3 MILLION BURPEES!

You did it, you lunatics! Check out the ceremonial 3 millionth, done half a world away

The scoreboard right now stands at 3,037,827 burpees, and it’s still climbing, and I’m a little stunned.

I didn’t think we had it in us. We worked our tails off for 29 days, and to get to 3 million burpees, we had to squeeze three days’ worth of burpees into two days. That was asking a lot of men who had already given a lot.

But we did it.

I say often that I try not to care about the numbers, that the numbers are beside the point of MABA, that TOGETHER is the point of MABA. And I mean that sincerely … and I’m also a little full of shit.

Of course I care about the numbers a little, because I’m a man and we care about such things, because I’m a sports writer and I care about such things, and because numbers give us context, allow us to measure what we’re doing, where we’ve been and where we’re going.

And there is also this: The bigger the numbers, the more we were TOGETHER. Look at that photo above. That’s Scott “Q-tip” Hardeman and his 11-year-old daughter. They logged 5,006 and 4,001 burpees respectively, together.

Late yesterday afternoon, I thought we didn’t have a chance to get to 3 million. Then the number kept growing … and growing … and growing … as some men put up huge numbers and others got caught up on burpees they never posted.

The total represents an increase of more than 1 million over last year, double the year before that and more than triple the first year. I’m proud of all y’all, because we cranked out 3 million burpees in 31 days, yes, but also because of the relationships we formed and strengthened while doing them.

But we can’t stop now. We can’t just do 3 million burpees, slap each other on the back, and go on with our lives.

We have to dig deep into those relationships.

We fell down.

We got back up.

We did both together.

Now we have to stay together.

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Inside the numbers

Continents: 7

Countries (that I know of): Seven.

States: No clue.

Total participants: 1,227

Oldest (that I know of): 66

Youngest (that I know of): 8, a boy whose F3 nickname is, fittingly, Burpee. He was at the MABA finale workout I attended. At the very end, I hollered to ask if anyone was close to a goal so we could do burpees together and help him reach that goal.

Burpee raised his hand – he was 10 short of 600 for the day (mind you, it was not 6 a.m. yet). I called him to the center of the workout, and he led 40-plus men in 10 burpees.

And that’s how I learned that 8 year olds, at least this one, do burpees super, super fast.

He eventually reached 1,020 for the day, and he was tops in his region for the month.

Did I mention he’s 8?

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The ceremonial 3 millionth burpee, done half a world away

Blue Ridge absolutely dominated MABA this year. They put seven men in the top 10, and they were still doing burpees at 8:30 p.m. last night. (Guys, we hit 3 million, you can stop now. … GUYS … GUYS!!!)

They were inspired by one of their own—Augie “InBox” Delledonne, who did the ceremonial 3 millionth burpee halfway around the world in Bahrain

.Name: August (Augie) Delledonne

Age: 34 

F3 Name: Inbox

How you got your name: Biggest pet peeve – Looking at my wife’s phone and seeing the email icon with 10,000 unread messages. (Name courtesy of the one and only Rikers of F3 Blue Ridge)

How long you've been doing F3: Since October of 2021

Service: Navy

Rank: E-7 (Chief Petty Officer) 

MOS/Rating: ETVC (Electronics Technician specializing in Submarine Navigation)

Where are you: U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) in Bahrain

What are you doing there: Leading a team called NCAGS. Our objective is to support maritime operations and American assets/interests in the waters of the Middle East, including the Red Sea.

This explains what’s going on in the AOR currently: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/inside-a-u-s-navy-base-protecting-the-red-sea/

You surpassed the total goal by almost 50 percent! Congratulations! When do you do them—like, on your own, or in group workouts, or during PT?: I do them on my own. I’ll usually complete 100-200 during a workout, and then chip away at additional ones throughout the day.

Why are you doing them? MABA was one of the first things I really jumped all into with F3. I was still fairly new and not very committed in January of 2022. Participating in MABA with the HIMs of Blue Ridge lit a fire within me to become more engaged.

MABA fostered a sense of community and purpose amongst us. Getting up at 4:30 to workout in the cold isn’t something most sane people would do (unless you’ve got a cozy garage), however, knowing that your buddies are going to be at the beatdown early to crank out some burpees instills the drive and accountability to show up.

Plus, knowing we were “competing” against other regions “cough, cough, JeffCo, cough,” made it even sweeter. 2023 brought the same excitement and comradery around the region, and it seems that it has become an annual milestone for Blue Ridge. This year was no different for me. It’s tough to stay in contact right now with my current schedule and work commitments, so MABA has been my way of staying tethered to my brothers back home. I wouldn’t miss it for the world! 

Is weather a factor?: Not this time of year.

Your nantan, Shute, told me you’re really inspiring his men back here. That must make you feel good:  It’s nice to know that the boys back home are thinking of me, but I’d say the opposite is true. Watching some of the savages like Katniss, Raphael and Lockdown sit on the top 10 list every day for the last two years has been inspirational. I was hoping to keep up, but they’re just on a different level. They’re keeping me accountable and giving me the drive to get my numbers up every day.

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