A fitness YouTuber who has undertaken the mammoth challenge of performing more than 66,000 press ups over the course of the year has shared the astonishing effect on his body.
Cedrik Flipo, from Montreal in Canada, started the challenge on January 31, 2022, doing one single push up on the first day, then adding one every day for a year.
In a video he posted in 2022, documenting his progress halfway through the challenge, at around the 16,000 mark, he revealed before and after selfies—which have left viewers stunned.
‘Say what you want about this kid….he’s thinking, he’s innovative, and it’s some challenge. Well done lad, I’m quite impressed,’ said one viewer, while another described his new build as ‘crazy’.
The image in the clip, that’s had more than a million views, show Mr Flipo prior to the challenge looking slight and with little muscle tone, while images taken after show a beefed-up transformation.
He said in the video: ‘I haven’t skipped a single day doing these push-ups, except for one day that I hurt my shoulders so I couldn’t do the push ups all the way through.
‘This was my physique before I started doing push-ups and not even halfway through this challenge, you could already see I gained a lot of upper body mass.
‘So if you’re looking to get bigger and gain muscle, I would definitely recommend this challenge as it is not very long and it is very efficient,’ he said.
The athlete’s physique before (left) and six months into the push-up challenge (right)
The athlete, Cedrik Flipo, from Montreal in Canada, doing a push-up as part of the 12 month challenge
One viewer, who was also doing the challenge, commented: ‘Bro that’s sick—I have been going hard since January 1 too.
‘I’m 33 years-old and in the best shape of my life since I started working out. I started last winter, but started being really focused this year.’
He’s not the only one to see dramatic results from an extreme push up challenge—early this year musician Jackson Hunter did 500 in one hour, reported MailOnline.
After completing the challenge he showed viewers the muscles in his arms and chest had become far bigger in size.
While doing 500 push ups is on the excessive side, experts say the ability to complete the exercise is a great indicator of general health.
This is because it uses most major muscle groups throughout the entire body, including legs, abs, shoulders, back and arms.
The move involves beginning face down on the ground, with your toes tucked, elbows bent and hands about shoulder height.
Keeping your body straight and parallel to the floor, push yourself up until your arms are straight and you are on your hands and toes.
His body before he did the 500 push-up challenge (left) and his bigger muscles after the challenge
Then, lower yourself back down to complete one full push up and continue until you need to stop and rest.
According to a paper published by University of Harvard researchers, doing ten push-ups a day can dramatically reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
The latest video resurfaced as the start of this month, as the UK’s biggest cancer charity, Cancer Research UK, launched its 100 push-ups a day challenge.
The feat involves completing push-ups each day for the entire month of June to raise money for the charity, and help fund breakthroughs.
Volunteers have taken to social media to share clips of themselves participating in the mammoth challenge, including Stace Payne, who said he wants to achieve the fitness goal in aid of family members currently battling cancer.
‘Whether it’s a personal fight or one you’ve witnessed through loved ones, cancer touches far too many lives,’ he said.