Local Man Creates Virtual Fitness Challenge For Mental Health Awareness
/Joe Keating of Peterborough has created the 4,000 Reps for Mental Health Awareness virtual fitness challenge to raise mental health awareness on Saturday.
Joe Keating ran the campaign saying working on mental health is as important as physical health. Photo Courtesy of Joe Keating.
Keating will perform 4,000 kettlebell swings on his front lawn (weather pending) live on Messenger Rooms — 1,000 times an hour for four hours — and encourages anyone to join.
The 4,000 reps can be anything so long as participants are physically active. Running 4,000 steps, jumping jacks or jump rope skips as some of many alternative exercises Keating suggests for the challenge.
He was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2015. He struggled and had a hard time with it before reaching out. Keating’s doctor advised him to do more physical activity to help him cope with his illness.
“I’m a certified kettlebell instructor,” he said. “It’s my go-to exercise. If I had a bad day, it’s something I can pick up, swing it and bang out a couple of reps to feel better.”
The pandemic has limited physical activity options and the event is another outlet to exercise according to Joe. Photo Courtesy of Joe Keating.
The campaign’s goal is to help erase the stigma of having a mental illness and open up a conversation about having one without feeling shame.
“I’ve always been very open about it,” said Keating. “Some people still seem to be too afraid to still talk about it and not talking about it can lead down to a dark path like suicide.”
There are approximately 4,000 suicides annually in Canada which is why the event encourages that many reps according to Keating.
Alexis Keating, 11, Joe’s daughter, will participate with her own kettlebell lifts for the event. Photo Courtesy of Joe Keating.
