Last night we had several breakthroughs with the feared 100 Burpee Challenge.  Three people were partaking in attempts to break their old PRs.

As usual, I didn’t tell any of them that they were doing the challenge until they showed up for the workout.  We usually wait to tell people that it’s burpee time because an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and nervousness will consume them for the remainder of the day.  Unless it’s your first time doing the challenge, you know what you’re in for.  You know that   a) you have your PR time to beat and   b) it’s going to kill you because your last PR nearly killed you.   The only time we do tell people in advance is if the member is training for a race or another specific event.  In this case, advanced knowledge is excellent mental training because they will experience the same anxiety before the burpee challenge that they would experience before the actual event in which they are training for.

Last night, we had Ben, Davage, and Matt suck it up and destroy their old personal record times.  When it was all said and done, there were no freak outs of any kind during the challenge!  This has not been the case lately as we have seen people literally fall over in the middle of the challenge, claim to have Vertigo, cry, dry heave – you name it and we’ve seen it.  Between sets, everybody has their own way of dealing with pain and not being able to breath.  Dave would dry heave only for a moment and get a swig of water and push through.  Ben would wonder off into deeply emotional conversations with himself in the midst of me screaming at him.  It was as if he had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other.  Looking down to his left shoulder he would yell, “I can’t do this!  I can’t!  This is insane!”.   Immediately after, he would look down to his right shoulder and yell, “Ahhh!  I gotta go!”, take a few huffs and puffs, and he would resume.  And, like a dog about to drop a deuce, Matt would interestingly walk tight circles at a brisk pace before crushing another set.   After the challenge was complete, everybody took their own victory lap around the cul-de-sac.  That’s not a planned out thing, it just happens because people are in a state of shock and don’t know what else to do except walk.  Job well done, guys!

Ben during his victory lap

Matt – 7:39 (down from 9:17 in the spring)

Ben – 10:32 (down from 12:41)

Davage – 12:20 (down from 50 burpees in 14 and some change!)