Friday, January 30, 2009

HOW MANY OF US ARE THERE ON DAY 30

Here it is DAY30. However you reached it. Please Please put a comment here - you can stay anonymous letting us know you are still going. Feel free to include how you are getting them done too! add a +1 or +2 if anyone is doing them with you who won't be able to comment on the blog

Thursday, January 29, 2009

day 29 prepping for day 30

For some reason Day 30 had been set as a mile marker - several people had planned on only doing the challenge until Day 30, etc....

So tomorrow's post is going to be a tally of people still participating in the challenge. It doesn't matter whether you are behind, doing a modified challenge etc we want you to comment on tomorrows post. Could just be a Hello from Ohio! Or if you want to include your modification of the challenge...whatever.

If you know a friend or family member won't be able to log in then put a +1 or +2 in your comment.

We just want to get a COUNT of all the people Burpeeing around the world in connection with this challenge.

A message will be sent to the facebook group to remind you - to comment HERE!!

Ok that is your warning. Check back tomorrow and make sure you COMMENT. ALL of you!!

This is going to be HUGE!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Day 28 from Califonria

In reading Hedwig's post and talking to other fellow burpeers having low back problems I thought I would share some advice.
I have been combining this challenge with lots of yoga - good for the low back and stretching out all the muscles that the burpee uses. Also good practice for push-up form.

If you don't have time to do full yoga try at least 4 cycles of the sun salutation series: standing forward bend, jump back to plank, push-up position, upward dog, downward dog, up to standing. Take your time if you are tight.

Here is a video explaining how to do it. In two parts

Day 27: Caught up from being down 87

It wasn't a number that Frankie is wrestling with, but it weighed on me all the same. AT some point I was down 124 burpees. Today, I only had to do 87 to start back at 28 tomorrow. I was sidelined by a lower back injury for 4 days and was feeling a bit tentative about getting back into the swing of things. Ways I got back into the game:
1. Did make-up burpees with fellow burpee-ites when I saw them. Just sets of 10 here and there.
2. Kept track.
3. Allowed myself to step back and step up into and from the extended pushup position in order to make them up. So, the focus was on just doing what I could, instead of using my injury as a reason to stop doing them. I'm back to jumping form now.
4. Talked about it positively the whole time: I WILL come back.
5. Broke it down into sets of 10
6. Embraced the fact that this challenge is going to require more of me than just doing the burpees. For example, I'm also going to have to stretch :).

Feels like a good victory for the day to be back!!!!

Hedwig

Crossing them off, little by little

not sure how clear this picture is going to look, but here is my burpee log. as the numbers get bigger (and in particular my number to make up stays large) its worth logging burpees. especially if you are like me and break them down quite a bit (as shown) and are forgetful!
this morning i did all of day 27s first thing, then did an extra 13 to get me down to 122 to make up. i'm hoping to do an extra 30 today, getting me to under 100 to make up.
side note - i attempted to try what i call an advanced burpee today: instead of the squatting down, kicking back, push up progression i did more of an up-down and threw my body down and out at the same time, then pushed up, back to squat, jump. some things that i learned: in the short term, they are easier, wasting less effort on the squat down, kicking out and downward component of the push up. at the same time - be careful! i noticed there is a lot of weight resting on the wrists if you don't get into a good rhythm and don't let your arms give on the way down. i did the first 5 of my set of 13 this way and will continue to try more in small amounts.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Better late than never...

Below are pictures of the burpees that JLW and I did as we toured the eastern seaboard last weekend...



New Haven, CT



Waltham, MA - we recruited one of JLW's friends to join in on a burpee - she did *one* and promptly said, "thanks, but no thanks" to the rest of the challenge...though her living room was a perfect place for me to do mine!



Silver Spring, MD - "Babysitting Burpees" - note to all- burpees are extremely entertaining to 11mo olds!!



Washington, DC - Obama Burpees!! Note two women in the above picture, one is laughing at me - the other doesn't see me as I'm about to get trampled - I could only manage to get two in before the crowd took over...additionally I was ABSOLUTELY freezing and the ground was GROSS as so many people had been standing on it for hours.

I was not able to get them done in NJ or Delaware - the bus ride home was 6.5hrs (2.5hrs from DC to Baltimore) and I couldn't muster the strength through my frustration with traffic...I did complete those days' burpees at Broomball with my fellow Janitors!!

I also want to note that when Hedwig recruited me, I committed to having a goal of making it to day 30 of the challenge - as we are now at day 26 and I'm feeling great, I've adjusted my goal upwards...my new goal is day 60. I'm happy to have not missed a day thus far and know myself well enough to know that if I end up "playing catch up", it could go downhill quickly. Call it self awareness, but hearing about the people who are catching up (so proud of you guys!!) is providing me inspiration to not miss a day!!

Happy Burpee-ing!!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Happy 25th Day of Burpees!

