THORNLANDS personal trainer Hayley St John has put her burpees where her mouth is and raised $450 for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.
The mother of two endured energy-sapping 31-degree heat and smashed out 340 burpees - easily the toughest aerobic exercise in a PT's regime - willingly urged on by family and friends.
The ordeal took just 46 minutes with small breaks during blocks of 20 burpees.
Hayley used to live at Nowra, NSW, where fires have ravaged the community and when she heard a school friend had been forced to evacuate her home in the face of a threatening blaze she felt she should do something to help.
"I thought initially I'd donate $5 for each PT session but when two clients - Shane and Kerry - tipped in an extra $20 I thought I'd go further and do one burpee for each dollar I received," she said.
"I didn't think it would get as far as it did.
"I thought I might be doing maybe 100 burpees, but when it got to around the 300-mark I started to think 'what have I done'?"
She need not have worried as she beat the heat and the threat of fatigue to achieve her target.
"I was exhausted at the end, but I was also overcome by a sense of achievement and obviously great relief.
"The swimming pool was my friend when the 340th burpee was reached," Hayley said.
The total was boosted by additional donations after those watching dug a little deeper.
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