Richard Longthorp, a Parkinson’s sufferer from East Yorkshire, is on a mission to complete one million press-ups in January and is calling for more people to join his inspirational challenge.
The pig farmer from Howden is doing 1,000 press-ups daily throughout the month to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK and England Boxing, with the aim of funding coaching sessions and boxing classes for others living with his condition.
Despite a fantastic response to his challenge, with many joining in, Richard has only secured commitment for around 600,000 press-ups so far.
He said: “Seeing them all in videos on social media is really inspiring me to keep going. But we’re not at a point where we think we will reach the one million mark yet. In fact, our projections put us at around 60% of that total, so we really need more people to get involved.”
This ambitious challenge follows Richard’s previous feat in January 2024 when he completed 32,000 press-ups in just one month, raising a total of £22,000.
Richard, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s eight years ago, took up boxing at St Paul’s Boxing Academy in 2022 to help manage his condition. This year, he’s aiming to end a month-long challenge with a gruelling 24-hour marathon where he’ll attempt to complete 10,000 press-ups by himself and encourage others to join him in a final push to amass 1,000,000 push-ups combined.
Richard said: “The main aim from the start of this challenge was to get as many people participating as possible and to raise as much money and awareness as we can. And I still want to achieve those goals. The support so far has been absolutely fantastic, but it is not too late to get involved and be part of this huge challenge and make a difference. If you fancy starting the year by getting a bit fitter, I urge you to sign up.”
For those who struggle with conventional press-ups, other options such as wall press-ups can be part of the challenge too, and those taking part are encouraged to raise their own funds to contribute to the charity pot.
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Participants can share their daily press-up count in a dedicated WhatsApp group for Richard to keep track, but alternative methods of submission will also be accepted. Those interested in joining Richard’s one million press-up challenge can register here.