(Photo by cskenderis)
A local gym is raising funds in an interesting way.
Reebok CrossFit Firepower will have some of its coaches doing burpees for seven hours. Money raised in the process will go towards Halton Women’s Place.
CrossFit Coach Tonya Link says they wanted to do something unique.
According to an article written by a descendent of the man the burpee is named after, Royal H. Burpee (no, seriously – that was the man’s actual name), a burpee is described as, “standing tall, squat down low, shift your weight to your hands and jump your feet back to a plank — the starting position for a push-up — then jump your feet forward again between your hands, and stand back up.” It adds that a basic CrossFit burpee includes, “a push-up in the middle and a jump at the end.”
Link is no slouch when it comes to burpees. She’s curious to see how many she can do.
CrossFit challenges and workouts have a history of becoming an annual event. A famous one is the ‘Murph Challenge‘, named after Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy. The CrossFit Murph workout consists of a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another one-mile run, all done consecutively. It’s been, in-part, put in the spotlight by celebrities like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Krasinski challenging others to try the workout once-a-year.
Link jokes that actually doing burpees for seven-hours may change their minds, but she could see it becoming an annual thing if it’s received well.
If you’d like to get involved, you can show up on the day and donate. The gym is collecting cash, gift cards, and accepting donations via e-transfer (equipment11@hotmail.com) to raise as much money as possible.
Link says they want people to get creative and have fun with it. They’ll be tallying how many burpees each coach performs, as well as anyone who shows up to take part. At the end of the day, they’ll see what the official number ends up being!
The fundraiser is taking place Saturday, September 26th from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at Reebok CrossFit Firepower, located at 705 Nipissing Road in Milton.
