You may remember Samir Becic walking 2.87 miles while wearing a 200 lbs weighted vest in 2016. Back in 2016, he not only lived for 6 weeks at an obese weight, but he trained for months to be able to accomplish his goals- first, he wore a 120lbs vest, then a 150lbs vest, and finally a 200lbs vest. After that, in 2018, he successfully completed 8 marathons in 8 weeks while wearing compressed weights equivalent to 73.5 pounds weighted vest. Now, after an active 5 weeks in Aspen, CO where he completed a 464-mile hike while wearing a 55lbs+ backpack, he’s gearing up for the second stage of this 2022 extreme fitness challenge: to walk a full 3 miles while wearing a 200 lbs weighted vest!
Samir plans to train over the next few months to be able to accomplish his goal by the 4th anniversary of his being proclaimed Houston’s Official “Fitness Czar” by Mayor Sylvester Turner on November 1st, 2018. Using the momentum from his 464-mile hike in Aspen, he started training for this portion of his challenge on Thursday, July 7th with a 75 lbs weighted vest. Next, he will go up to 100 lbs, 125 lbs, 150 lbs, 175 lbs, and finally 200 lbs.
Watch his step-by-step training regimen and progress here:
Day 1 with 150 lbs weighted vest: October 25th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park wearing an extra 150 lbs.
Just finished Day 1 of walking 3 miles while wearing a 150 lbs weighted vest at Memorial Park. The ultimate goal is to wear 200 lbs for 3 miles in celebration of 4 years as Houston’s Fitness Czar as proclaimed by Mayor @SylvesterTurner. #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/W8qa4x3XEr
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) October 25, 2022
Day 2 with 140 lbs+ weighted vest: October 20th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park wearing an extra 140 lbs.
Disclaimer: I don't recommend anyone do this, including professional athletes (no disrespect)! I've been asked to train athletes with this technique and refused due to high injury risk. I'm doing this to better understand the effects of morbid #obesity on the body for #science.
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) October 20, 2022
Day 1 with a 140 lbs+ weighted vest: October 18th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park wearing an extra 140 lbs.
Day 1: 140+ lbs, 3 miles.
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) October 18, 2022
In celebration of my 4th anniversary of being Houston’s Fitness Czar, I’ve started my second fitness challenge this season: speed walking 3 miles while wearing a 200lbs weighted vest. #HoustonStrong #PresidentsCouncilOnSportsFitnessAndNutrition pic.twitter.com/l82cmLsCnb
Day 12: August 1st, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park wearing an extra 75 lbs.
Day 12: 3 miles wearing 75 lbs. This is the first day I’m training in preparation of leveling up the weight I’m carrying, so I transferred the weights from my arms to my ankles. The next stage will be 3 miles wearing a 100lbs weighted vest in under 50 min. #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/juE1hW66rw
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) August 1, 2022
Day 11: July 25th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest in 45 minutes 45 seconds.
Day 11 of training: completed 3 miles while wearing a 75 lbs weighted vest at Memorial Park in my new record time of 45:45. Drink water: If you don’t get enough water, you may become dehydrated, and the combination of hot temperatures and dehydration can lead to severe illnesses. pic.twitter.com/LbegmkHnks
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 25, 2022
Day 10: July 21st, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest in 46 minutes 14 seconds.
Day 10 of training: wearing a 75 lbs weighted vest around the 3 mile Memorial Park Loop in 46:14- my best time to date. My recommendation for everyone is to work out early in the morning or late at night to avoid the extreme heat. As always, hydration is the key! #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/da9piCN0AB
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 21, 2022
Day 9: July 20th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest
Day 9: Today was a recovery training day- I did 3 miles around Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest but not time focused. The goal is 3 miles with 200 lbs in celebration of 4 years as Fitness Czar and 20 years since I started volunteering with the city. #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/JhrUqMYdH0
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 20, 2022
Day 8: July 19th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest in 47 minutes 31 seconds.
Day 8 of training: 3 miles at Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest, record time of 47:31. I’m inviting the media to join me, so we can motivate Houstonians to get more active! #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/d99vVFslYW
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 19, 2022
Day 7: July 18th, 2022. 3 miles at Memorial Park with a 75 lbs weighted vest.
Day 7: Completed 3 miles at @HPARD while wearing a 75 lbs weighted vest. The ultimate goal is 200 lbs for 3 miles in celebration of 4 years as Houston’s Fitness Czar. I’m inviting Houston media to join me during my training to motivate Houstonians to be more active, #together! pic.twitter.com/QoZuA0Nx98
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 18, 2022
Day 6 of training: July 15th, 2022. 75 lbs weighted vest, 3 miles in 48 minutes and 06 seconds.
Day 6: finished 3 miles with a 75 lbs weighted vest at @MemorialPark in 48:06. Best time to date. With hard work, discipline, determination and vision you can accomplish anything you put your mind to! #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/iH52fdd7Bo
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 15, 2022
Day 5 of training: July 14th, 2022. 75 lbs weighted vest, 3 miles in 50 minutes and 38 seconds.
Day 5: wearing a 75lbs weighted vest for 3 miles at @MemorialPark in 50:38. Goal is 200lbs before my 4 year anniversary of being Fitness Czar for the City of Houston as proclaimed by our visionary Mayor @SylvesterTurner. Great job @HPARD on great improvements. #houstonstrong pic.twitter.com/cHGopUBfIo
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 14, 2022
Day 4 of training: July 13th, 2022. 75 lbs weighted vest, 3 miles in 50 minutes.
Just finished 3 miles at @MemorialPark while carrying a 75 lbs weighted vest at my record time of 50 minutes. Preparing myself for my fitness challenge of wearing 200 lbs for 3 miles. Houstonians, great job- I saw many active people on the trail this morning! #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/lDbo33sBOt
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 13, 2022
Day 3 of training: July 12th, 2022. 75 lbs weighted vest, 3 miles.
Day 2 of training: July 8th, 2022. 75 lbs weighted vest, 3 miles in 51 minutes.
Day 2: 75 lbs, 3 miles/51 minutes.
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 8, 2022
In celebration of my 4th anniversary as Houston’s Fitness Czar, I’ve started my second fitness challenge this season: walking 3 miles while wearing a 200lbs weighted vest. #HoustonStrong #PresidentsCouncilOnSportsFitnessAndNutrition pic.twitter.com/r6vIJZTEIZ
Day 1 of training: July 7th, 2022. 75 lbs weighted vest, 3 miles in 58 minutes.
In celebration of my 4th anniversary of being Houston’s Fitness Czar, I’ve started my second fitness challenge this season: walking 3 miles while wearing a 200lbs weighted vest. Day 1: 75 lbs, 3 miles, a hot 90 degrees. #PresidentsCouncilOnSportsFitnessAndNutrition pic.twitter.com/I4BW4qnGLX
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) July 7, 2022
