Push-up Challenge helps mental health
By Ross Freake
Almost 800 people from the Central Okanagan joined more than 70,000 Canadians last month to fight mental illness.
They weren鈥檛 in the same room, didn鈥檛 get together at the same time. Indeed, they didn鈥檛 punch or kick mental illness. It wasn鈥檛 that kind of fight.
Canadians young and old, male and female, from ocean to ocean to ocean 鈥 Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic 鈥 grunted, groaned and sweat in the second annual 2,000 Push-up Challenge for mental health, which ran Feb. 11-28.
Two thousand represents the people who die by suicide every day worldwide.
Some of those deaths happen in sa国际传媒, and the community stepped up and pushed up in support in the inaugural challenge in 2024, and again this year 鈥 and did much better.
鈥淭his year, it absolutely took off,鈥 said Dalton Ulrich, communications lead at the sa国际传媒 chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association. 鈥淚t was super, super exciting.
鈥792 people signed up and raised $62,000. Last year, we had 300 sign up and raised $18,000, so we鈥檝e over tripled that. That money stays in our community and goes to support our programs.鈥
The top local individual was Cameron Dakin, who raised $4,000. The top team was Wilden with $4,342, and the 鈥渢op community鈥 was Orangetheory Fitness sa国际传媒 with $1,119.
Money can still be donated to the challenge until March 21 at .
Of course, you can donate to the Canadian Mental Health Association at any time at .
The challenge started in Australia in 2017 and, since then, more than 700,000 Australians have done more than one billion push-ups, raising more than $50 million (AUD).
The Push-Up Challenge joined forces with the Canadian Mental Health Association last year to bring the event to Canada. Almost 50,000 people pumped out $2.4 million.
This year, 70,510 Canadians did 64,635,962 push-ups and raised $3,931,053. That money is greatly needed to pay for programs that help and supports our fellow citizens plagued by mental-health issues. We all know someone 鈥 children, spouses, parents, siblings, friends and neighbours 鈥 in a dark, dark place.
According to the 2022 Mental Health and Access to Care Survey, 18.3% of Canadians 15 years and older suffered from a mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder in the 12 months before the survey.
鈥淢ental health is a public health priority, and itsa国际传媒 also one of the most pronounced health inequities in Canada,鈥 the report says.
Anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, eating disorders, disruptive behaviour, dissocial disorders and neuro-developmental disorders are the top mental-health issues.
Schizophrenia and personality disorders are the most disabling, but anorexia nervosa is the deadliest and has the highest mortality rate.
鈥淚t is also often undiagnosed and untreated,鈥 according to a recent special report by Dr. Donald Black, in Psychiatric News. He referred to it as 鈥減sychiatrysa国际传媒 forgotten disorder.鈥
The annual push-up challenge can help us remember, not just once a year, but every day because there are constant reminders if we are willing to see.
Our challenge is to match and then out-do Australians in the number of push-ups we do and the money we raise. It shouldn鈥檛 be a problem. Canada has a population of 40 million while Australia has 26.6 million.
Will you accept the challenge?
The gauntlet has been thrown down. Pick it up.
--
By Ross Freake
My goal in the 2000 Push-up challenge was 3,000.
Forgive me, if I let my ego and self-aggrandizement run wild.
Remember the almost immortal words of Marx? Groucho, not Karl: 鈥淭hatsa国际传媒 enough about me, letsa国际传媒 talk about you. What do you think about me?鈥
Unlike Dakin, Bobby Mahnger, ($3,842), Jeff Higa ($2,267), Ryan Redekopp ($2,171) and Josh Smith ($1,825), the top local money raisers, I contributed a measly $157. But that came from my bank account, which definitely needs a financial push-up challenge.
Ego demands notwithstanding, I only did 2,800 push-ups. Oh, I have excuses鈥 I did, however, put salve on my demanding and unrelenting ego by adding 2,000 dips, sit-ups and squats. Combined.
Next year. There is always next year
You can join me, and thousands of other Canadians who will huff, puff, and hurt, to help people with mental-health issues.
Don鈥檛 like doing push-ups? No problem. You can still be part of the challenge.
鈥淪ubstitute push-ups with alternative exercises, like sit-ups, squats, jumping jacks, anything goes,鈥 it says on the Push-up Challenge web page. 鈥淵ou can also choose to aim for 50% of the push-up target and smash out 1,000 push-ups instead of 2,000.鈥
See, no excuses. And you have a year to train. Start pushing, up. Just as the longest journey starts with a single step, the challenge can start with one push-up. Or one dip, one squat, one sit-up, one jumping jack. Anything.
Maybe you鈥檒l get in shape or change your life.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, said the secret of success is one more rep. In this case, it can be one more push-up.
And along the way, you can help change someone elsesa国际传媒 life.
Next year!
