Could you do 100 burpees? How about 100 burpees per day for 100 days? Our hero this week is Averil and the team at CrossFit Smash Canberra who are embarking on a huge challenge for the Shake It Up Virtual Challenge. They have committed to 100 burpees per day for the next 100 days in an effort to raise much needed funds and awareness for Parkinson’s Disease. What an amazing effort! We spoke to Averil to hear more about what is driving this crazy challenge.
What drives your commitment to finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease?
Almost 15 years ago my Mum was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Like many others, she initially hid her symptoms and simply ‘got on with it’ as a highly capable, intelligent and hard working baby boomer. Watching her navigate through life as her condition progressed over the years has been both inspiring and heartbreaking. My Mums wish now is to help the world better understand Parkinson’s and to find a cure for the generations that come after her. The incredible team at CrossFit Smash Canberra and I hope to honour this wish by supporting the amazing work of Shake It Up Australia.
What is the challenge you’ve set for yourself and who are you doing it with?
We are embarking on a journey of each completing 100 burpees a day for 100 days, from May 25th to September 1st 2020. I am truly blessed to be part of an incredible crew of crazy athletes at CrossFit Smash in Canberra. Fifteen of us are undertaking this challenge and many others in the team also have a personal connection to someone with Parkinson’s disease. I’ve been blown away by the support from the CrossFit Smash community. We share a strange love of difficult and gruelling exercise. And a passion for a good cause.
What advice do you have for others looking to get started on a physical challenge?
It turns out 100 burpees is simply 10 sets of 10. Or 5 sets of 20. Or 100 sets of 1. Physical challenges can seem daunting as a big picture. The advice I would give is to break things down into smaller achievable components and just keep moving! Focus on the next milestone, not the finish line. The human body is amazing and this cause is pretty special.
How will you celebrate when you finish the final burpee?
If social distancing restrictions allow – we plan to complete the final set of 100 burpees together a team. After that I suspect the celebrations will be filled with both relief that it’s over together with pride in our achievement. I wonder if we’ll find ourselves missing burpees on Day 101?