The 24 brave Hong kong musclemen and musclewomen who took on the challenge of lifting a million kilos in 24 hours for charity have smashed their target—lifting 1,607,500 kilos in a day while the rest of us buried our faces into our bags of McDonald’s shake-shake (shame-shame?) fries.
The challenge was organised by Pinnacle Performance, a strength and conditioning facility in Wan Chai, to benefit its charity arm.The athletes had to go through 16 weeks of vigorous training and strength building in what one athlete called “one of the toughest physical and mental challenges [she] ever took part in”.
The challenge started at 9am last Saturday and ended at 9am the next day, with the athletes foregoing sleep and completing sets of 10 reps for an hour, then resting for an hour.
Only 10 hours after the challenge started, the athletes had already lifted over 750,000 kilos, with spectators cheering on the sweat-drenched athletes while hip-hop music blasted in the background (we all need Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” for that extra push).
The funds raised from the event—a total of HKD138,482 (and counting) — will be going towards the Pinnacle Foundation, which aims to provide underprivileged children in Hong Kong with fitness activities, coaching, and teaching in a safe sports environment. Just your average weekend then!
Photos/Words: Medha Vernekar
