No matter the time of year, there is always pressure on social media to get your life together, whatever that means. Whether it’s the 75 Hard Challenge or a diary flash sale on TikTok shop telling you how to “upgrade your life”, it’s inescapable.
Currently, the Great Lock In of 2025 has taken over TikTok and honestly, I’m not surprised. Another health and fitness challenge for me to attempt and then quickly fail at, whoops! But what actually is the challenge, and why are people suddenly “locking in” for December?
Right, what is the Great Lock In of 2025?
“Locking in” has become part of everyday Gen Z vocabulary, who knows how long it will be till the phase is added to the Oxford Dictionary? The clue is kind of in the headline, but it basically means being highly focused and committed to something. Being “locked in” a phrase used fairly frequently in the student community, especially when an exam that you haven’t studied for is coming up, but The Great Lock In of 2025 is actually focused more on fitness.
It’s about committing to certain regimes from September to December, in an effort to “hack” your life. There are small focuses on mental health and academic success within the trend, but most of it seems to surround people improving their physical health. People are locking in to their fitness and there’s many lists of rules to give your best go at following.
These are the rules
@iamtabimusic The great lock in starts in 18 minutes follow along to see how well my adhd brain can handle it! #thegreatlockinof2025 #thegreatlockin #75softchallenge
The challenge of The Great Lock In of 2025 follows similar rules as that of the 75 Hard Challenge, but seem to have a bit more leeway for each person. There’s no single list of things to achieve each day like in the 75 Hard, but instead people are taking to TikTok to share their own personal rules for the next three months.
Whilst one user had written things like no fast food apps, read 10 pages daily and a 45 minute workout five times a week, another had no sugar, cold showers and 10k steps. It appears that the point of The Great Lock In 2025 is to follow a healthy lifestyle consistently, applying the mantra of “discipline not motivation”. In an ideal world, this would be a brilliant trend to hop on, but this viral concept could soon turn sour.
But these are the possible dangers
@michellefairburn Always listen to your body. When something isnt right, listen! #75hard #75hardchallenge #sodiumdeficiency
There’s been a direct correlation in the rise of viral fitness challenges, and the rise of “Skinny Tok”. Not every health trend is bad for you, I believe the intention is the opposite, but sometimes they encourage some less than healthy behaviour.
This is without mentioning any risks to viewers mental health, especially those how struggle with their relationship to food. The constant flip flop of eat this, don’t eat that, what calories you should be consuming, and how long you should be working out in a day come from a place of care and to get people fit, but can be seen as big diet culture red flags. The Great Lock In on TikTok seems harmless and light-hearted so far, but its important to be aware that things can quickly go south.
The verdict one week in
@dani.josiee The Great Lock In – Week 1 Progress Check In @Oner Active @MyFitnessPal #thegreatlockin #weightlosstransformation #healthyhabits #winterarc #weightlossgoals #lockedin
So far, it looks like TikTok is doing well. People are eating well, getting outside, moving their bodies – they’re truly locking in. Whilst it looks like some accounts have already stopped posting The Great Lock In TikTok content, some are keeping going and are happy to
. The top tips to stick to the challenge, if you fancy giving it a go, seem to be meal prep, water and sleep. People have also been hitting the gym hard, in order to achieve their goals in time for December. Don’t blame TikTok if you get tasked with the heavy lifting at Christmas!
Featured image via TikTok @privttalex2.0 @serenakaur0 @oliviavik5
