As we begin to enter the -ber months, I’m reminded of all the fitness fads and wellness challenges on social media that have gotten me through seasonal depression with at least a little bit of romanticized motivation: Operation 66, Couch to 5K, The Winter Arc, 75 Hard, 75 Soft — and yes, there was a 75 Medium, too. But according to TikTok, these challenges aren’t enough for the last quarter of the year. (I mean, we had to have known a new one was coming, right?) Enter: The Great Lock In.
All about spending September through December in hyperfocus mode, The Great Lock In is meant to encourage people to show up for themselves before their New Year’s resolutions — whether it be physical, nutritional, intellectual, educational, or financial. It’s about choosing a path for your highest self and programming a new mindset to help guide you through 2026.
A trend that has become so hot in the last couple weeks that its search interest grew over 1,300% on Google Trends, with big influencers such as Kadie Glenn and Trinity Tondeleir laying out their own Lock In rules, I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late to hop on the Gen Z-led bandwagon. But what exactly is The Great Lock In? How can you take part in the challenge? Here’s what to know.
The Great Lock In, explained
If you’re not familiar, it’s about every few months that a new self-improvement trend emerges on social media — each one more meticulous than the last. This month’s hot trend is The Great Lock In, where participants must remain “locked in” for the remainder of 2025 — or more specifically, from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31.
Of course, being “locked in” is a rather vague term — but it’s actually meant to be. Unlike 75 Hard (or Soft and Medium, because TikTok likes to keep it confusing), there really are no set rules for The Great Lock In. Instead, you make your own rules. While I’ve mentioned that influencers have debuted their own Lock In rules, it’s really meant to be more of a guide than a set instructional.
In her Wellness Cafe podcast episode on The Great Lock In, Trinity Tondeleir explained that it should be all about being able to take in your progress on New Year’s Eve and feel proud of everything you’ve accomplished before the New Year. She explained that it’s about having a tough love relationship with yourself through committing to your goals, your habits, your mindset, and your standards — a definition that I’ve chosen to resonate with for my own Lock In journey.
In her podcast, Tondeleir described three main ideas that she’s taken from The Great Lock In to guide her journey: To always ask yourself what your highest self would do, to choose three priorities to focus on, and to make sure you’re speaking things into existence. This can look like attending class when you’re not motivated to, getting up and going for a run when you’re not feeling up for it, cleaning up your room instead of bedrotting, choosing healthier dinner options — the world is quite literally your oyster when it comes to this challenge. (And that’s why everyone is loving it.)
But just because The Great Lock In started on Sept. 1 doesn’t mean you can’t join the fun now. It’s never too late to start prioritizing yourself, especially as we enter another stressful semester of school.
But I know, I know. These trends can seem like a whole lot of BS, especially when there’s a new, “better” one emerging every other month. But what’s enticing about this one is that you can give yourself the leeway you need to not go from 0 to 100 all at once, and to instead start introducing healthy habits into your life on a realistic timeline that works for you.
Personally, I love organizing my days with a good to-do list, a morning pilates class, a nature walk in between my uni lectures, some healthy snack options throughout the day (my current obsession is carrots and dill hummus), and a good ol’ TV episode (currently My Life With The Walter Boys) to wind down before bed. Your healthy habits don’t have to be incredibly demanding or aesthetically-pleasing, they just have to meet your standards of your highest self (as per my queen, Trinity).
So, if you’re going to participate in any fleeting TikTok wellness trend, let it be one that leaves you feeling like the best version of yourself at the end of the year, rather than at the start of the year.