Drop and give me… 1,000?
Maj. Tommy Vu of the Oregon National Guard is once again a world champ as of Friday after completing a jaw-dropping 1,027 chest-to-ground burpees in just an hour’s time.
Vu previously sweated his way into the record books in March 2023, when he completed 1,003 reps of burpees in an hour. Habtamu Franke, a personal trainer in The Netherlands, stole Vu’s title later that year by performing 1,010 burpees in 60 minutes flat.
The 37-year-old citizen soldier reclaimed his crown last week at Lancaster Physiq Fitness in Salem, working out in front of a countdown clock and rolling camera as family and friends cheered him on.
Despite its name, the burpee is hardly a laughing matter. It’s essentially four exercises in one — a plank, push-up, jump and squat — that takes the doer from standing to flat on the ground over and over again.
Video distributed by the Oregon Military Department shows Vu drenched in sweat as he completed his last burpee and hugged the astroturf inside the gym. He plans to donate $1,027 to a fundraiser for a friend with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in celebration of his big win.
While the feat awaits certification from the Guinness World Records organization, Vu said he’s mulling how to master the eight, 12- and 24-hour burpee world records (which, for the record, is 9,119 burpees in 24 hours).
“I’ve got a really strong will, and I just don’t know how to quit,” Vu said.
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