Bromley men complete gruelling 300-rep workout for charity (From News Shopper)

Bromley men complete gruelling 300-rep workout for charity

3:57pm Wednesday 20th February 2013 in Community

Paul Martenstyn from Bromley, Kent has completed the “300 Challenge”, a gruelling 300-rep Spartan workout to raise funds for Save the Children.

Paul, who works as a barristers clerk in London, completed the feat on 16th February at Virgin Active Bromley with chums Simon Kiambi, Fred Wallis, George Onwin and blind personal trainer James O'Driscoll from Bromley.

Paul (34) met James (38) last summer when he joined the Virgin Active gym on Bath Road, Bromley.

“I booked in for a few personal training sessions with James, and soon found out that he is not your average Personal Trainer,” said Paul.

“James lost his sight in both eyes suddenly at the age of 26 and exceeding the expectations of those around him, became England’s first blind qualified personal trainer.

“He has been a true inspiration to me and I'm delighted he completed the challenge alongside me and the boys,” said Paul.

“As for the challenge itself, '300' the movie is a favourite of mine and this was the workout used by the cast to get in shape.

“The workout gets its name from the total number of repetitions, it's daunting, and includes pull-ups, barbell deadlifts, push-ups, box jumps, floor wipers and single-arm clean-and-press, and there's no rest between movements.

“We all broke 15 minutes and in Fred’s case he clocked 10 minutes 29 seconds which is remarkable.

“It's not for the fainthearted and we all trained hard to make sure we could complete it.

“I’ve just had a baby daughter, Esme Elizabeth, she inspired us to take on the challenge.

“There are so many suffering children in the world,” said Paul.

The team has so far raised £1,965.00 for Save The Children to help children suffering in the conflict regions in Syria and are continuing to take sponsorship via JustGiving.