What is the most impressive feat you have achieved in the fitness world? As athletes we like to test ourselves and see what our body can handle. Having personal records is what keeps us motivated to keep training and be able to monitor our progression. It is also human nature to be competitive and compete against others. Mirafit has selected 25 impressive Guinness World Records for you to see how you stack up against them.

Note - records are accurate on the date of publication.

1 - Most Weight Lifted By Dumbbell Rows in an Hour

Record - 35,899.6 kg

Record Holder - Sipos Ede Daniel

Record Date - 16-6-2017

Single arm dumbbell rows are popular in the gym to develop back muscles, particularly the lats. A 16 kg Dumbbell might not sound too heavy but try performing it for 1095 reps on the left arm and another 1094 reps on the right within an hour. That is the equivalent of performing a dumbbell row every 1.6 seconds for an hour.

2 - Longest Static Wall Sit

Record - 11 hours, 51 minutes, 14 seconds

Record Holder - Dr. Thienna Ho

Record Date - 20-12-2008

How many of you challenged your friends at school to a static wall sit? I remember breaking 8 minutes once. While I had the satisfaction of beating all my mates, the lactic acid buildup in the legs was intense. The leg strength required to perform this feat is incredible but as you will see in the next couple of records you can understand how she achieved this.

3 - Heaviest Sumo Deadlift in One Hour (Female)

Record - 47,552.9 kg

Record Holder - Dr. Thienna Ho

Record Date - 14-8-2010

Dr Ho clearly has one of the strongest pairs of legs. As well as the longest static wall sit she still holds a couple of other world records. For this record she completed 2,289 reps of sumo deadlifts to reach a total of 47,552.9 kg within the hour.

Male Record - 64,750.97 kg

Record Holder - Chad Singleton

Record Date - 7-3-2020

4 - Most Sumo Squats in One Hour

Record - 5,135

Record Holder - Dr. Thienna Ho

Record Date - 16-12-2007

5,135 is a lot of anything. Especially when it comes to squatting. This remarkable woman was able to perform a sumo squat every 1.4 seconds for an hour. Her initial goal was to break the record for the most squats, but her wider squat stance meant that her record breaking feat became the most sumo squats.

5 - Most Weight Lifted By Deadlift in One Minute

Record - 5,834.8 kg

Record Holder - Viacheslav Pavlichuk

Record Date - 15-4-2021

Imagine setting yourself up for a deadlift. The Olympic Bar in front of you with all the Bumper Plates stacked up on the ends of the bar. How much weight would you lift for 5 reps? And if you could keep going for a minute what would that add up to? Viacheslav got to the impressive total of 5,834.80 kg which if he was only lifting 100 kg per lift he would have to do just under one rep every second. How does that compare to your 5 reps?

6 - Longest Time in an Abdominal Plank (Male)

Record - 9 hours, 38 minutes, 47 seconds

Record Holder - Josef Šȧlek

Record Date - 20-5-2023

The plank has become a popular core exercise which largely targets the abdominals and shoulder muscles. It is also used as a fitness evaluation with times over 2 minutes considered being above average. Josef has taken the above average category to new levels with his plank lasting 9h38m47s.

Female Record - 4 hours, 19 minutes, 55 seconds

Record Holder - Dana Glowacka

Record Date - 18-5-2019

7 - Furthest Distance 400 kg Farmer's Walk

Record - 20.67 metres

Record Holder - Stefan Solvi Petursson

Record Date - 22-1-2016

The farmer’s walk is a popular exercise in Strongman competitions. It is a full body exercise that loads the muscles of the glutes, quads, hamstrings, erector spinae, traps, lats, abs, and arms. You will need every single muscle to not only lift a Farmer's Walk Handle that totals 200 kg in each arm but to then carry it over 20 metres, making this an impressive feat of strength.

8 - Most Pull Ups in 24 Hours (Male)

Record - 8,600

Record Holder - Gary Lloyd

Record Date - 16-10-2023

Gary shows what 10 months of dedicated pull up training can do in his attempt to raise money for a charity. Over a 24 hour period he was able to raise himself up to the Pull Up Bar 8,600 times. That is over 350 pull ups every hour!