Milestones (even minor ones) make what once seemed daunting seem a bit more possible. 
We're a quarter of the way there! Keep up the great work everybody!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Day 24 from California

My new attitude about thinking about how much I am improving (instead of sucking) is really helping me. Today I realized I did 15 with good push-up form and it wasn't until about 19 that my form got worse. Also still trying to do them all at once instead of sets. Also thanks to everyone who is adding locations. In case the whole multi-step google doc is too complicated I've posted the list here:

1/20/2009 16:48:01 Big Sur, California
1/20/2009 16:48:26 The Subway (N train)
1/20/2009 17:51:25 Kalahari Water Park
1/20/2009 20:14:04 Broomball rink
1/21/2009 4:54:57 Basketball court after pick-up
1/21/2009 4:55:36 A bar! (Dram Shop)
1/22/2009 13:06:34 in the bedroom with booty shorts on
1/23/2009 7:37:09 Parking Garage
1/23/2009 13:09:29 hockey rink press box
1/23/2009 19:07:11 I was in bed, falling into dreamland and I realized I did not do my burpees for the day. So I got out of bed and busted out 20 burpees! Why is this unusual? Well, I sleep in the nude and it was dark so I didn't bother to put my shorts on. Naked burpees - I don't recommend them.
1/24/2009 10:16:35 Webster hall lobby (1 set) and then dancefloor (1 set)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Dirty, Filthy Cheat

Unsurprisingly, burpies have started to creep and scratch their way into my life. For example, when I have been pressed for a work out in the past few days, I have done a series of body circuits (think core work, wall sits, jumping jacks etc) that have included 50+ burpies IN ADDITION to the burpies I am doing for the challenge.
So here is the philosophical/ ethical question; Can I count these 150+ burpies towards my challenge total (and take a few days off? The idea of Catching Up indicates you can bank burpies as well) Or would this break the spirit of the challenge? Also, what if I really just need an off day?
ARGH Psychic Dissonance! Help!

21 in a row

Somewhat hazardous to your health. I will be breaking them up in the future, but wanted to see if I could do these in a row. My jumps at the end are barely high enough to slip a dollar bill under.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Ode to Sibling Rivalry

Pained at 6, gasping at 15, persevering to a continuous 21.
A determination almost forgotten,
Filled with awareness my closest blood is already done.

Both "bless-ed" with short limbs, and "cheating" physics;
You disobeying friction with socks and wood,
I relying on equal and opposite force of floor to chest.

Each day - Have you done yours? Yes. In a row? Yes.
O Brother, how long (for mother's love) shall we do this?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Burpies do not equal Joy

When I took on the Burpie Challenge, it was with a bit of nonchalance. The Burpie was the primary exercise of the crew teams I was on in High School, a hallmark of the sport that got me into college. Though I have not been on the water since 2004, muscle memory dies hard and I figured I had this monster slayed.
Until, that is, we got beyond day 10. The first six or so burpies always seem so easy, but after that my gorge starts to rise and I wonder, Why? Why did I do this? Why am I not as fit as I was when I was a long-haired 18 year old lad? How could this possibly hurt so much?
As we have gone forward with the challenge, I notice myself getting measurably stronger. I don't feel like dieing until the 9th or 10th burpie now, but that is cold comfort when we go to 22 tomorrow. However, motivation is not my problem, so I am current on my burpie count, and look forward to the rest of the challenge.
Other Thoughts-
I have been doing my Burpies in the morning, a few moments after getting out of bed. I realize this represents poor judgement on my part, and my misery would be lessened if I burped at the end of the day.
Also, I have been doing my burpies in socks, which requires more control during the push up. The slipperiness of the socks demands more isometric force from the frontal quad, which sucks on sprint days.
That is all for now, thanks for reading, keep up the good work~B.

On the road again...

Hello all...this is the first time I've been able to access a computer in the last 6 days (which in itself has been completely healthy and refreshing). I'm taking a quick minute to blog before I head out to come home. I've completed burpees in CT, MA, MD, DC and will attempt to do burpees in Delaware and New Jersey on the bus ride home. I think the most dangerous burpee that I did was on the Mall at the innauguration...I did two (tried to get pics with the Capitol in the background but it was a little challenging) and had many comments by passers-by and was almost trampled. Pictures to follow, but I love all the enthusiasm here. I too find myself talking about burpees all the time. I will try to post pics of my adventures in burpee-ing tomorrow!!

12+13+14+15+16-10+17-7+18+19+20-4+21=144

Since day 12 I have been fighting some crazy shoulder pain. In an attempt to let my shoulder get better, I took some days off. Well, as you can see from the title of this post, I'm still fighting the pain. I have tried some burpees here and there to see how I feel, but the overall consensus is that they just aren't a good idea.

