Jeff Marks, 48 from Banff, Alberta, did The Push-Up Challenge for the first time in 2024 with his ski teaching colleagues. He has seen loved ones experience mental health challenges and is passionate about the connection between exercise and mental fitness.
Why did you decide to sign up to The Push-Up Challenge?
When the Challenge came up on my social media feed, I thought it could be a fun way to create some comradery amongst my friends and ski teaching colleagues here in Canada. I am lucky to live an active life and career, and the connections between activity and mental health are well documented. Fitness and strength are important to performance and an injury-free season. So, I got involved and invited others to join me.
Why do you think it’s so important that we push for better mental health in Canada right now?
In my circles alone, I know many people who have struggled with their mental health. I am lucky to have not experienced mental health challenges to an extent that they have had a noticeable negative effect in my life. I am thankful that I have a strong family and friends network around me and I think this has been a huge factor in maintaining avoiding major mental health issues so far in my life.
While I consider myself to be very lucky that I haven’t experienced major issues of this type, being part of efforts like this and the connection that comes with team efforts is a big part of maintaining and improving mental health. Physical activity and brain health are directly connected, the more we can blend these together at every opportunity, the better!
Why do you believe it’s important that we fundraise to support CMHA’s work in the mental health space?
As long as humans exist, interact with one another and the world around us, we will encounter challenges, struggles, successes and so on. We are social emotional beings with complicated and unique brains and often we need help from outside sources and professionals. Awareness, recognition and tools to help are key to this, and I recognize that the work that CMHA does is also educational and preventative.
The more we all know, the more we can all be aware of indicators of mental health challenges in our communities, the more we can all be part of helping one another.
What did you love about participating in The Push-Up Challenge?
When working on my own physical fitness, I do well with targets, and this was a great challenge! I certainly noticed the physical outcomes and I know that my mental state is always better when I am physically active. Doing hard things is good for us and I was happy that I was able to work through it and accomplish it. I did learn more about mental health and to be able to share the daily Mental Health Facts, stats and stories gave the effort a deeper meaning.
If you could share a final message of your own around mental health, what would that be?
Through my work in skiing, as well as my own interest in this field, I have had the opportunity to communicate with, learn from and become friends with a brilliant Canadian author named Jennifer Fraser. Her most recent book called ‘The Bullied Brain’ exposes the neuroscientific realities of human relationships and really made sense to me. I appreciate the fact that she has been able to take some dark and challenging experiences in her life and turn them into a positive helpful tool for others to learn from.
The connection between mental health and brain fitness is clear and I think we can’t do enough to build this knowledge into our communities and daily lives. So, with that, I will leave you with a quote from a recent conversation with her: “The brain is at the center of everything that’s good in your life if you can learn to work with it and not against it”
What would you say to someone who is considering taking part in The Push-Up Challenge in 2025?
Do it! It’s great and the support that existed among participants and supporters was just awesome. If you want to do it, and need a team to do it with, come join us - our team will be stoked to have you.
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Sign up to The Push-Up Challenge here.
