Boot Camper in the Spotlight

Do You Know Joe?

At first glance Joe Hirschman is just an average guy. But there's a lot more than meets-the-eye with Joe. He joined Body Basics Boot Camps last January and has been a regular ever since. From day one Joe understood what boot camp is all about. He is always the first one to arrive at 6am and starts his own warm up whether it be running a lap or doing light calisthenics. I imagine Joe's a self-starter in all that he does.

Like many men his age, Joe had let his diet and exercise take a back seat so-to-speak to his work and family. It happens to the best of us Joe! I wouldn't be here today if I didn't have my own story to tell.

But unlike many people, Joe decided to change his life, and man is he is on a roll! Below is Joe's story in his own words. As you read Joe's narrative, imagine what you would challenge yourself with. What makes Joe so special? Well, in two worda, "Joe does", and that makes him our boot camper in the spot light.

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Joe's Story

As a prefix to this story, I realized at this point in my life I want and need to challenge myself. Most people reach a point and everything becomes routine or work-related, but they are unchallenged on a personal level. Last September I took on 3 distinct and new challenges.

In no particular order:

1. To perform 35,000 pushups in one year.
2. To start exercising on a regular basis and drop 20lbs.
3. To learn a second language.

I started doing 25 pushups each morning and night. Soon after a co-worker told me I inspired him to do 75 a day. Doing this many push ups a day would really add up and I decided I would do 100-a-day for an entire year or 35,000 pushups. One hundred a day would be a bigger challenge and just seemed so much more impressive.

Forty-five weeks later, I have now done over 32,000 pushups and I am now shooting for 36,000 to 37,000 total pushups for the year.

This takes determination and a some effort. In addition I train four days-a-week at 6am. I have greatly improved my diet and I am in better shape than I have been in for quite a few years. Our 6am workouts with Larry Wasserman at bodybasicsbootcamps.com are an even bigger challenge with bigger results. Not only am I reaching new goals, but I am taking better care of myself.

My third goal is also a work in progress. I have been taking Greek lessons for the last 6 months. I am able to read and write in Greek which even impresses me! I have a decent vocabulary but stringing together more than a simple sentence and conjugating verbs is very complex.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. My message to you is to ask you to challenge yourself. Every day we are challenged professionally and invest a huge amount of time in our family lives, but we don’t create personal challenges since we are so busy at home and at work. There is much more time than we realize. Turn off your TV and turn that time into something more productive. You just might amaze yourself.

- Joe Hirschman