I've been told by other challengers to modify my burpees to keep up. That to me is defeat. I value that everyone can burpee based on their limitations - whether that be push ups on your knees (regardless of gender), push ups with one arm against a wall, etc. The list of modifications is endless. However, I started this challenge with regular burpees and that's how I'm going to finish it. I was side challenged to keep up - to not lose track or throw in the towel when the number gets too high. I'm hoping that with some additional rest I will be back in the swing of things by next week. With each day that goes by, that will put me up to well over 260 burpees to make up - but I will do them, I will catch up.

I'm going to keep track of my count, and when I'm back in the game I may need to solicit your help to get 'em done.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

ADD the fun places to our Blog!

Okay all! Today is busy for posting!! I have done my best to figure out a way that people can add the places they have Burpeed. Right now it is a several step process.

First enter the fun or unusual places you have done burpees into the form on the sidebar. They will be entered into a Google Doc (so far I entered the Subway and Big Sur). To see the list that people have entered click the link above that says 'click here for the list'. That will bring you directly to the Google Doc.

I know people posted other great places, but I didn't have time to add them.

I am going to try to find a better gadget that will show the list directly in the blog, but at least we can get started. If anyone knows a better way or has an idea of how to improve it please comment here or email me at u19rugby@gmail.com

Meeting boring? Conference Room Burpees!



Russ, shown here, does his burpees in the office conference room! Definitely one for the blog sidebar! Keep sending in your burpee photos to shpaddock at gmail dot com.


Noob!

The more the merrier, I always say.

I took Rachel up on her offer of blogging here and she was gracious enough to let me. I think that the group support thing will help immensely as this thing wears forward.

I started just a day after all of you. Here is my 100 burpee challenge blog. I call it the world's second dullest blog (here is the first) since I just write a small note every day about my burpees.

I also blog, here, here, and this is my homebase. I think I might blog at one or two other places, but can't remember. So I am representing Wisco in this thing, and plan on doing some farm burpees when things start to thaw out a bit, later in the spring.

I already did a burpee in a giant waterpark called the Kalahari. My wife was super not impressed by the scene I made in the kiddy pool doing that burpee. But oh well. Speaking of the wife, she joined me in this quest and is doing wonderfully.

I am not a rugger like you folks (I think that is what brings you together, yes?) but I do distance running, strength training (like crossfit), distance cycling and Muay Thai kickboxing. Oh yea, I am a dad of two and own my own business.

So what I am trying to say is that I have a MILLION reasons not to do the burpees, but only one to do them - my health. And the satisfaction of knowing I conquered the challenge. So hello to all of you - I look forward to contributing here and giving you folks support if/when you need it.

Mass Burpees with help from the family

In the beginning of the challenge I had done some Burpees in Western Masschusetts. It'd been a couple of weeks and I realized there is more of the state of Mass to cover, so I returned this past weekend to the South Shore of Mass to do some more. Home to the Pilgrims, I went to Plymouth, Ma to Burpee. There were some perks - My mother, deciding to come with, makes a mean onion, feta and spinach omelet - and the shower up there has a Rubber Ducky Fireman on the shower faucet!! These two things are enough to make the trip.

The Burpee Show was about to begin - fun for the whole family. My two year old nephew conducted the warm-up ceremony. It consisted of him bouncing on an ten ft squared indoor bouncy castle. After the Castle was removed - it was show time. I began by showing my dad what a burpee was, and then rather than stop I just jumped into doing the 17..... After a handful, I asked if anyone was counting, as I wasn't...whoops! And my mother began to help me along with...eight...nine. Now this was the funny part - My nephew, Christian, knows numbers, usually not in order... So, upon hearing my mother counting and seeing the spectacle before him, he began to help. The number he chose was two. Which he repeated all through 15, 16, and 17....which made it really hard to finish while laughing at how cute he is.

What this taught me was that I may be embarrassed to Burpee at work in front of my co-workers but I'm not embarrassed in front of my family...and everyone should Burpee with small children around!!!

Anyone up for a sidebar list of all the places we've Burpeed?

Day 20: but its retroactively about Day 19

I should have blogged yesterday as that is the day I stalled out at 10 burpees. My lower back has tightened up incredibly and I think the burpees are one of the factors going into that. Usually I can get nice and loose in the morning by stepping back into my first few pushups and sometimes even stepping up into a squat position before jumping (instead of jumping into an extension and back into the squat). By 3 or 4 it feels fine to jump back, but yesterday my lower back was unhappy and when I finally jumped on my 10th burpee it got very unhappy. So I stopped. And I had to skip this morning.
I am now down 9 + 20. I take heart in that my sister Joke made up 81 burpees in one day and we have another member who is keeping track of all the burpees she can't do while her shoulder is hurting (more than a 100 last we spoke).
I agree with Rachel, if it weren't for the ability to talk about this thing it would be much more tempting to give up.

Day 20 from California

Looks like we lost Day 19 on this blog - though the daily blogging challenge is still going!!
Because of this I want to remind anyone that if they would like to be a contributor to the blog send me an email at u19rugby@gmail.com and I will add you as an author. Everyone is welcome! Also a reminder that if you don't want to be an author please feel free to leave stories in the comments section!

