Zoomer the Pushup Inspirer

Do Pushups - Fixes a lot of mental issues too :-)

I will comlete a combination of 3,249 push-ups, lunges and calf raises in 24 days.

Oscar Carlson from the Otters is my inspiration. He is a living legend and someone should write a Netflix series about him.

Or do that thing where we make a cool ABC Show and then it gets taken by Netflix or Amazon.

https://www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/fundraisers/oscarcarlson

This is a GREAT Challenge.

The amount of push ups each day varies quite a lot, it's interesting.

By about day 3 doing pushups I realized in a "Shower thought" kind of moment that I'm afraid to talk about a whole range of issues.

The reason I think I'm afraid is because using the word "Suicide" is almost Taboo.

But it's like in Harry Potter where Dumbledore delivers the line "Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases the fear the the thing itself."

I've had panic attacks since being first touched by suicide, first during year 12, it's under control now, but I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of them, nor do I even want to.

For me now, every time I get a Panic Attack it will just be a reminder to really LIVE for those we've lost.

Not sure if I heard this somewhere or I made it up but it doesn't matter. When you're in a PANIC situation you can either "Fight, Flight" OR.... "Excite". IF you can choose EXCITE!

My cat died last year and he was the best. Every morning he waited until I woke up and gave me a hug.

He didn't want anything in return, it was just a habbit he had. I haven't felt right since then... 50 Pushups later I realized I coulld train the other cat to do the same. I have to get up a lot earlier, but you have to meet things (people, pets, computers) half way I guess :-)

Day 10: Things are getting tough, last night I finished my last ones on the way home from a committee meeting in High Street, it was cold though so, good way to warm up, another positive.

Had a great phone chat with a mate checking in becasue I'm doing this challenge, and he'd heard about the cat. I was like am I ok. I'm better than OK. So many people are doing it tougher than me, but thanks for reaching out. We had a great chat and it was awesome.

On reflection while pushuping. A friend "took his own life" and I had 2 exams.

He called me the night before and was like let's do something, and I was like "I have 2 exams tomorrow" he was like I know but I really need to do something, anything.

Back in those days too you just had to do the exam anyway. You get "special consideration" like an asterix next to your score but it's pretty meaningless.

I biffed my exams, but I didn't need much of a score to do what I wanted to do anyway.

I just wish I REALLY listened to him that night, or he found someone to listen. Or I could have found someone to REALLY listen to him.

My other friend really needed a high mark though becuase he wanted to get into medicine, we'd made sure that he didn't know (and that was really hard to do).

Then right before it was time to shut up and go in to exams a gossipy person said... Oh did you hear I think Chris killed himself. And my other friend was just like, is that true, that's true isn't it, you guys have been weird AF. I had to tell him then and there, and then we all had to shut up and do our exams.

It took me ages to forgive that girl, it was just misdirected anger. I was just angry at the situation not at her.

HE didn't do as well as he probably would have BUT he worked his @rse off and ended up becoming a Surgeon.

What was the fact for today?

I was talking to my Dentist, she's like the BEST. Anyway we were just chatting about kids and stuff and her youngest is kind of spinning his wheels a bit like my brother did at Uni. He did a business course because that's what you do, I kind of think you should do a relationship course, because that's what business really is anyway when it's all said and done.

HALF WAY POINT - rest day and was doing great, out playing sports with the kids when disaster struck, crashed my bike, at low speed but on concrete, broke my humerus bone in at least 3 spots.

So I'm switching to calf raises and lunges for the remainder of the challenge, which I think will be good because I kind of felt like I was skipping leg day :-).

The mind and the body are inextricably linked though. I broke my collar bone about 10 years ago too (also on my bike) and I remember feeling so depressed about it, not only because I lost my "happy place" (teh bike). But also feeling so useless for not being about to help out around the house and with the kids.

Missed my goal today, but got to talk to my hero Oscar. He's a great artist too, you've got to have the balance, we talked about that and other stuff instead of excercise then I forgot to do it. I'll catch uit up easily.

Weird thing is we were at my daughters ballet concert and the seats were really uncomfortable. I cried 3 times, at the start of the show, emotional. But then basically not at all when the physical pain of sitting in an uncomfy seat kicked it, that's an oversimplification. I still cried a little, but it was emotional, not pain.