Burpees on a prayer

Woah, we're halfway there
Oh-oh, burpees on a prayer!

 26 weeks down, 6 calendar months. Get in!

 The day after my birthday in March, while I still hadn't yet thought of/settled on this burpee year thing, I wrote "I still don't know" in response to the question "what's next?". Separate to that blog post I wrote that
  • I want to do something out of the ordinary
  • I want to do something that will challenge me.
And so I have! The 1st April saw us, that is me; a band of misfits who came together on Facebook and one or two people who follow the blog, kick off the challenge. Some dug in, declaring themselves in for the full-on twelve months. Others set out their stall for 30 days, 100 days or a little beyond, taking them up to weddings and shoulder surgeries amongst other events.

Sheldon (http://goaliesareweird.blogspot.com) and I are still going. Going strong? Some days, but definitely with a hint of missing self-preservation! We have been rejoined by my sister who is back with a crowd of freshly recruited burpeurs in Singapore. That has been pretty cool. The global breadth of the group is cracking, but the rejuvenation of the group has been great to experience and, unlike the blog and Twitter, makes it feel a little less like me firing brain farts into the ether like so many pungent messages in bottles. 

Since 1st July I have used an academic year diary to keep a daily journal of this voyage (I don't inflict everything on you!) and, quite early in the piece, I made a note at the head of the page for 30th September which read "You're halfway. Awesome. Stay strong" But if I'm honest, I half-suspected that to be a lonely legacy milestone lying in a discarded , mostly empty diary to be stumbled on later. Colourful? Yes, I have form!

And get, here we are. 26 weeks; 6 months down and that note is lying before me. The last six months has borne witness to a variety of burpees. We've had Bananaman; beachfront; beaver; Yorkshire day (flat cap); hawaiian; pirate; weighted vest; in Cyprus; in the park in a strange town; and a variety of different types, albeit all of them over and above my program minimum of burpee with chest to the floor and a jump in the air. 

To celebrate this weekend, I thought I'd do something a little different. 19 shades of different to be precise. Taking the opportunity to use Kore Performance as a venue for the burpees that I can't do at home, I split the projects 190 (yes, I'm still rounding up) into two sections. How so? 19 different variations, 10 repetitions of each, 190 burpees. Bish, bash, bosh!

The morning session was at Kore and, as I said, was to be predominantly those I can't do at home, mostly for reasons of space. These were, in order: Forward roll; burp-ups; box jump; decline; scorpion; medicine ball; off-set; broad jump; star jump; lateral jump; 1-arm (x 5).

After several hours of walking around, playing in the park, family time and normal world stuff, it was time. Pulling on the morning' skit (now soggy!) I strode manfully towards our utility room to see it off only 85 to do, how bad could it be?

Well, going straight into the balance of the 1-Arm burpee set was a mite uncomfortable. But more to do, no time to feel sorry for myself! Again in order: 1-Arm (x 5); kettlebell; chest slap; 1-leg (5 each leg); 180 degree; Gecko; Pike jump; tuck jump; standard. 

On seeing the whiteboard afterwards my wife looked at me with her finest combination concerned/not impressed look on her face and said
"I just think you're mad and you're making life hard for yourself"
She isn't the first person to say either of those things to me, so my witty "you are still talking about the burpees, right?" was only partially tongue in cheek.

 And with week 26 wrapped up with 190 standard burpees, I find myself standing over the threshold. At 17,920, the buy in has been chunky but I am well and truly part of this great game.

 But it is not the volume that I am pleased with (although it isn't bad). It is the fact that I have stuck it out so far that is satisfying, if not a little surprising!

 As ever, I owe thanks to friends, family, twitter followers and readers of the blog for their interest and support. It doesn't cease to amaze me that other people are interested in what I am up to, and keep coming back for more. Whether it is support, titillation, boredom or idle curiosity, thank you for joining me. I hope you can continue to find something  of interest and keep with us on the rest of our journey. 

 As a parting gesture, here are a couple of brief montages from Day 181 which will add something more visual to the prose above. 

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