Need Inspiration? Read this.
January 14, 2008
By Ken Sugiura
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/08/07
Don Magee is 74, a grandfather of four and has biceps like boccie balls.
The guns are the product of a workout routine that recently enabled the Lilburn man to do 3,010 push-ups in one day, and here are two more things that are just as hard to believe.
His arms weren’t sore the next day. In fact, he went out and played golf.
He thinks he could have done a few hundred more.
Atlanta Braves strength and conditioning coach Frank Fultz, a self-described “push-up guy,” called it “an amazing accomplishment.” Fultz said that Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and John Smoltz are among the Braves who incorporate push-ups into their workout regimen.
To do 3,000, “they would have to really work at it,” Fultz said. “But, no, I don’t think they could do that in a day.”
Magee, a retired school superintendent, does between 300 and 700 push-ups a day, in addition to circuit training at Premier Fitness gym in Snellville. He and his wife, Florence, are there most mornings at 5:30 a.m. with a group of about 20 regulars who show up to work out and give each other grief.
“He’s told us all a dozen times” about the push-up feat, said Weldon Thomas, who joined Buddy Harvard at Magee’s house Monday to testify to his buddy’s push-up prowess. “And he’ll probably tell us again before we leave today.”
Magee’s push-up obsession began about 13 years ago, when he and Florence joined a Lawrenceville gym. He liked that push-ups were a good workout and didn’t require equipment.
“I was hurting to do 25,” he said. “I added five when I could.”
Over several months, Magee reached 100 without stopping and has kept going. Nearing his 70th birthday, Magee said, he was boasting of his exploits at the gym, only to be told that former Georgia football great Herschel Walker could do 2,000 push-ups. So Magee, on his birthday, matched Walker’s 2,000 and did 10 more for good measure.
That day, he decided that for his 74th birthday, he’d go for 3,000. One day last month, after starting off with 600 in about 35 minutes, he strung together sets of 100 over the course of the day. About 13 hours after he started, he pushed up for the 3,010th time.
“I wanted to make a statement that just because you’re old doesn’t mean you can’t do things,” Magee said. “You can stay active.”
Magee’s next goal is to see if he can break his own record for push-ups without stopping, 210. He doesn’t care what the world record is, he said, “because this is Don Magee’s goal and Don Magee’s record. I’m sure a lot of guys can beat it.”
I had the privilege of meeting Don yesterday at the Birthday of a good friend. I had sent this article to several of my older family members last month. I had found a link to the article on one of the forums that I visit. I was amazed to find out that this gentleman lived in the same city I did. I was even more amazed to find out his backyard backs up to one my best friends yards.
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