Push-ups for mental health: Are you up for the challenge?

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Headspace Murray Bridge is encouraging locals to participate in Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event: the Push-Up Challenge.

Participants will be challenged to complete 3214 push-ups from June 4-26, to honour the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2023.

Headspace’s Nina D’Alton said the rates of suicide among young people in Australia had only increased in the last 20 years, and community support was needed now more than ever.

“The push-up challenge is such an important event for rural communities like Murray Bridge, as the isolation often felt by its residents has profound impacts upon wellbeing, mental health, and lifetime outcomes,” she said. 

The free event will give participants the opportunity to improve their fitness, learn more about mental health, and raise crucial funds for mental health services in Australia. 

This year is the movement’s ninth in Australia, with more than $50 million raised for mental health charities since it was first founded in 2017, by Western Australian Nick Hudson.

“Mental health challenges will affect nearly everyone at some point in their lives,” Mr Hudson said. 

“The push-up challenge aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness through education and encourage Australians to take a more proactive approach to their fitness and mental wellbeing.”

Last year, the event received support from more than 218,000 participants, and raised more than $12 million for mental health charities.

The challenge will also encourage accessible inclusivity, as it will allow participants to substitute push-ups with alternatives, such as sit-ups or squats. 

Participants can keep track of their progress on the Push For Better app, which will provide fundraising tips, daily facts and challenges, and will give teammates a way to stay in touch across the month. 

Hundreds of thousands of Aussies are expected to participate in this year’s challenge and will be able to register their involvement as either individuals or as teams.

• More information, register: www.thepushupchallenge.com.au.
• Download the Push for Better app: Visit Google Play or Apple’s App Store.
• Get help: Talk to your GP; find a local mental health service that suits you at murraymallee.servicesdirectory.org.au; call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636; or, in an emergency, call 000.