Are You Tough Enough for the Royal Burpee Challenge?
Posted on 1.31.12Buy Your Official Challenge Tshirt Now!
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Easton, PA – Athletes from around the world are joining CrossFit Advanced in the 115 Royal Burpee Challenge to honor of the man who made the burpee a household name: Royal Huddleston Burpee.
Those who join us in the challenge will start with a single burpee on Feb. 11. On Feb. 12, the second day, we will do two burpees. On Feb. 13, the third day, we will do three burpees. We will continue adding a burpee to our daily workout until June 4, when we will do 115 burpees in honor of what would be Royal H. Burpee’s 115th birthday. Over the course of the challenge, athletes will do a total of 6,670 burpees.
Athletes may do the burpees on their own, and are encouraged to share pictures and videos. The burpees can be spread out over the day, but each day’s required burpees must be completed before moving on to the next day. So if an athlete fails to do 10 burpees on Day 10, they must do 10 burpees the following day, plus the 11 burpees owed for that new day.
A burpee, which is similar to a squat thrust, is an intense exercise that combines a squat, a push-up and jump. You may think the name reflects what happens after you try the exercise too soon after lunch, but it’s actually named after Royal H. Burpee.
In the 1930s, Royal H. Burpee created a test that used burpees to measure agility and coordination for the U.S. military. The test was included in his book, “Seven Quickly Administered Tests of Physical Activity.”
Burpee (1898-1987), a World War I veteran, served as the overseas program director for the United Service Organization (USO) during World War II. Between the wars, he earned a doctorate in physiology from Columbia University.
A lifelong advocate of physical fitness, Burpee was also the executive director of Bronx-Union Branch of the New York City Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) from 1946 to 1964. He continued to be involved with the Greater New York YMCA until his death in 1987 in Easton, Pa., home of CrossFit Advanced.
While it’s not clear whether Burpee invented the exercise, or just made it famous with his test, the move is still being done today. This June 4 marks Royal H. Burpee’s 115th birthday, and CrossFit Advanced, led by owner Greg Tymon, thought it would be fun to celebrate the day in a unique way.
“The burpee is the king of all exercises,” Tymon said. “It takes coordination. It takes strength. Do more than a handful, and it takes endurance.”
Yet the burpee is also an exercise that does not require special equipment, or even a lot of space, he said. It’s a staple of CrossFit workouts, and is one of the best conditioning exercises around, Tymon said. In addition to CrossFit, burpees are still favorites of football coaches and military trainers everywhere.
Also, Royal H. Burpee’s military background is a natural fit for CrossFit, which often honors fallen military heroes with especially difficult or challenging workouts, Tymon said.
“I like to think if Royal Burpee were alive today, he’d be a fan of CrossFit,” Tymon said. “We certainly are a big fan of his.”
Burpee’s grandson, Royal H. Burpee III, who lives in Easton, will be invited to attend the grand finale of the Royal Burpee Challenge on June 4th.
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Feb 3, 2012
Love the shirt design!
Feb 4, 2012
Can’t wait to start the burpee challenge!!!
Feb 9, 2012
Where can we buy the shirt?
Feb 9, 2012
As one who has completed a 100-day burpee challenge before, I wish you all well.
Feb 10, 2012
Hi Nicole. Check back after the 11th for a link on our website to buy the shirt.
Feb 10, 2012
any particular time limit ?
Feb 10, 2012
It’s on! I eat burpees for breakfast!
Feb 14, 2012
Tshirts are now available to order: http://www.crossfitadvanced.com/burpee/
Feb 18, 2012
This was very insightful. I wouldn’t have assumed that burpee was a real person. Either way, I’m in.
Feb 20, 2012
I just ordered a bunch of shirts and need to add another shirt…..would it be possible to add to the order to reduce shipping costs?
Thanks,
Feb 22, 2012
Hi Karen. Please order the additional shirts, pay for the shipping at check out and I will send a refund check back to you with the shirts for the balance of the shipping charges. Or, if you have a paypal account, i will send the shipping charges back to you that way.
Mar 9, 2012
Hello. As a lover of challenges, I would love to do this. But, it is March 9th and I’ve just now heard of this burpee challenge. Is it too late to join? Or do I just add up all the burpees I missed and do them all in one day?
best regards,
Jason
Apr 12, 2012
Lol, just saw this burpee challenge. Our CF started this challenge a bit early then. We are on day 81:o) only 4 (outta 22) of us left in the challenge:o(
Good luck to all that’s taking up the challenge:o)
-Alex
Apr 12, 2012
We are doing your burpee challenge here in Dallas, Texas. Now that we are up to 62, not liking it much, but who said that was a prerequisite, right? In Dallas (since it tends to be a “bit” warm, we wear tank tops.) Any chance of getting that logo on a tank before June 4th?
Apr 13, 2012
Hi Sonya. I’ll work on getting tank tops and get back to you. I don’t see a problem. Thanks for participating.
Apr 13, 2012
You’re right, it’s getting less fun with each passing day. But that’s why it’s a challenge. Good luck to those who are still in.
May 13, 2012
WOW….I JUST discovered this challenge….I guess it’s never to late to start….
May 20, 2012
Day 100 is better than day 62 – go figure. 15 more days to go…I may actually miss the burpees when this is all done. Greg, thanks for working on those tank tops. (I like wearing tanks better than tees)
May 20, 2012
Cynthia,
I agree, it’s never too late to start, However, when it comes to burpees, starting on May 13 might be a little too late to start. In order to start now, you will have to catch up on all the burpees missed. Good luck with that!!!!
May 27, 2012
will there be another challenge beginning after this one ends?
May 29, 2012
Yes. Stay tuned for details!
Jun 3, 2012
Greg, tank tops??
Jun 4, 2012
Would love to hear when a new challenge starts.
Jun 5, 2012
Stay tuned!
Feb 13, 2013
Our basketball team had to do 550 burpees today in one practice