Today was really hard for me as I have a chest cold. I cranked out my 20 and logged on to see if anyone else had something to say to make me feel better. Thanks Hobs - your post was exactly what I needed.
In reading it I also realized how much I must talk to people about doing burpees. Pretty much every day someone out here in my lab or classes asks me how my burpees are going, which in retrospect makes this challenge feel pretty exciting.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Day 18

First off, a shout out to Hobs who wrote perhaps the most inspirational blog posting to date. We're all in this together!!!!!! Yeah-yah!!
That being said, today was the first day that I let 45 minutes lapse before doing my burpees while telling myself a little story about how its Sunday, and I don't feel so good (nothing to do with saturday night, I'm sure) and I'll just wait until I feel a little more woken up. The funny thing about that story is that, if I'm honest, I have to admit I feel crappy the entire 45 minutes because my burpees are as yet undone. I'm not feeling better. I'm feeling worse and worse until I have squated, extended, pushed up and jumped up 18 times. I hope this means that the habit is starting to etch itself a little deeper into my soul. Because this challenge doesn't just make my body feel good, but also my spirit, the part that puts faith in just doing instead of just thinking about it.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

A little burpee anger...

I just encountered a little burpee situation that I feel the need to share with all of us doing the burpee challenge...

I am spending the weekend skiing in VT with people that I work with and two of us here are doing the burpee challenge. When we were talking about it everyone wanted to know what a burpee was so of course I had to demonstrate for all of them. After demonstrating one of the fellow guests asked if it still counts if someone does a "girl" push-up. I, of course, ask the man if he means a knees push-up, and he responds with "Yeah - you know...those push-ups that girls have to do cuz they can't do the real ones." Well now I am close to biting the mans head off but I nicely say "well, not all girls need to use their knees to do pushups (I had just demonstrated three burpees where I did "real" push-ups) but if someone, regardless of their sex, feels the need to use their knees then yes, that still counts."

I wanted to share this not only to vent a bit of my anger, but also because my exchange with this man made me realize one of the things that I love the most about this challenge: it does not discriminate against people based on their abilities. You can be a part of the burpee challenge regardless of the way you do your pushups...they count if you are on your knees, on your toes, if you are in a sling and push against a wall...if you can't do them at all...if you do them on a bosu ball or if you want to do them in a hand-stand - then go for it! The burpee challenge accepts all kinds!

To me, the point of this challenge is not about who can do the best push-up, or whether or not your specific type of pushup counts - it is about challenging yourself, and believing in yourself. It is about setting a goal, and meeting that goal, regardless of what type of push-up it takes you to get there. Of course, the best part of the challenge is that we are all in this together. We have the support...we have the friends and the team-mates that believe in us and push us to do those damn burpees even when we have no desire to do them for ourselves. I can't tell you how many texts I have received/sent since day one reminding me to do burpees or letting me know that someone has done their burpees. And while important on day 17, imagine how important this support is going to be on day 80. For me, this is the best part: a group of individuals all working together towards the same goal, and helping each other along the road, regardless of ability.

So thank you, to the burpee challengers...for believing in each other and keeping each other going. And thank you to the man, who through his discriminatory remarks, made me realize why I love this challenge so much.
:)

Friday, January 16, 2009

Things that go BUMP in the morning

I've been a little under the weather this week, so I spent the day at home in sweat pants. I was not about to let my burpee habit suffer, though, so around 9 a.m. I pushed out my 16 for the day. A few minutes later, my doorbell rang. My downstairs neighbor had come to inquire as to what the noise was. "Are you jumping rope up here? Or throwing things on the floor?" "Not quite, I'm doing burpees," I responded, and then proceeded to explain to him the nature of the burpee challenge and gave him a demo. While impressed with the burpees, he didn't seem interested in joining the challenge. Nor did he particularly care for being woke in the morning by the loose floorboard that my hearing is apparently impervious to. So, I guess this means I'll be moving my burpees to the carpeted living room-ish portion of our apartment.
I'm kind of concerned about this because I've noticed that, as I burpee, I move forward. I'm guessing that a concentrated effort will cease this, but I'm having visions of burpee-ing into our stereo system or the long since dead christmas tree and creating a minor disaster. Does anyone else start burpee-ing in one location and end up in a different one? Any advice for burpees in  relatively confined space?
Also, burpees help you meet new people! Neighbor was obviously not too upset about loud burpees since we then went on a nice coffee date this afternoon. Burpees: for fitness and romance.

Day 16 from my Inbox

I will be out of Internet range until Tuesday so hopefully others will keep posting (hint, hint).

An update the friend that did 100 in one day is now doing 50 every other day in sets of 10 with planks in between at least until his chest heals and he can resume push-ups.