Female Record - 4,081

Record Holder - Paula Gorlo

Record Date - 9-9-2021

9 - Most Chest to Ground Burpees in One Hour (Male)

Record - 1,002

Record Holder - Tommy Vu

Record Date - 27-3-2023

Burpees are one of those exercises that elicit anything from a groan to mild panic when the instructor includes them on the program. Burpees are a full body exercise that just sucks the energy out of you by using every muscle and keeping your heart rate high. To keep doing burpees for a minute is punishment enough but to complete over a thousand in an hour is an incredible feat.

Female Record - 829

Record Holder - Issy Watson

Record Date - 8-8-2021

10 - Most Consecutive Muscle-Ups

Record - 45

Record Holders - Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet / Xiao Lin

Record Dates - 1-2-2017 / 18-1-2023

One of the achievement highlights of Calisthenics is the muscle-up. This combination of pull up and triceps dip requires explosive strength of the back, particularly the lats to get your chest over the bar, then performing a tricep dip. Most people wouldn’t make 45 consecutive pull ups, never mind doing full muscle ups. What is remarkable is that the record of 45 is shared with both male and female record holders.

11 - Most Long Distance (113 km) Triathlons Completed in a Year

Record - 24

Record Holder - Michael Mendoza

Record Date - 12-11-2017

While most of our 25 crazy fitness records are related to strength, we do have to mention some impressive cardio achievements. In the world of cardio, triathlons are some of the toughest events. How many times in a year would you be able to train for and complete a 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycle and 21.1 km run? That would be considered a half Ironman. Could you do a half Ironman every 2 weeks?

12 - Most Weight Lifted By Kettlebell Swing In One Minute

Record - 2,184 kg

Record Holder - Stefan Schwitter

Record Date - 11-2-2023

The kettlebell swing is the most popular of all the kettlebell exercises. It requires strength of the glutes, hamstring, lower back, lats and deltoids. While Kettlebell swings are an explosive exercise and can be done quickly it is important to put this in perspective…this would be the equivalent of swinging 36.4 kg every second.

13 - Most Weight Lifted By Kettlebell Swing in One Hour (Female)

Record - 30,060 kg

Record Holder - Claudia Cooke

Record Date - 8-12-2018

Not to be outdone in the kettlebell swinging department, The UK has its own record holder for this exercise but for the total weight lifted in an hour. Claudia Cooke of Amersham broke the 30,000 kg mark in an hour of swinging.

Male Record - 43,463 kg

Record Holder - Steven Burkett

Record Date - 5-3-2022

14 - Most Weight Lifted By Turkish Get-Up in One Hour (Male)

Record - 6,858.95 kg

Record Holder - Dylan Miraglia

Record Date - 27-5-2022

Balance, coordination, stability and strength are all requirements to complete a Turkish get-up. This movement is like no other as you have to transition from a prone position to a standing position, all while holding a dumbbell or kettlebell above you. Each movement takes time and can’t be rushed, so holding a heavy weight above your head for an hour requires great strength.

Female Record - 3,960 kg

Record Holder - Jaclyn Vazquez

Record Date - 22-1-2022

15 - Heaviest Weighted Pull Up

Record - 109.2 kg

Record Holder - Liu Weiqiang

Record Date - 7-3-2023

We have seen the most pull ups achieved in an hour but what is the heaviest weight someone has lifted for a single pull up? Although adding weight to a pull up might initially seem an easy idea, after all the action heroes effortlessly pull people one handed up a cliff face, but even adding an extra 10 kg can make a single pull up extremely challenging on the lats, traps and biceps. Now try adding nearly 110 kg to your pull up.

16 - Most People Squat Lifted

Record - 11

Record Holder - Cosimo Ferrucci

Record Date - 2-6-2016

How many people can you carry on your back? One or two? Now would you be able to perform a squat with two people still on your back? Strongman competitor Cosimo did not stop at two people. With his powerful glutes and quads he was able to squat eleven people!

17 - Most Weight Lifted In One Minute - Barbell Thrusters (Male)

Record - 2,128.81 kg

Record Holder - Paul Tremblay

Record Date - 1-2-2017

Thrusters have a reputation for being one of the most draining exercises, and it is easy to see why. In the effort to push the barbell above your head you have to combine a squat and shoulder press into one explosive movement, utilising the glutes, quads, hamstrings, deltoids, triceps and core. In one minute Paul was able to lift over 2,100 kg or 35 kg every second.

