‘Every pull-up counts’

CITY of BALANGA, Bataan – In just a matter of four hours, Baras-Bataan was able to register a total of 7, 538 pull-ups during the World Pull-up Day (WPD) held at the Plaza Mayor de Balanga last Saturday.

“Naging sobrang successful ng event namin. Last year, four hundred plus lang, kaya ang target sana namin ngayon ay makakuha ng one thousand pull-ups, pero nakaka-amazed kasi nakapag-record kami ng 7, 538. Very fulfilling,” said Ralf Edward Gaynilo, Baras-Bataan president.

“Masaya ako sa naging result ng Bataan kasi mas marami na ang into fitness ngayon, kitang- kita yun nung event. Yung mga kabataan, imbis na mapariwara sila, ayun nagwowork-out sila,” Gaynilo added.

One hundred thirty two participants from Bataan contributed pull-ups during that worldwide movement pioneered by World Street Workout and Calisthenics Federation (WWCF).

Like last year, it was Gaynilo who nailed the best result as he was able to do the highest maximum repetitions with 34 pull-ups in one set. “Sulit ang pagod sa training and preparations. Nakatulong nang malaki yung pag-fo- focus ko sa high sets of endurance and high repetitions,” he said.

Aside from Baras-Bataan, other official pull-up points were located in Manila, Davao and Iloilo with leading groups namely Philippine Street Workout and Calisthenics Association, and The Barista.

There were also competitions during the event which include pull-ups hold, most push-ups in, sally-up push-ups, most dips, dip hold, squats, planks, knee pull-ups and chin-ups.

As of Sept. 14, 2016, the Philippines is at the fourth place having 22, 978 pull-ups made with a total of 365 participants.

World Pull-up Day is a long-term project planned to take place annually in every single country around the world. This is conducted to attract major general and local partners who will donate money for charity (in the amount linked to the number of pull-ups made) and will contribute towards making this event the largest strength and charity event globally.

The main motto of the event is “Pull-up for charity, every pull-up counts.” Donations collected by Baras-Bataan will be given to their chosen charity which is the Gawad Kalinga. “We all managed to do our best. We may not be as strong as the others but we aren’t any less determined than anybody. Kudos to all the members,” said Erickson John Reyes, officer of Baras-Bataan.

In the worldpullupday.com, it was stated that the idea of the event is that because the world is full of negative energy that is affecting our lives, they want to unite the world – all people without discrimination of age, sex, nationality, race or religion – by helping them to unload their negative energy through exercising (pull-ups) and replacing it with positive emotions.

Also, the pull-up exercise is a good measurement of one’s physical condition, as the person uses only its body weight for exercising. It is a natural and non-injuring movement, which can be performed by people of all ages, both men and women. The advantage of the pull-up exercise lies in possibility to quickly exhaust the physical strength and unload the negative energy by substituting it with positive emotions for the work done.

“We see this activity as annual world’s sensation that will show how strong and united people can be worldwide. We believe that simple pull-ups can change the world to become a better place to live in,” said Maris Slezins, WWCF founder and president.

Photos courtesy of Aaron Bustos