I wanted to share another inspirational story that came into my Inbox from a lovely friend who is getting it done:

"So I wanted share a little story about how your Burpee Blog inspired me to get back on the bandwagon. I, like so many others, started out the new year with the best intentions of Burpee-ing my way to fitness...my other resolutions were pretty standard: eating better, sleeping more, and saving money. However, I was fairly certain that those wouldn't stick and I'd still be loving pizza, sleep deprived and broke by 2010, so I was really hoping that the Burpee Challenge would be the 1 quantifiable resolution I could stick to. For the first 7 days of 2009, I was a Burpee Rockstar, feeling great about doing Burpee's after weeks of holiday eating and inertia. Then I went back to work...and the Burpees stopped. Each day I kept thinking it's not too late to catch up but I either kept forgetting or conveniently forgetting when I was too tired. Then yesterday I read your blog and felt inspired by everyone who was still doing their Burpees. Rather than easing myself back into it or just picking up with day 14, as I entered the gym this morning I irrationally decided to crank out 77 Burpees in one workout! I did Burpees for warm ups, I did Burpees before changing cardio equipment, I did Burpees between lifting sets and finally I did Burpees for cool down: 77 Burpees! By the end it they weren't pretty but I got them done. I really wish I kept my other resolution of stretching after workouts because I think I'm going to have to convince a co-worker to wheel me to the subway on a hand truck because I can't walk...but it feels great to be caught up! So let this be a cautionary tale: Don't fall behind on your Burpees but if you do catch up as soon as possible. Oh, and day 77 is a bitch!"

Burpees via the eastern seaboard

Over the next five days I will attempt to do my burpees in five different states...

Today = Brooklyn, NY (already done)
Tomorrow = New Haven, CT
Sunday = Boston, MA
Monday = Silver Spring, MD
Tuesday = Washington, DC (going to attempt to do some right in front of Mr. Obama and see what he thinks...maybe he will join in, we all know he's super fit)
Wednesday = who knows...perhaps I'll do them on the Megabus coming back (or perhaps at a rest stop, say around Delaware or New Jersey...maybe I'll do a set of 10 in each state...

The possibilities are endless. Where will you burpee this weekend?

Hopefully, pictures will follow!!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Ecce! Puella est rabidus!

I took four years of Latin in High School…yes, I’m a dork. The roots of words always intrigued me, such as “paena insula”, which literally means “almost island” and is where we get the term “Peninsula”. Along these lines we can take the word “pro” which means “for” or “on behalf of” and combine it with “Cras” which means “tomorrow” and together they literally mean “for tomorrow”. (Pro also sparks a political joke: If con is the opposite of pro, what’s the opposite of progress? Congress!)

What I’m trying to say here, is that over the past four days I was practicing this latin term instead of doing my burpees. It's been since Sunday. I have no good excuse really, just a lot of little ones that added up.… So this morning it was time to put up or shut up. Bleary eyed, I found the best space yet in my apartment and proceeded to burpee 54 times. No, not in a row! In sets of ten to twelve...and maybe with water and some stretching in between. And it didn’t feel so bad actually, so I have hope for the bigger days ahead.

Another thing to come of this procrastination was also a Burpee excel sheet. Now, if I don’t complete the full amount for any particular day and that adds up to other not-complete days, I can instantly get totals to see what has to be done to get back on track. And if anyone wanted to know, we have done 120 Burpees in total!

Now, if you'll excuse me the Useless Information phone is ringing...

15 and a new challenge

Since I am pretty sure the only reason I was able to bang out all 15 in a row on such sore legs today is that I issued myself a public challenge, I am going to use this forum as motivation for my newest obsession - Linda.  Who the heck is Linda?  Well Linda is a crossfit workout that I previously only thought possible for guys and superhumans (like PK).  It is as follows:  10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 reps of the superset:  deadlift 1.5x BW, benchpress 1x BW, clean 3/4 BW (BW = bodyweight).

So what changed to make me think a mere moral like me might possibly have a shot at this? The two videos on the xfit website of two females doing Linda - especially the first video of the girl Gillian banging it out in less than 15 mins.  (Go to www.crossfit.com/cf-info/exercise.html and search for Linda to see them)
What's the big difference, besides strength and fitness, btw me and them?  Oh only about 20-25lbs BW... (How is that paleo diet working anyway?)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Day 14 - Burpees on my mind

LB's question about where the name "burpee" came from got me thinking, so I did some quick research. Wikipedia doesn't say where the name came from, but it does list the steps of the burpee, including my favourite: "8. Repeat many times."

However, I also found a lot of other random burpee things! The humble burpee is also...

-a museum of natural history in Rockford, IL! (Fun fact: they are currently promoting an event called PaleoFest, although I'm pretty sure their version is different than the one some of the burpee challengers are doing...)
-a seed company! You can buy seeds to grow all sorts of things. Who wants a garden of Burpee seeds this spring? They also have a fun zone finder to tell you what plants will grow best in your area. Their chart says that most of us live in Zone 6 and our last frost-free date will be mid-May. Um...I really hope they're wrong!
-a family. "The Burpees were a well-established Philadelphia family descended from French Canadian Huguenots whose original family name, Beaupe, had in the course of several generations assumed an Americanized spelling and pronunciation."
-a truck. If you yahoo image search "burpee," this is the first result.

