Yorkshire pig farmer Richard Longthorp has embarked on his extraordinary challenge to raise money two local boxing clubs and a charity supporting people with Parkinson’s.
The former NPA chair is attempting to do 1,000 press-ups a day during January in order to raise funds for St Paul’s Boxing Club, in Hull, and Goole Amateur Boxing Club, and Parkinson’s UK
Richard is providing updates on Facebook. “That’s 1,050 in just a shade less than 60 minutes – day one, complete! Thank you to all you guys who are sponsoring me in this crazy, mad, lunatic adventure,” he said in a video post, after his challenge got underway.
His daughter, Anna, is also providing updates on Twitter.
Richard, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017. He responded by taking up boxing, joining local Parkinson’s Boxing Groups, which he said has been hugely beneficial in helping to live with this ‘bloody disease’. Boxing is increasingly being recognised as an effective way of mitigating many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
“What finally decided me (on the challenge) was when I asked my boxing coach Mike Bromby what he thought. His reply was to the point – “You’re mad!” he said.
“He’s probably right.
“1000 press-ups a day works out at 31,000 in a month or, at approximately 75% of body weight, 65 tonnes a day/2,015 tonnes in the month
“The first hit when I Googled “1000 press-ups a day” was: ‘No normal person wants to know how to do 1,000 pushups a day’.”
You can read more about why Richard is taking on this challenge on the NPA forum HERE.
Richard described the challenge as ‘achievable but is certainly not a stroll in the park!’ “Training has started, now all I have to do is to try and get sponsorship so that Parkinsons UK, St Paul’s Boxing Club and Goole Amateur Boxing Club can continue to benefit those impacted by this bloody disease,” he said. “Oh yes … and then do a few press-ups in January!”
To Donate
To support Richard and donate, there is a GoFundMe page administered by the Rotary Club of Howden – a registered charity and also registered for Gift Aid: https://www.gofundme.com/f/pressups-for-parkinsons-punchers
See also, the St Pauls Parkinson’s Punchers Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icl0K1Gm2Uw
For Further Information on Beneficiaries: