With just 24 hours to go until a new Guinness World Record, Samuel Finn admits he’s a little nervous. Nevertheless, he shows Olympian calm and unshakable self-confidence.
• Also read: He hates burpees, but he can do 1010 of them!
“The stress is starting to set in,” Finn admits. Last night I woke up pretty early [4h30]. I can usually go back to sleep, but as soon as I got up, my brain started imagining scenarios. I’m starting to feel stress, but also a lot of excitement. I can’t wait until tomorrow [samedi]. »
This is not the first challenge for the 32-year-old Quebecer, whose brother Cédric died at the age of 27 from soft tissue sarcoma, a rare type of cancer. In honor of “Ced,” Samuel will also attempt to do 1,010 burpees in an hour on Saturday morning.
He had already entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2019 with 5,234 burpees in 12 hours. After a marathon, he is now tackling a sprint.
“I have to do 17 per minute. That’s about one burpee every 3.6 seconds. It’s very, very fast. It’s completely different than my first record. I’ve never been out of breath. It was really about how much pain you can endure and persevere. This time I will be out of breath, my heart rate will be very high and I have to maintain this pace,” he explains, adding that his “muscles will burn.” [ses] Shoulders”.
Careful preparation
When Le Journal met him at midday on Friday, the former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League player was busy installing the mats on which he will perform and measuring the distance between the tapes that represent the lines to be respected.
He then warmed up and exercised for about 13 minutes using an elastic band and a dance rope. He did a few squats and push-ups while screens and posters of his sponsors were displayed around him. Finn then performed sequences of 10 burpees in 30 seconds.
On the big day it will be a completely different story. If there is something the entrepreneur fears, it is hitting the wall in the 22nd minute when his body is “on the verge of collapse”.
“If you think about it, it’s still pretty early because there are still 38 minutes left. After 20 minutes it becomes super difficult, my body is begging me to stop. It really becomes a mental battle. I try to focus on the next minute and 17 burpees in a row. That’s what really helps me. If I think I have 40 minutes left, it would be too easy to give up,” he analyzes.
” It’s easy “
To stay focused, Finn repeats “This is easy” in his head like a mantra. He will think of his brother and all the people who have cancer or whose children have cancer and who have written to him to thank him and encourage him.
“They are going through real difficulties. Burpees are easy. It puts things and my suffering into perspective, I realize it’s not that big. »
Although training has been slowed in recent months due to hip, shoulder and adductor problems, Finn managed to complete 45 minutes four weeks ago while maintaining the pace of the expected record. He has since reduced the number of sessions to avoid injury.
All that remains is for him to sleep well, eat a good breakfast three and a half hours before his challenge, cover the 50 kilometers between his home in Morin-Heights and the Performe Plus Center in Boisbriand and… Drink enough fluids before 10: 30 p.m., the time he will begin his 1010 burpees in an hour.
What is a burpee?
The name “Burpee” comes from an American physiologist, Royal H. Burpee, who developed a physical ability assessment program in the 1940s. The exercise was then adopted during military training.
A burpee is a series of movements that you repeat. There are several variations, but here are the main steps:
▶ Standing start
▶ Do a squat (leg bend, squatting position)
▶ Place your hands on the floor in front of you
▶ Throw your feet back to perform the plank
▶ Do a push-up (pumping)
▶ Return to a squat with a small jump
▶ Jump back into standing position