So basically, we're no closer to knowing the where the burpee came from, but at least we know some trivia for pub quiz!

Any other ideas?

Day 14 from California

Today got really hard for me. I had to break for a few seconds after 12. Doing extra push-ups is helping my form.

Also yesterday someone referred to them as Burpels. I loved that. Has anyone else heard them called something fun?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Catching up

Sunday I had out-of-town guests, Monday I was sick, and today I'm out of excuses so it's time to catch up. I took care of Sunday and Monday this morning, one set of 11 and another of 12, and was pleasantly surprised by how physically manageable 23 burpees were. Alternatively, catch up sucks! It throws my routine out of whack and the thought of unfinished burpees nagged at me when I was cold-stricken and immobile yesterday. From here out, burpees will take place regardless of who is sleeping on my couch and what they may think when they wake up to the thump, scuff, thump of burpees in the morning.

(Papa Tomato and Baby Tomato are walking down the street. Baby Tomato is lagging behind so Papa Tomato steps on him and says "Ketch- up.")

Day 13 - It's getting harder

This morning is the first morning where doing all of the burpees in a row was challenging. I have been most concerned with keeping good form throughout. I made it to 11, paused for about 10-15 seconds, before cranking out the last two. I still maintain that this has been the most effective way of waking up I have ever experienced....and far better for you than two cups of coffee!!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Burpees are for everyone!


Even if you are in a sling you can burpee! Here is AliD showing off her modified burpee. A one handed wall push up followed by a squat.
Anyone else doing a modified burpee?

Bar Burpees


How could we post about our burpees this weekend - we were too busy doing them in fun places!

Pictured here are Hobs (left) and Jayne doing Day 11 burpees at Dram Shoppe in Brooklyn. The left photo was location #2 after being asked to move from location #1 (middle of the bar) pictured in the middle. The "11" was sported post burpees!

Sorry its so dark, blackberry cameras aren't that great!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Day 11 from California

Even though we have many contributors to this blog it seems everyone failed to blog day 10 and day 11. So since I am on Pacific time I'll close the weekend out. I finally got to have a buddy for burpees and get to add to places to burpee. Yesterday I met Rif for a lovely hike in Orange County (8 miles round trip). She had two days of burpees to do and completed them on the hiking trail (beautiful back drop). I had already done mine for the day as I am on the wake up- put on my contacts and a sports bra and burpee plan, however I was able to get some feedback on my form. I am still having issues with my low back collapsing and need to tighten my abs during the push up phase.

Hope the double digits went okay for everyone else!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Can you say "BOSU Ball Burpee" 10 times fast?

Yesterday when I was at the gym I saw a girl doing burpees with a BOSU ball! She did them the same way we do except she did the pushup on the BOSU ball and instead of jumping at the end she lifted the BOSU ball over her head. Now, not that I, or anyone doing this burpee competition (oops - i mean challenge :) ) is competitive, but as soon as I saw that I just had to know if I would be capable of doing my burpees that way. So, before I left the gym I tried one and it went ok, but it wasn't enough to feed my curiosity.
So today - back at the gym, and nine burpees to do. Of course I had to do them with the BOSU ball, just to prove to myself that I could do burpees as well as that girl. And of course I didn't get rid of the jump - but rather jumped with the BOSU ball over my head(not competitive at all). I managed to pull out all nine on the BOSU ball, and while it was manageable, I couldn't imagine doing many more in a row that way! What was so challenging were the pushups. Not my favorite exercise to begin with, the pushups became that much more difficult as the BOSU ball forced me to keep my core tight. I will say that the nice thing about BOSU ball burpees was that you don't have to squat down as far before thrusting your legs out. I would actually recommend it for people that have bad knees. As a knee surgery survivor I found that my knees felt much better after doing the burpees on the BOSU ball.
So I challenge you all - someday, find a BOSU ball and try a couple of burpees on it...and let me know what you think! Does anyone else have any other unique ways/added toys to add to the burpee challenge?

Day Nine from California

I got this in my Inbox from a friend and while it made me laugh - there is also a clear dilemma here!

"I thought your burpee thing looked like a good idea and was doing pretty good until today. I already pulled a pectoral muscle from lifting weights, so I couldn't do the push up part of the burpees. then I forgot on 2 of the past 4 days, and general frustration and impatience set in. so I ended up saying screw it today and went ahead and just rattled off the full 100 (sans push ups of course, but jumping as high as I could at the end to sorta make up for it...) now I don't know where to go from here!!! I can't keep up 100 almost burpees for the next 90 days!!!

so, things I learned about myself from the 100 burpee challenge: gusto and commitment to working out? check. got that. smarts? not so much..."