Female Record - 1,272.32 kg

Record Holder - Annie Thorisdottir

Record Date - 4-9-2017

18 - Most Weight Lifted in One Minute - Barbell Snatch (Male)

Record - 1,338.11 kg

Record Holder - Scott Panchik

Record Date - 1-2-2017

Weight lifting competitions are characterised by the snatch and the clean and jerk. The snatch is a highly technical lift involving a triple extension to move the bar from the floor to above your head. This movement makes use of the quads, hamstrings, glutes, traps, deltoids and lower back. The nature of this full body explosive movement results in an extremely high heart rate and leads to fatigue rather quickly so 1,338 kg in a minute above your head shows a great feat of power, endurance, and strength.

Female Record - 1,038.74 kg

Record Holder - Annie Thorisdottir

Record Date - 1-2-2017

19 - Most Push Up With Claps in One Hour

Record - 1,164

Record Holder - Jarrad Young

Record Date - 30-11-2018

When was the last time you did a push up test? How many push ups could you do in a minute? Did you end up in the excellent group? To fall into the excellent class a 30 year old man would have to complete more than 40 push ups while the female equivalent would be 28 push ups. Now imagine getting to 1,164 push ups but adding a clap into each push up and completing 20 of these every minute.

20 - Most Weight Arm Curled in One Hour

Record - 50,320 kg

Record Holder - Eamonn Keane

Record Date - 31-5-2021

We all love having strong arms and we are prepared to do the training for the desired result. Whether it is barbell curls or dumbbell curls we are forever on the quest to get that pumped feeling in our arms. Eamonn must know that pumped feeling more than anyone after barbell curling over 50,000 kg in an hour.

21 - Fastest 100m Light Aircraft Pull

Record - 29.84 seconds

Record Holder - Montystar Agarawal

Record Date - 23-2-2011

100m athletes are some of the most famous of all athletes. They hold the title of the fastest people in the world. Hours of specific training such as power and plyometric training is put in over and above the track training each day. Now imagine doing a sprint while pulling a plane weighing 500 kg. Montystar completed the 100m sprint in a time most people would be happy sprinting the 200m without a plane attached to them.

22 - Longest Duration to Maintain a Human Flag (Male)

Record - 1 minute 5.71 seconds

Record Holder - Wang Zhonghua

Record Date - 15-8-2011

This feat of strength requires you to hold your body parallel to the ground while holding onto a vertical bar. The deltoids, lat and obliques are the major contributing muscles to perform this calisthenic exercise. You have to pull with one arm while pushing with the other and activate the obliques to keep your body straight. The best place to start training for this is with the side plank.

Record - 36.8 seconds

Record Holder - Miki Nakamasu

Record Date - 15-5-2021

23 - Highest Standing Jump

Record - 1.7 metres

Record Holder - Christopher Spell

Record Date - 7-2-2021

Box jumps are commonly included as a plyometric exercise in power programs. They require you to explosively contract your leg muscles to jump from the ground onto an elevated surface such as a Plyo Jump Box. The higher you are able to jump, the greater power you have. Now see if, like Christopher you can jump to the height of an average male.

24 - Most Weight Lifted By An Atlas Stone in One Minute (Male)

Record - 1,150 kg

Record Holder - Jason Jones

Record Date - 24-2-2022

Wrexham is not just famous for football and movie stars. It is also home to the world record holder for the most weight lifted by an atlas stone in one minute. He completed 10 consecutive lifts with an atlas stone weighing 115 kg within a minute.

Female Record - 720 kg

Record Holder - Jemma Stubbs

Record Date - 24-2-2022

25 - Fastest Explosive Pull Up Ascent

Record - 10.27 seconds

Record Holder - Tazio Gavioli

Record Date - 15-11-2018

We have all seen the ninja warriors explosively pull themselves up a vertical frame by performing explosive pull ups. You have to explosively contract your lats to perform the pull up so that you have time to reach up to the next level. It took Tazio just 10.27 seconds to ascend 7m.

These records have been achieved by athletes that have dedicated a lot of time and effort to achieve their goals. From heaviest bench press to the most number of triathlons in a year, there are many different records that are being achieved.

While most of us are not in the league of these incredible athletes we can get motivated by their dedication. Set yourself a goal to train for a personal record! It could be as simple as timing how long you can hold a chin up. The important thing is you have set a goal that requires training and acts as a motivational force. As you record your best efforts you are also able to get feedback on how your training is progressing.

Now, how many personal records are you able to break?

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