The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Grey Bruce is bringing a new fitness challenge to the region next month.
Starting Feb. 1, participants in the push-up challenge are encouraged to complete 2,000 push-ups over 23 days, which symbolizes the 20 per cent of Canadians who will experience mental illness each year.
A part of the challenge, the CMHA says the number of push-ups each day will align with a significant mental health fact.
CMHA Fundraising, Special Events and Media Relations Coordinator Don Vail says, “with the push-up challenge, you will be exercising, which of course we all know is good for your mental health the more time you spend doing exercises and such.”
The CMHA is bringing this challenge to Canada for the first time after seven years of success in Australia, which has raised over $36 million for mental health.
“It’s one of these things that works very well. We have seen other challenges like this that have happened year after year with different organizations. Now this one in February, it’s about health, it’s about getting fit, it’s about mental health,” says Vail. “So I think that was one of the driving forces to do this. It is also such a great way to challenge others to get involved and feel connected.”
Participation is free and people can choose to fundraise to support the CMHA Grey Bruce.
CMHA Grey Bruce Interim CEO Claudia den Boer says, “the push-up challenge is not just an event, it’s a movement towards a healthier, more informed community. It’s a unique blend of physical challenge and mental health awareness highlighting the fact that there is no physical health without mental health. We’re thrilled to bring this initiative to Canada for the first time, and we encourage everyone in Grey-Bruce to join us in pushing for better mental health.”
The challenge is also not limited to push-ups as people can also do sit-ups or squats.
More details on this new event is available on the push-up challenge website here, where details about a dedicated app to track progress can also be found.
