The burpee is a physically demanding squat thrust followed by a vertical jump that puts the full body to work. Now, imagine doing 400 of them consecutively. That’s the goal four trainers — Chance Wiygul, Eric Birtley, Jonathan Fortt and Luke Strohl — hope to hit in a 30-minute Burpee Challenge at Iron Heart Gym at 454 Wilkins-Wise Road in Columbus Saturday.
“It’s all to raise money for Palmer Home for Children,” said Wiygul, Iron Heart’s owner. “We’re going to put ourselves through a 30-minute burnout without stopping to see how many burpees we can do. People can sponsor us at so much for each burpee, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to Palmer Home.”
The trainers guarantee 300 burpees each, said Birtley, the gym’s manager. “But we’re all shooting for 400, and we think we can get it or come very close.”
The participants are hoping for a community-wide showing Saturday to cheer them on and sponsor a trainer on a per-burpee basis, or make at least a minimum $10 donation. A supporter pledging 10 cents per burpee from a trainer who reached 300, for example, would contribute $30 to Palmer Home at the end of the challenge.
Palmer Home houseparent Tito Arroyo remarked, “This is something the gym wanted to do to bring awareness of what’s happening at Palmer Home. It’s a blessing to have local businesses like Iron Heart want to do something like this.”
Doors open at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. A welcome at 2 p.m. will precede the timed challenge. Afterward, several children from Palmer Home will tackle a 10-minute burpee challenge of their own. Iron Heart Gym will sponsor them at $1 per burpee.
Door prizes from area restaurants and businesses will be given out.
“It’s going to be an exciting and enjoyable time,” said Birtley. “We chose burpees because it’s one of our favorite methods to get the heart rate up and work all the muscles. We hope everybody else we inflict them on comes out to cheer us on and make a pledge.”
Iron Heart is hoping to reach a $5,000 goal.
“Our friends at Iron Heart Gym are passionate about what they do and we are thrilled that they are partnering with Palmer Home. The challenge will be a lot of fun for a good cause,” said Drake Bassett, president and CEO of Palmer Home.
For more information, contact Wiygul or Birtley at 662-570-4410, or visit ironheartgym.biz.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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