What do you all think??
  • Go back to just doing the normal amount?
  • Do 100 a day?
  • Call it done?

Day 9: overthinking it

Because I was not on my usual weekday schedule this morning, I almost skipped the morning burpees. Thankfully, I didn't. Because I really think that the first 30-40 days are about establishing the routine and a confidence that you can do it. So that's what I'm going to do! Also, felt great after I did'm. I have to keep remembering that.

Day 9 - Divide & Conquer

Wednesday night I managed to tweak my right shoulder a bit while working out. The thought of even just 8 burpees yesterday on my off workout day seemed like torture. So, I made the conscious decision to hold off and combine with today's - leaving me with 17 burpees.

Since my shoulder still doesn't feel so great, I've been dividing up my burpees as much as possible throughout the day. 5 this morning, 5 this afternoon, and will break up and do the remaining 7 over the rest of the day.

I know that breaking them up so much will not really give me any cardio benefits, but right now I'm just trying to get through them so they don't pile up.

Strategerey (Strategy) is key - so if your body says it needs a break, make sure to listen. Just have a plan for when and how you plan to incorporate them in the following days. Missing day 8 and adding them is very different than missing day 38 or day 78..

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Day 8 -- Playing Catch-Up

It was bound to happen sometime...yesterday I did not do my burpees first thing in the morning. Then I heard that we'd be doing them as a group to warm up before our Broomball game at night, so I didn't do them in the afternoon. When I heard Broomball was cancelled due to the rain, I was cooking dinner with my roommates. After eating, I wasn't thinking about burpees at all (not surprising, I suppose). And so last night I peacefully went to bed, with burpees the furthest thing from my mind.

This morning I did 15 burpees to catch up. Thank goodness it's only day 8!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Day 7 - How many in row?

The other day I watched a video where a man did 100 burpees in 4:45 - impressive.  Even more impressive was that he did 70 in a row with no breaks (yes, i counted).  Since today I was tempted to take a break on my set of 7 (10x less than the burpee rock star), I've decided to give myself the side challenge of seeing how many I can do continuously.  I mean, what's one more per day, right...;)

Day 7: Did'm. Let's talk about goals

So, I've been talking to a lot of people about the burpee challenge and some people seem to be worrying about days 60-100 before they're out of the first week. Now, look. We have no idea what we are capable of until we go out there and try to do it. Let's all get each other to day 30. We'll celebrate (seriously, think of a way you're going to celebrate that first achievement and share it with us on the blog). After celebrating, we'll strategize how to get to day 60. After that, we may break it down even further. So, tomorrow, let's just worry about Day 8, not Day 98.

Day 7 - Do you dream in Burpee?

Burpee challenger, Buss, dreamt about her burpees last night. She woke up thinking she had already done them, only to quickly realize she hadn't. Sad. So 7 burpees she pumped out.



Anyone else dream in burpee?

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Day 6: Murphy's Law (of Burpees)

So today I made a major error in the sequencing of my burpees which if not for the fact that it's only day six could have been fatal.  I thought I'd share as a cautionary tale.  As I am not a morning person, I have been avoiding my burpees in the morning and instead doing them as part of the warmup before my workouts.  However today happened to be the day that 1. I forgot and 2. I mustered up the courage to do the "Murphy" WOD from crossift.  For those unfamiliar, the workout is (from crossfit.com) -  "For time: 1 mile Run, 100 Pull-ups, 200 Push-ups, 300 Squats, 1 mile Run, partition the Pull-ups, Push-ups and Squats as needed, start and finish with 1 mile Run."  (There is also a recommendation to wear a 20lb vest or body armor - riiiiiiiiiiiiight)

Anyway, I'm sure you can imagine how fun burpees are after doing 200 push-ups and the rest of that WOD.  Just another reminder that anything that can go wrong throughout the day will and better to get the burpees over with first.

Day 6: NY Dinner Party

Naturally, I have recruited my family to be part of the Burpee network. I need all the support I can get! Yesterday I was having dinner with my sister and her husband and her husband's brother and his girlfriend at my parents' apartment. Three out of four had not done their burpees for the day so I encouraged them to get it out of the way before dinner, because who really feels like doing burpees after dinner? Which led to quite the pre-dinner spectacle! They all looked really good doing their burpees in front of the couch, I have to say!
I am thankful that so far I have stuck to knocking them out first thing in the morning and I can feel my form getting better already. I think Rachel and Kelly make great points in the previous post about form!

Day Six from California

Yesterday (or the day before) Kelly and I were discussing form because my low back was collapsing during the push-up. When I tried doing regular push-ups this didn't happen so something was going wrong. She suggested focusing on the tilt of my pelvis. If it was tilted forward instead of neutral it would cause my lower back to collapse.

