (sodium, potassium, magnesium) consumed around your outdoor workout and any heavy-sweating block. Plain table salt on whole food works too. You don’t need a designer brand. You do need to think about salt.

If you want a simple way to log both your gallon and your electrolyte servings, our gallon water tracker handles the math.

Creatine Monohydrate (The Best-Studied Performance Supplement)

Creatine monohydrate has the most consistent evidence base of any sports supplement on the market. The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on creatine recommends a maintenance dose of 3 to 5 grams per day. Optional loading is about 0.3 grams per kilogram per day for 5 to 7 days, after which you drop to maintenance.

What it does: increases intramuscular phosphocreatine, which supports short, high-effort efforts and increases training capacity over weeks. For 75 Hard, that translates to a bit more out of your strength sessions, and a second workout of the day that feels less flat.

Is it allowed? Yes. There is no banned supplements list for 75 Hard. The program is a discipline framework, not an anti-doping protocol.

One side note: creatine pulls water into muscle cells. With a gallon of plain water already on board, you don’t need to add more water on top. The gallon covers it.

Protein (Probably the Single Highest-Leverage Add)

If you’re lifting at all during 75 Hard and you’re not eating enough protein, you’re leaving muscle and recovery on the table. The ISSN protein position stand supports 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for most exercising adults.

If you’re in a calorie deficit (common during 75 Hard) and lifting, the bar goes up. A systematic review by Helms and colleagues (2014) makes the case for higher intakes, recommending 2.3 to 3.1 grams per kilogram of fat-free mass. A practical target of roughly 1.6 to 2.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day is commonly used to preserve lean mass during cutting phases.

A 180-pound (82 kg) person hitting the upper end would need about 200 grams of protein a day. That’s hard to do on chicken and Greek yogurt alone, especially with a busy two-a-day schedule. Whey or plant protein powder is the simplest gap-filler. It’s allowed. It just doesn’t count toward your gallon.

Not sure where you should land? Our protein intake calculator gives you a personalized number based on your weight, activity, and goal.

Omega-3 (EPA and DHA)

Omega-3 fatty acids help with cardiovascular health, inflammation control, and exercise recovery over long training blocks. A common general-adult target is around 250 to 500 mg per day of combined EPA and DHA (see the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements omega-3 fact sheet for the underlying evidence), with two servings of fatty fish per week as the food-first equivalent.

The decision is simple. If you eat salmon, sardines, or similar fatty fish at least twice a week, you probably don’t need a supplement. If you don’t, a basic fish oil (or algal oil for plant-based) covers the gap.

One safety note: omega-3s can interact with blood thinners. If you’re on warfarin or similar, talk to your doctor first.

Magnesium (Sleep, Cramps, and the Sweating Connection)

Magnesium is involved in muscle function, sleep regulation, and electrolyte balance. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements sets the RDA at 400 mg/day for men 19 to 30, 420 mg/day for men 31 and older, 310 mg/day for women 19 to 30, and 320 mg/day for women 31 and older. The upper limit for supplemental magnesium specifically is 350 mg/day.

Many U.S. adults fall short of the RDA on diet alone, and heavy sweating compounds the gap. If you’re cramping at night or sleeping poorly during the program, magnesium is one of the cheaper things to try.

Forms to know:

Glycinate and citrate are well-absorbed and gentle on the gut.
Threonate is marketed for cognition and sleep, with thinner evidence.
Oxide is cheap but poorly absorbed and tends to cause GI side effects.

Stick to the supplemental UL. More is not better here.

Vitamin D (Test, Don’t Guess)

The outdoor workout requirement on 75 Hard helps, but most adults still fall short of optimal vitamin D status, especially in winter or at higher latitudes. The fix isn’t a guess. It’s a blood test.

Ask your doctor for a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. If you’re low, a daily 1,000 to 2,000 IU dose is a common starting point, but the right dose is the one that gets your level into range. Retest after 8 to 12 weeks.

This is the supplement most worth personalizing. Don’t megadose blind.

What to Skip

A few categories that get heavy marketing during 75 Hard and rarely earn the price:

Fat burners and thermogenics. Most are caffeine plus a few low-evidence ingredients (yohimbine, synephrine). GI side effects are common, and any “fat loss” is usually just water weight from the caffeine.
BCAAs. If you’re hitting your total daily protein target, BCAAs are redundant. Whole protein contains all the essential amino acids in better ratios.
Test boosters. In healthy adult men, the published effects on testosterone are small to nonexistent. Save your money.
AG1-style greens powders at $80 or more per month. Eating actual vegetables is cheaper, fuller, and at least as effective. If you genuinely can’t get vegetables in, a basic multivitamin does most of the same work for a fraction of the price.
“75 Hard” branded supplements or pre-workout bundles. There is no official 75 Hard supplement. Anything sold under that umbrella is marketing.
Pre-workout for the second daily workout. Two scoops of pre-workout means two doses of caffeine, often 300 to 400 mg total. The FDA’s general guidance is that 400 mg of caffeine per day is the cap for healthy adults. Stack it twice and you’re at or over the line, which affects sleep, which affects recovery, which affects the rest of the 75 days.

