18 Strangest and Most Impressive Fitness Records
The Guinness World Records are numerous, let alone the records for fitness-related feats. But you don’t have to be a 419-pound Icelandic Strongman (like Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) to demonstrate extraordinary endurance, stamina, strength and/or balance.
Lo and behold we’ve brought you 18 of the most impressive fitness records, starting with some typical lifts and ending with some of the strangest, most creative—some are straight-up crazy.
Biggest Bench Press
722 pounds
In May 2013, American power lifter Eric Spoto set the world record for the biggest raw (without a bench shirt) Bench Press at 722 pounds.
Biggest Deadlift
1,018 pounds
Strongman fanatics recently hailed Eddie Hall as the Deadlift champion, who lifted 1,018 pounds at the 2015 Arnold Sports Festival.
At the same event in 2014, Zydrunas Savickas hoisted 1,155 pounds on the Hummer Tire Deadlift.
Highest Running Box Jump
75 inches
Just last week, 6-foot-1 professional dunker Jordan Kilganon set a world record for Running Box Jump.
Longest Plank
266 minutes
Even for professional athletes, holding a Plank for two or three minutes is a challenge. But last October, a SWAT team officer from Beijing named Mao Weidong held the Plank for four hours and 26 minutes (beating the previous world record of three hours and seven minutes.)
Greatest Distance on Treadmill in 48 Hours
252 miles
In 2003, Tony Mangan of Ireland ran 231.2 miles and in 2008, 251.8 miles in 48 hours, all the while travelling nowhere at all.
Mangan also took four years of his life to run around the world in Forest Gump fashion. His 30,000-mile journey began and ended at the Dublin Marathon in his home town city.
Most Deep Squats in 24 Hours
15,939
On Memorial Day of 2011 in New York, Andre Turan performed nearly 16,000 deep bodyweight Squats in 24 hours.
Most Pull-Ups in 24 Hours
4,321
This past November in Corpus Christi, Texas, 55-year-old Mark Jordan spent a day performing 4,321 total Pull-Ups.
Jordan can also do 40 Pull-Ups in one minute, just two Pull Ups shy of the world record held by David Bourbon.
Most Steps Carrying a Massive Tree
5
Earlier this year, taking the title of World’s Strongest Viking for the second year in a row, Game of Thrones actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson broke a 1,000-year-old Icelandic record. The 26-year-old carried a log weighing 1,433 pounds and spanning 32.8 feet long, on his back for five steps.
Heaviest Aircraft Pull
416,299-pounds, 29 feet
Forget boring old Sled Drives. In 2009, power lifter Kevin Fast, or the “Powerlifting Pastor,” pulled a 416,299-pound CC-17 cargo plane 8.8 meters.
Fast holds numerous other world records, such as Pulling Fire Trucks and lifting 22 women at a time.
The Strangest Fitness Records
Longest Open Water Swim
78.3 miles
Last fall, Australian Marathon swimmer 29-year-old Chloe McCardel swam 78.3 miles in 42 hours.
She has already swum the English channel seven times, but during this particular swim from one island in the Bahamas to another, she was stung by box jellyfish around 12 times. Coming out of the water 40 some hours later, McCardel was severely dehydrated, hypothermic, and suffering pain of her stings. The year before, she attempted to swim from Cuba to the U.S., but had to be taken out of the water due to severe jellyfish stings.
The Guinness World Records lists Veljko Rogosic as holding this record at 140 miles in 50 hours and 10 minutes across the Adriatic Sea But according to the Marathon Swimmers Federation, this swim along with a 76.5-mile swim by Zhang Jian in China, are “not well documented.”
Most Bench Presses Under Water
36, 110 pounds
Former professional swimmer Gerald Rioual performed a total of 36 reps with 110 pounds under water off the island of Martinique.
Most Consecutive Six-Finger Handstand Push-Ups
4
Vass “TheSuperSaiyan” of France completed four consecutive handstand push—ups on a wooden floor, only using six of his fingers.
Vass also has the record for most 2-Finger Push-Ups
Highest Flying Push-Up
53.5 inches
Ahmed “Iron Monkey” Kerigo of Norway performed an explosive push-up flying to the height of 1.36 meters, or 4.46 feet, gripping stacked benches on either side with his hands and propelling his body to the top.
Most One-Armed Burpees in Two Minutes While Wearing A Boxing Glove
59
Guillaume Bourgeois of France completed 59 one-armed Burpees in two minutes…wearing a boxing glove on the Burpee arm.
Bourgeois also holds the record for Most Squat Jumps in One Minute Over a Three Toilet Paper Roll Stack with 37.
Furthest Distance Climbed Inverted Up A Pole in One Minute
31 feet, 7 inches
In September 2007, Nele Bruckmann of Germany performed an upside-down pole climb and broke the record for highest distance in under a minute, climbing 31 feet and 7 inches.
Longest Time Standing on Physioball
307 minutes
Standing and balancing on a physioball for a couple seconds would prove challenging for most. Ashrita Furman of New York did it for 5 hours, 7 minutes and six seconds.
