Giving our feet a break after the Bloody Long Walk, Anywise has decided to join in the Push-Up Challenge throughout June. Starting June 1st through to the 25th, with a goal of completing a total of 3,318 pushups. This promises to be a great challenge for our Anywise team. But why 3,318 push-ups?
The Push-Up Challenge was created to increase awareness of mental health and raise money for foundations who specialise in this area. 3,318 is the sobering number of Australians who committed suicide in 2019. In that same year, Australians between 15 to 49 were the largest age group where sucide was the main cause of death. Anywise works closely with the ADF (Australian Defence Force) across a variety of projects with many of our staff being long-serving members of the defence industry or ex-military members. Within the ADF, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a much higher risk than that of the average Australian. Mental health is more important now than ever.
It was a no-brainer to join the challenge and do what we can to raise awareness and support for those who suffer from mental illness. One of our team members, Marc Camprubi, who has only lived in Australia a short while said, “I had no idea so many people had committed suicide in Australia in 2019!” “I was interested [in joining in] because I was shocked by the figures and because I enjoy physical challenges.”
Founded in 2017, the Push-Up Challenge has rapidly grown with over 130,000 Australians banding together to make this cause one of the nation’s largest in mental health and fitness. Participants can choose 1 of 3 foundations to receive all of the money they fundraise.
These foundations are:
Our team chose headspace, a foundation specialising in providing 12-25 year olds with the mental health tools and knowledge specifically for this age group. A 2018 survey showed that people in the 15-24 age bracket were most likely to have mental or behavioural conditions. Tom Dalton, a Principal at Anywise and proud member of our Push-Up team says, “a push-up here and a chin-up or squat there, what better way to support raising awareness for mental health and suicides. Also, working in a company that actively encourages and supports our participation makes it a no-brainer.”
Two of our Principals, Eric Dempster-Hoad and Tom, are going head-to-head in a friendly competition to see who can do more push-ups by June 25th. Both are aiming to complete all 3,318 push-ups as a minimum. That’s roughly 130 push-ups a day.
If you’re interested in joining the challenge but feel daunted by the number of push-ups or even just the thought of doing a push-up is outside your comfort zone, don’t worry. Participating with modified push-ups or other exercises (such as squats) is allowed so everyone can join in. Susan Kruk, after suffering permanent injuries, is keen to give the challenge her best and participate in the Anywise team, “I feel that I can take part as there are many options to adapt/modify the exercises.”
One of the newest to join Anywise, Caitlin Maynard, has signed up for the challenge, “I can barely do a full push-up on a good day, but want to try my best. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been affected in some way or by someone they know due to mental health.”
The Push-Up Challenge starts on the first day of the Brisbane Land Forces Expo, our push-up team are going to have their hands full completing as many push-ups a day as they can while at the expo. If you’ll be attending Land Forces, be sure to stop by Stall 4G17 and meet our Push-Up team in person and wish them luck.
Track how we’re going, make a donation, or learn more here.
Want to learn more about the services Anywise offers? Email us at sales@anywise.com.au if you’d like to organise a meeting while attending the expo.
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