As a Winter Games promotion, stations in Russia are giving away free subway tickets to anyone who can do 30 squats.
With the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia just around the corner, Moscow officials and promoters in the country have been coming up with inventive ways to promote the Olympic spirit.
A new campaign is giving away free subway tickets at a station in western Moscow to anyone who can do 30 timed squats.
To claim their rides, participants plant themselves in front of a machine that counts as they do deep knee bends.
If they hit the goal in two minutes or less, the machine spits out a pass.
The trade of physical exertion for mass transit is also intended to boost fitness awareness.
Thus far, several people have reported that what they’re now painfully aware of is how hard it is to do 30 deep-knee bends.
Said the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, “We wanted to show that the Olympic Games is not just an international competition that people watch on TV, but that it is also about getting everyone involved in a sporting lifestyle.”
Other challenges presented to the Russian public have been the replacement of bus passenger handles with exercise bands and offering the use of cell phone recharging bikes.
