Men’s Health
David Whetton, 40, from New South Wales, Australia, has been performing a minimum of 100 burpees for an entire year. He shares with Men’s health how this physical challenge transformed your body – and your vision.
When Covid closed my business completely, I suddenly found myself at home with more time available. I felt a real need to have something to ‘anchor’ my day in the turbulent waters that Covid has become for small business owners.
I have always kept myself in shape and active – rugby league and rugby union, running, weights, tennis – but these establishments were practically closed and I had no idea when they would reopen. I had spoken with a friend and main training camp operator in Sydney, Patrick ‘Sarge’ Ritchie, who has dedicated his professional life to guiding others on their fitness journeys. He suggested a movement that was of a full-body nature.
So, I looked online for a fitness challenge that I could do within the confines of my home during quarantine. I came across a personal trainer from Pittsburgh called Chase Barron, who recorded his own challenge of 100 burpees a day for 30 days. He spoke with such clarity and insight about how his mindset had to adjust to the pre, during and daily post-burpees aspect, he really inspired me.
I can definitely understand why the burpee is hated in CrossFit circles; no day is easier with burpees! They are a constant and rotating movement that requires precision in breathing, positioning of hands and feet, without pause, without extension, without breathing. In addition, the burpee reaches all parts of the body if you do it right, from your toes to your neck.
But mainly, making burpees is a mental game. Your mindset starts to change from ‘Do I have to do this?’ to ‘How much can I squeeze out of that?’ and you find yourself waking up with burpees in your mind, and hitting the pillow with a great sense of accomplishment, no matter what else might not have happened to you that day, at least you gave your body and mind the respect of a daily practice this is beneficial for you and therefore beneficial for your loved ones, friends and colleagues, because you have presented the optimized version of yourself.
Because, in fact, these are not burpees. They are just a vehicle for finding out what drives you. It’s about recovering a fraction of your day to make your life – and your interactions with the people around you – better. It may seem like a selfish act at first, rolling the rug to pop another 200 burpees, but it soon becomes a way of giving your best to those who depend on you around you.
My motivation in the last year came from within. It was never about being ‘the biggest guy in the bar’. I am a smaller body and I am aware of my genetic and physical limitations. Instead, he was determined to create a daily habit of mind and body that required preparation, persistence and passion. At 40, I discovered that these are my main skills, so why not take advantage of them? For me, burpees were the answer. I recorded each day in the top corner of a paper calendar, which kept me accountable to myself.
I went from a small belly to a pack of six around the ninth month. The muscles in my back really developed and my shoulders got wider. My biceps and triceps stretched and were well defined. My pectorals and chest have widened, and the shirts now fit me much better. My waist became thinner and in general, my legs became more toned, especially my calves due to the constant flexing and pushing necessary to bend and jump. But by far, the biggest development has been mental. Resilience, daily dedication and the ability to drop and do 200 burpees was much more rewarding than the physical gains, however welcome they were!
The only time I had an injury was when I was overwhelmed with other bodyweight exercises, like chinups. They hurt my forearms and forced me to focus more on the best practices of burpee technique. I was also doing 100 squats with a kettlebell or dumbbells a day for the same period of time, as this gives me the extra strength in my legs to actually complete the high heel component of the burpee effectively; it is the element of movement that really boosts the cardiovascular aspect while you are fighting gravity, as well as the cumulative fatigue that comes with doing so many repetitions of burpee every day.
I started the challenge on April 2, 20202, just when my area in Australia was blocked for the first time. I started with 100 consecutive burpees a day and then added 10 more repetitions for each subsequent month; 110 a day in May, 120 a day in June and so on. This week, I completed an entire year of burpees with 220 reps. Over 365 days, I completed a total of 55,000 complete push-ups, folds, jumps and repeated sit-ups.
Along the way, I kept in close contact with Chase and connected with burpee enthusiasts who think like me all over the world on Instagram, like @charlieburpee and @theburpeeguy, who have become close friends across the ocean and continue to inspire me and, hopefully, vice versa.
I’m still going, and I always will. Daily burpees have now become as essential to my life as the other essentials; family connections, good food, rewarding work, clean air and restful sleep. As I complete these first 365 days, I’m starting again with 100 and adding 10 again each month, only this time I’ll be holding two 5.5 pound dumbbells and completing 55,000 heavy burpees in bench press curls, over others 365 consecutive days.
The universal reaction when I started this journey a year ago was, ‘Why? Burpees sucks! ‘And that’s because they do … if you only hit them once in a while, or if they are presented as some form of training torture at the gym. But this is perception about reality. Burpees are a highly efficient full body movement and when performed regularly and with the right mindset, they can even be fun (well, almost)!
Of course, people started to notice the physical difference in my body after a few months, but mostly they realized how much more positive my interactions were, how my focus had sharpened, how I was more dedicated to completing tasks or work tasks. I think this is the real benefit of burpee for me, just a reformulation of my values towards a more positive mindset, valuing each day for its ups and downs and showing gratitude and goodwill in my interactions with others.
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