'It's a gutbuster. It's bloody hard.” Mike Minnell's talking about his fourth annual Burpee Mile, two-and-a-half hours of self-imposed physical torment that he and his 'normal group of crazy people” call a bit of fun on a Saturday afternoon.

'It's just a good time for people to get active.”

Deyna Hikuroa, Kim Brett and Jacqui Sinclair showing three stages of a burpee. Photo: Chris Callinan.

For the uninitiated, a burpee is not regurgitated hydrogen dioxide from a fizz bottle. It is a squat thrust – the only equipment free exercise that works your whole body.

And the Burpee Mile is four laps of the Tauranga Domain running track made even harder. On the start line, down into a squat, throw the legs back into press up position, do the press up, back into a squat and leap forward. Rule one, you leap forward, you do not progress by walking – that's cheating, bad form, not done.

Then it's only 999 burpees to go – or thereabouts. 'Every year we mean to count, but we lose count,” says Mike.

He calls it 'getting active”, but it's more physical abuse, torture, suffering.

'On the second and third laps people start to lose it a bit. They think it's going to be too hard.”

But Mike's there to push them along, encourage them beyond their pain threshold. 'Especially those who haven't done it before and didn't quite know what to expect.”

'You don't have to do the Burpee Mile – just walk the track,” says Mike, a personal trainer with The Gym in First Ave, who will do 100 burpees to warm up before he even gets started on a workout. For most of us 100 burpees would be the complete workout.

However, to get all this fitness and health in some context, Mike, a man who operates at optimum fitness and wellbeing, is talking to The Weekend Sun from his sickbed. He's laid up with the flu.

But even from his sickbed he's talking about 'getting active”, exercise and inclusion. 'Bring the family down and just walk the track.”

So far about 10 people have committed to the Burpee Mile. 'They're just a group of enthusiasts, who are really into the gym and fitness and working out. Including a couple of trainers from The Gym.”

And Mike is embracing Stoptober as well for the Burpee Mile. Stoptober being the national 31-day stop smoking challenge.

'I am a cessation practitioner as well. Quitting is a negative experience and I want to give smokers something positive to move forward with.”

The fourth annual Burpee Mile is at Tauranga Domain on Saturday, October 1, at 6am. The invitation is a warning itself. 'Please bring gloves, water and humour.”

For further information, email Mike at: mminnell@gmail.com