Sure enough that was the issue - now my plank doesn't feel completely in line to me because my butt is up but my back and pelvis are all straight. Kelly also searched out another great video that helped her see that she was relying on her wrists to catch her weight because she wasn't squatting enough. This video really highlights how he is able to put his hands on the ground and squat down and his knees come close to his elbows.

Form is going to be really important as we get in bigger numbers so take the time to improve it. Good form helps you get the complete benefit from this "whole body" exercise and reduces risk for injury.

Oh and today on day six while my back isn't collapsing I could barely do push-up six. My goal was to not have to do push-ups on my knees...here is hoping!

The video here also has another full body exercise that shows me how inflexible my hips are

Monday, January 5, 2009

Day 5: Have you Burpeed today?

Several things have occurred to me....one is that knocking out five Burpees takes no time at all, but when it gets to be 65....it's going to take a lot more time...and thinking about scheduling those in...sort of bewilders me.

Another, is that I am simultaneously thrusting back my legs and lowering into my pushup - and while it's fast (or maybe it's fast because I am short like a lifesize gnome) I feel I'm cheating and not getting the full purpose of the exercise.

Lastly, I feel that Burpee should not only be a noun, but also a verb. In light of this, I have added it, in it's past tense, to the Urban Dictionary.

Of course, if one has time to do something like this, perhaps I shouldn't be so worried about how I'll finish my Burpees on day 70.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Day 4 - Basketball Burpees



Hoop, KT Mac, Hobs, Slitty, Me

So, here are 2 photos of my 2nd fun place to burpee - with friends while taking a basketball break at a park in Brooklyn. We weren't actually trying to show the differnt phases of the burpee, it just happened that way! And who knew Sarah Litt had such ups!!

Burpee with Caution

Though it's been easy to bang out my burpees pre-gym workout, I decided that it'd be best to start doing a set in the morning. So today, I got out of bed, staggered around semi-conscious for a few minutes, and then got into burpee position. I put my hands down, jumped my feet back, and promptly slammed my face against our hardwood floor. Lesson learned: Regardless of how textured (read: dry, scaly) your feet are, use caution when burpee-ing on smooth surfaces. I'll be lacing up my sneakers for days 5-100.

Day Four: Accidentally did one more

Somehow I though we were on 5 this morning, so I did 5 and have only just now figured out that I've done one too many. Frankie, a burpee challenge veteran who made it to somewhere in the 30's last time, says that burpees are like sleep, you can only catch up later, you can't get some extra in ahead of time. Perhaps I'll be that much more prepared for the big days to come?

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Day Three from California

Many things to update today! First, there are five people as authors of this blog so hopefully every day we will have at least one post on this blog.

Second I did my SIX Burpees today as yesterday I was still really weak from food poisoning. It was actually good doing that many as it allowed me to work on my form. I realized that the amount of push-ups is going to get challenging quickly. I also realized that it is not to bad to have missed a few days now, but what if I am vomiting on day 50 and 51? Then I'd have have to do 153 on day 52, which even in sets would be insane!

Last, most people following this challenge are in New York and specifically New York Rugby. I'll be interested in how other long distance people find motivation as this gets going.

DAY THREE - Where do YOU burpee?

Last night, post 12 midnight, so technically on Day Three, we realized - you can burpee just about anywhere. In your living room, on the sidewalk, in the grocery store, even on an empty subway car.

Day Three's burpees were done on the N train in Brooklyn. (It is wise to have hand sanitizer).

Where do YOU burpee? Post in the comments and if you are lucky enough to snag a photo (unfortunately I did not), email it in and we'll get it on the blog!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Day Two: Double or Nothing

Yesterday All Comers handily beat a gracious New Bronxchester side who had traveled from far and wide on the fields of Prospect Park. After the game, all Burpee-ites lined up for one last instruction on the mechanics of the burpee and then launched the Challenge with a 30 person strong Burpee. It was exhilarating.
In some ways, the beginning is the hardest. We go from doing nothing to being IN the burpee challenge. Today, we double our numbers, from 1 to 2. I'm sure it will be all smooth sailing from here. Hahemm. If you hit a road bump or found some extra motivation, leave a comment; shared pain is half the pain and shared happiness is double the happiness, right?
First, a question for any followers of the blog: how are you planning your burpees into the day?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Day One

Well I am starting 2009 out with a bang - food poisoning. So right away I will be delayed in my burpees. Meaning tomorrow I will have to do 2 for day 2 plus 1 for day 1 (total 3). That is if I feel better if not I'll start on the 3rd with 6.

DAY ONE!!!!!

Ok, folks... I can hardly believe it, the burpee challenge is no longer just something to talk about, it is something we have to do. Like TODAY. Yikes. It is freezing outside but I will be doing my first ceremonial burpee in the 4th annual New York Rugby Club New Bronxchester (New Jersey, The Bronx, Westchester and Manhattan above 70th street) vs. All Comers (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan below 70th street) New Years Day Football Game with all the ruggers who have joined in for our lovely challenge. Good luck to all Burpee-ites in 2009!