Don Magee Pushes LImits With 4000 Push-Ups

Don Magee just set an amazing record:  he did 4000 push-ups in one day.  That is not a typo.  He did four thousand push-ups in one day.  For most people, doing 40 in one day would be a challenge.  For elite athletes, doing 400 in one day would be remarkable.  But Don did multiple times that.  

The kicker is that Don is almost 80 years old!  

Don wasn’t always a super-push-up athlete.  He didn’t really begin doing lots of push-ups until he was in his fifties, when his wife Florence was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.  Doctors advised her to fight it through exercise, which she did.  Don and Florence began visiting a gym early each morning to work out.  Florence didn’t realize that when Don joined her in exercising, he would become obsessed with performing push-ups.  He does at least 1000 daily, dropping for 20 between golf rounds and while standing in line during errands.  

When Don started doing pushups, it hurt to do just 25.  He added 5 each time he tried and just kept adding them.  He likes doing push-ups because they don’t require any special equipment, and they really helped him get in shape.  After several months, Don could do 100 without stopping and his obsession flamed.  He set goals which propelled him to this latest milestone.  In 2007, he topped 3,000 at the age of 74.  It was then that he set his sights on the number 4,000.  It wasn’t until recently that he realized he was rattling off more than his usual number of push-ups and this goal was reachable.  

To reach 4,000, Don did sets of 250 with just a few minutes rest in between sets.  When he had exhausted himself, he took a nap!  Refreshed, he started anew and reached 4,000.  For good measure, he threw in 50 more.   

He wants to show people, particularly the elderly, that everyone can exercise and improve their fitness levels.  “I wanted to make a statement that just because you’re old, it doesn’t mean you can’t do things.  You can stay active.” 

Now that he’s reached this goal, what will he do?  He said, “I’m still going to continue doing my 1,000 a day.  That’s what is keeping me in condition.  But it doesn’t make any difference how many you can do.  If you can do three, do three as many times as you can, and then add two to it.”  

Don is doing a terrific job showing this with this new record.  His training plan is applicable to most endeavors; start small and keep adding.  Slow and steady work can pay off big.  Like Don, we can set goals and reach them with hard work and determination. 

Works Cited

Cline, Todd. "New Record for Push-Up King." Gwinnett Daily Post 3 July 2013: 8A. Print.

Sugiura, Ken. "3010 Push-ups at 74 Years Old." Atlanta Journal Constitution 8 Nov 2007. Print.

Need Inspiritation? Read This. BodyBuilding.com. 14 Jan 2008. Web. 3 July 2013.

Photo courtesy of Mathnexus.com