Safety, Disclaimers, and Who Should Skip

A few non-negotiable cautions:

Hyponatremia risk. A gallon of plain water plus heavy sweating plus a low-sodium diet is a real clinical setup, not a theoretical one. Eat normally salted food. If you’re sweating a lot, add electrolytes.
Kidney conditions. If you have kidney disease or impaired function, both the gallon of water and creatine should be discussed with a clinician before you start.
Medication interactions. Magnesium can interact with certain blood pressure and antibiotic medications. Omega-3 can affect bleeding risk with blood thinners. Vitamin D dosing matters if you’re on certain steroids or seizure medications. Talk to your doctor.
Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Several of these supplements have different dose recommendations or are not appropriate. Get personalized guidance.
History of disordered eating. 75 Hard’s combination of strict diet rules, daily progress photos, and supplement focus can be a trigger. If that’s you, this program (and this article) may not be the right fit.

For broader safety context on the program itself, see our deeper write-up: Is the 75-day challenge healthy?

A Sensible Starting Stack

If you read everything above and just want a short list, here’s what the evidence supports for most healthy adults doing 75 Hard:

Electrolytes around your outdoor workout (sodium, potassium, magnesium). Allowed, just not in the gallon.
Creatine monohydrate, 3 to 5 grams per day.
Protein powder as needed to hit 1.6 to 2.4 g/kg per day, especially in a calorie deficit.
Omega-3 (250 to 500 mg combined EPA and DHA) if you don’t eat fatty fish twice a week.
Magnesium (within the 350 mg/day supplemental UL) if your diet is short or you’re cramping or sleeping poorly.
Vitamin D based on a blood test, not a guess.

That’s it. Six things, most of them cheap, none of them branded.

Tracking the Daily Stuff

Supplements are easier when they’re a checklist item, not a thing you try to remember at 9 p.m. If you want to log your daily 75 Hard tasks (including a “supplements/vitamins” custom task), Reset75 tracks any 75-day challenge, including 75 Hard, 75 Soft, and your own variations.

We don’t sell supplements. We just make it easier to finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need supplements to complete 75 Hard?

No. The official 75 Hard rules created by Andy Frisella don’t require supplements. The program is a mental toughness framework, not a supplement protocol. However, the training and water demands can make a few well-chosen supplements (electrolytes, protein, creatine) genuinely useful.

Is creatine allowed on 75 Hard?

Yes. 75 Hard has no banned supplements list, it’s a discipline program, not an anti-doping protocol. Most users take 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily, consistent with the International Society of Sports Nutrition’s recommendation.

Can I mix electrolytes into my gallon of water?

No. According to the official 75 Hard FAQ, the gallon must be plain, unflavored, non-carbonated water. Electrolytes, flavor powders, pre-workouts, and greens powders are allowed during the day, they just don’t count toward the gallon.

What electrolytes should I take on 75 Hard?

Look for a product (or DIY combination) that provides sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Sweat sodium loss varies from roughly 230 to 2,070 mg per liter of sweat between individuals, so personalize by how much you sweat, especially during the outdoor workout.

Does Andy Frisella take supplements on 75 Hard?

Yes. Frisella is the founder of 1st Phorm and uses its products. That’s worth knowing: his personal stack is also his product line. You’re not obligated to use any specific brand to complete the program.

How much protein should I eat during 75 Hard?

General training: 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg of body weight per day. If you’re in a caloric deficit and lifting, research supports 1.6 to 2.4 g/kg per day to preserve muscle. Whole food first, protein powder fills the gap.

Is drinking a gallon of water a day safe?

For most healthy adults with normal kidney function, yes. But drinking large volumes of plain water without adequate sodium intake can dilute blood sodium (hyponatremia), with symptoms ranging from headaches to seizures in severe cases. Eat normally salted food and consider electrolytes around heavy sweating.

Do I need a pre-workout for 75 Hard’s two-a-day schedule?

Not required. Many people use coffee or nothing. If you choose a pre-workout, remember it doesn’t count toward your gallon of water, and watch total daily caffeine (often capped at around 400 mg/day per FDA general guidance) since you may take it twice a day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need supplements to complete 75 Hard?

No. The official 75 Hard rules created by Andy Frisella don't require supplements. The program is a mental toughness framework, not a supplement protocol. However, the training and water demands can make a few well-chosen supplements (electrolytes, protein, creatine) genuinely useful.

Is creatine allowed on 75 Hard?

Yes. 75 Hard has no banned supplements list, it's a discipline program, not an anti-doping protocol. Most users take 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily, consistent with the International Society of Sports Nutrition's recommendation.

Can I mix electrolytes into my gallon of water?

What electrolytes should I take on 75 Hard?

Does Andy Frisella take supplements on 75 Hard?

Yes. Frisella is the founder of 1st Phorm and uses its products. That's worth knowing: his personal stack is also his product line. You're not obligated to use any specific brand to complete the program.

How much protein should I eat during 75 Hard?

General training: 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg of body weight per day. If you're in a caloric deficit and lifting, research supports 1.6 to 2.4 g/kg per day to preserve muscle. Whole food first, protein powder fills the gap.

Is drinking a gallon of water a day safe?

Do I need a pre-workout for 75 Hard's two-a-day schedule?

Not required. Many people use coffee or nothing. If you choose a pre-workout, remember it doesn't count toward your gallon of water, and watch total daily caffeine (often capped at around 400 mg/day per FDA general guidance) since you may take it twice a day.