No food. No breaks. Just movement.
That was the brutal mission set by Nick Bare, the hybrid athlete, former Army Ranger, and founder of Bare Performance Nutrition, who decided to spend a full day testing his limits — trying to burn 10,000 calories in a single day, completely fasted.
“This was about pushing limits,” Bare told his followers in his YouTube video. “It was about testing physical endurance, mental fortitude, and embracing discomfort.”
Armed with nothing but discipline, a smartwatch, and a lot of stubbornness, Bare set off at 8:00AM in downtown Austin, weighing 217.6 pounds and already 323 calories deep into his daily burn. His mission: move nonstop until he hit that 10km mark — no food, no excuses.
The Morning Run: Easing Into the Pain
The first stretch took Bare on a slow-paced 7.7-mile run that set the tone for the day. Usually running at a 7:30 pace, he deliberately dialled it back — this wasn’t about pace or PRs.
“I usually run at a 7:30 pace, but today I slowed it down. This wasn’t about speed,” he said.
By the time he finished, his watch clocked 182 calories per mile, totalling over 1,000 calories burned. A drizzle came and went. His hat was soaked. His humour — still intact.
“My hats get drenched in sweat daily. I have to wash them weekly because they just reek,” he joked.
Mid-Morning Murph: ‘Embrace the Suck’
Bare’s next act was no recovery jog. He jumped straight into a Murph — one of CrossFit’s most infamous hero workouts that honors fallen U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Michael Murphy. It consists of:
- 1-mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 air squats
- Another 1-mile run, this time with a weighted plate carrier
On slick pavement and trembling arms, he slipped during push-ups and fought for grip on pull-ups. “It’s hard to do push-ups when the floor’s slick and your arms are shot,” he said.
By the time the Murph was over, his watch read 2,100 calories burned just before noon.
When asked why he was doing this to himself, Bare didn’t hesitate: “You’ve got to embrace the suck sometimes. You just have to.”
Hydration Only — Still Fasted
The no-food rule stood firm, but water was non-negotiable. Soaked in sweat and shaking with fatigue, Bare stopped at a Walgreens for zero-calorie vitamin water to keep his electrolytes alive.
“I almost got a Gatorade, but they didn’t have any,” he said. “I needed something — I was drenched.”
By mid-day, his energy levels were tanking. The dizziness crept in. Still, he pushed on.
Trail Run: The Austin Greenbelt
Bare took his next beating on the Austin Greenbelt, turning a planned hike into another endurance run. Seven miles of hills, sharp turns, and isolation followed.
“There was a moment out there where I realized I hadn’t seen a single person in miles,” he recalled. “I could smell myself. It was rough.”
Five hundred calories out, five hundred back — 1,000 calories gone on fumes alone.
“That mental clarity I thought I had… it wasn’t clarity. It was just fog from running on empty,” he admitted.
Second Long Run: The Wall Hits Hard
By mid-afternoon, Bare was deep into the struggle. He returned to downtown Austin for another 8-mile run, legs heavy, stomach empty, blood sugar dangerously low. “I’m sucking right now. I’m just going to stride this one out,” he said during the run. “Blood sugar is low. Really low.”
He compared it to his toughest military days: “This was Florida phase all over again. Wake up, move all day, no food, and see what’s left of you at the end.”
By 4:00PM, his total burn sat around 4,500 calories, his body barely cooperating.
Evening Gym Session: The Final Push
With hours left on the clock, Bare headed for one final hit — a chest and back workout powered by nothing but a green apple pre-workout and sheer defiance.
“I tried this formula a year ago when we first sampled it,” he said. “It smells so good.”
The short-rest, high-volume lifts squeezed out another 500 calories, taking his total above 5,000 burned for the day.
Post-Challenge Reality Check
When it was finally over, Bare stepped on the scale again — 210 pounds, down from 217.6 that morning. Seven pounds gone in 12 hours.
“Obviously it’s mostly water and glycogen,” he said. “It’ll come back quick, but it shows how much your body expends when you don’t fuel it.”
Bare was quick to question others who claim 10,000-calorie burns: “Either this watch is way off, or some of those people are not being honest.”
Why Do It?
For Bare, the motive went deeper than fitness. It was about revisiting the discomfort that forged him in the Army — Ranger School grit in a civilian life.
“Today felt exactly like Ranger School. That’s why I did this,” he said. “I wanted to revisit that feeling, to test myself again.”
He didn’t hit the goal, but that was never really the point.
“I didn’t make it to 10,000, but I pushed harder than most ever will — and that’s the point,” he said. As the sun dropped and the gym lights dimmed, the day’s toll was clear: 5,000 calories burned, seven pounds down, and one very hungry man heading home.
“I hope people enjoyed seeing me hurt,” Bare laughed. “I truly sucked today. I need a damn meal.”
And his subscribers were certainly impressed, with one person commenting: “Dude you’re an absolute machine, super inspiring.”
“Pure brute discipline,” a second wrote, with a third adding: “This s**t REALLY inspired me. Goes to show just how far we can truly push our bodies in a day.”
Featured image credit: YouTube/NickBare (screenshot)
