Hiit Republic Mitchell manager to do more than 820 burpees to break Guinness World Record for Lifeline Canberra fundraiser

On Saturday, Hiit Republic Mitchell studio manager Bec Bennett will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most amount of burpees in one hour. And it's no small feat. The record currently sits at 820.

But if there was a cause worthy of completing more than 820 burpees in an hour, it's to raise money for Lifeline Canberra.

Not only has she partnered with the local charity to raise donations, Hiit Republic's parent company Viva Leisure has upped the ante to encourage the community to get involved. Throughout the day, for every single burpee done by Canberrans at Hiit Republic Mitchell in support of Bennett, they will also donate $1 to Lifeline.

Bennett has been planning the record-breaking attempt since last year's lockdown. She was inspired to do something to contribute to mental health awareness after noticing its importance in conversations with family and friends.

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"I remember talking to a lot of close friends and family who were struggling a lot," Bennett says.

"And then over the past few years, I've lost a few people to suicide, or people I know through the grapevine, have struggled with mental health.

"I don't know how the actual idea of burpees sprung into my head. I just came up with the idea wanting to do some form of fundraiser awareness day for mental health."

Bennett's world record attempt will be another big boost for Lifeline Canberra, after their main event to raise money, the Canberra Book Fair, was cancelled earlier in the year due to protesters at Exhibition Park.

"This actually was meant to happen about a month-and-a-half ago as well, so they had a few things that were going that didn't go too well for them," Bennett says.

"So I'm really happy we could postpone this and have it now".

Bennett admits she has not set a fundraising goal she'd like to meet, but she is grateful she can help.

As part of the process of attempting the record, there will need to be two separate videos. Bennett says throughout the hour, any individual burpee might be struck off and not counted if they are deemed insufficient, so the goal is to aim higher than 820 to make wiggle room.

This does mean, however, that no matter what number is reached next Saturday, the fate of the record will still hang in the air after the event.

"That's probably the most daunting part, in all honesty," Bennett says.

"I could do 900 burpees in an hour, but the rules, the way the burpee has to be done, is where a lot of it is let down."

Bennett expects she will not eat anything the morning of the event, despite the coffee van and protein foods that will be available throughout the day for the audience.

Instead, she will be looking to feed off of the energy of the day, both from things she can control such as the background music, and the atmosphere that the crowd will bring.

"The more people the merrier," she says.

"And now that we're doing the one dollar per burpee that everyone else does, I think it will be a much better environment."

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