38 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019
sports HIGHlights
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A
burpee sounds like
something fun to do. It’
s
not.
It’
s a pushup and then some,
a full-body exercise that begins
and ends in a standing position
and involves squatting.
Fighting through painful
cramps, Mike Berean did 5,010
chest-to-ground burpees in a
12-hour period Oct. 27 and
added his name to the list
of Guinness World Records,
beating the old record of 4,689
chest-to-ground burpees in 12
hours.
“The cramps were every-
where. My legs, chest, abs ...
”
Berean said. “I kept going
because I’
m stubborn and my
family was watching.
”
Berean said the cramps hit
about seven hours into his
world-record effort and with
about 3,600 to 3,800 burpees
done.
“I wanted to do 5,400
burpees. That was my goal,
” he
said. “But I had to stop with
about 15 minutes left (in the
12-hour period). My body said I
couldn’
t do any more. It was just
too painful to continue.
”
After taking a two-minute
break each hour, Berean had
to take longer breaks when the
cramps hit.
“I needed time to get more
fluid into my body and give my
body a chance to relax,
” he said.
While he was sore the next
day, Berean said, he recovered
quickly from the record-break-
ing effort.
Why did the 46-year-old
former U.S. Marine go through
that ordeal?
Berean is a third-degree black
belt in Krav Maga and co-own-
er of Krav Maga Great Lakes,
where he teaches his 200 stu-
dents of all ages to push them-
selves beyond what they think
they can do.
Krav Maga is a self-defense
and fighting system developed
by the Israeli military.
During October, Krav Maga
studios worldwide raise money
for the Marni Fund, created in
the memory of Marni Levine,
who died Aug. 31, 2006, at age
37 from breast cancer.
Levine was a founder of Krav
Maga Worldwide along with her
husband, Darren Levine. She
was a fourth-degree black belt
in Krav Maga, and the high-
est-ranking female instructor in
Krav Maga in the world.
She also was a wife and moth-
er with two daughters.
Nearly $4 million for breast
cancer research has been raised
by Krav Maga Worldwide in her
honor.
Berean connected his burpees
world record attempt with the
Marni Fund. His burpees raised
$7,653 through donations big
and small.
“One person made a $400
donation and said he’
d double
it to $800 if I broke the record,
”
Berean said.
The former 12-hour burpees
world record was set just a few
months before Berean’
s achieve-
ment and not that far away.
Bryan Abell, who at 23 years
old is half Berean’
s age, did
4,689 burpees July 7 at the
YMCA in Milford.
Like Berean, Abell also raised
money through his burpees. He
did it for the Stronger Warrior
Foundation, a not-for-profit
organization that helps military
members and their families.
Berean said he began training
for his burpees world record
attempt in August, after he
couldn’
t take the good-natured
goading of one of his Krav
Maga students any more.
“I was already doing about
300 burpees a day,
” he said.
During his five hours of train-
ing a day for the world record
attempt, he said, he bumped up
his pace to 500 burpees an hour.
Berean said he learned about
Krav Maga while he was serving
in the Marine Corps in the early
1990s and is one of only a few
people in the state who is cer-
tified to train law enforcement
and military personnel in Krav
Maga.
He owns Krav Maga Great
Lakes with his wife, Dori, who
handled all the paperwork and
collected the donations for his
world record burpees effort.
Pushing
Through
the Pain
Co-owner of Krav Maga Great Lakes
sets a world record with 5,010 burpees.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
MELISSA ABFALTER
MELISSA ABFALTER
Why is Mike Berean
smiling? He just did
a world record 5,010
chest-to-ground burpees
in nearly 12 hours.
LEFT: Mike Berean takes a break
from doing chest-to-ground burpees
for nearly 12 hours.