Furman also holds the record for longest time spent Pogo Stick Jumping Underwater (3 hours, 40 minutes), Pogo Stick Jumping Up Steps (1899 steps in 57 minutes, 51 seconds), Longest Distance Somersaulting (12 miles, 390 yards), and Fastest Somersaulting One Mile (19 minutes, 11 seconds), among others.
Fastest 100-Meter Hurdle While Wearing Flippers
14.82 seconds
Christopher Irmscher of Germany set this record in 2008, running the 100-Meter Hurdle wearing swimming fins in 14.82 seconds.
Most Push-Ups in One Hour on Back of Hands
1,940
British fitness and endurance fanatic Paddy Doyle competed nearly 2,000 push-ups in one hour using only the backs of his hands, which is totally impressive, but looks darn right rough on the wrists.
Doyle also holds the record for most One-Armed Push-Ups in An Hour (2,521), in Five Hours (8,794), and one week (16,723), and Most Push-Ups in a Year (1,500,230 million, 4,000/day), among others.
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18 Strangest and Most Impressive Fitness Records
The Guinness World Records are numerous, let alone the records for fitness-related feats. But you don’t have to be a 419-pound Icelandic Strongman (like Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) to demonstrate extraordinary endurance, stamina, strength and/or balance.
Lo and behold we’ve brought you 18 of the most impressive fitness records, starting with some typical lifts and ending with some of the strangest, most creative—some are straight-up crazy.
Biggest Bench Press
722 pounds
In May 2013, American power lifter Eric Spoto set the world record for the biggest raw (without a bench shirt) Bench Press at 722 pounds.
Biggest Deadlift
1,018 pounds
Strongman fanatics recently hailed Eddie Hall as the Deadlift champion, who lifted 1,018 pounds at the 2015 Arnold Sports Festival.
At the same event in 2014, Zydrunas Savickas hoisted 1,155 pounds on the Hummer Tire Deadlift.
Highest Running Box Jump
75 inches
Just last week, 6-foot-1 professional dunker Jordan Kilganon set a world record for Running Box Jump.
Longest Plank
266 minutes
Even for professional athletes, holding a Plank for two or three minutes is a challenge. But last October, a SWAT team officer from Beijing named Mao Weidong held the Plank for four hours and 26 minutes (beating the previous world record of three hours and seven minutes.)
Greatest Distance on Treadmill in 48 Hours
252 miles
In 2003, Tony Mangan of Ireland ran 231.2 miles and in 2008, 251.8 miles in 48 hours, all the while travelling nowhere at all.
Mangan also took four years of his life to run around the world in Forest Gump fashion. His 30,000-mile journey began and ended at the Dublin Marathon in his home town city.
Most Deep Squats in 24 Hours
15,939
On Memorial Day of 2011 in New York, Andre Turan performed nearly 16,000 deep bodyweight Squats in 24 hours.
Most Pull-Ups in 24 Hours
4,321
This past November in Corpus Christi, Texas, 55-year-old Mark Jordan spent a day performing 4,321 total Pull-Ups.
Jordan can also do 40 Pull-Ups in one minute, just two Pull Ups shy of the world record held by David Bourbon.
Most Steps Carrying a Massive Tree
5
Earlier this year, taking the title of World’s Strongest Viking for the second year in a row, Game of Thrones actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson broke a 1,000-year-old Icelandic record. The 26-year-old carried a log weighing 1,433 pounds and spanning 32.8 feet long, on his back for five steps.
Heaviest Aircraft Pull
416,299-pounds, 29 feet
Forget boring old Sled Drives. In 2009, power lifter Kevin Fast, or the “Powerlifting Pastor,” pulled a 416,299-pound CC-17 cargo plane 8.8 meters.
Fast holds numerous other world records, such as Pulling Fire Trucks and lifting 22 women at a time.
The Strangest Fitness Records
Longest Open Water Swim
78.3 miles
Last fall, Australian Marathon swimmer 29-year-old Chloe McCardel swam 78.3 miles in 42 hours.
She has already swum the English channel seven times, but during this particular swim from one island in the Bahamas to another, she was stung by box jellyfish around 12 times. Coming out of the water 40 some hours later, McCardel was severely dehydrated, hypothermic, and suffering pain of her stings. The year before, she attempted to swim from Cuba to the U.S., but had to be taken out of the water due to severe jellyfish stings.
The Guinness World Records lists Veljko Rogosic as holding this record at 140 miles in 50 hours and 10 minutes across the Adriatic Sea But according to the Marathon Swimmers Federation, this swim along with a 76.5-mile swim by Zhang Jian in China, are “not well documented.”
Most Bench Presses Under Water
36, 110 pounds
Former professional swimmer Gerald Rioual performed a total of 36 reps with 110 pounds under water off the island of Martinique.
Most Consecutive Six-Finger Handstand Push-Ups
4
Vass “TheSuperSaiyan” of France completed four consecutive handstand push—ups on a wooden floor, only using six of his fingers.
Vass also has the record for most 2-Finger Push-Ups
Highest Flying Push-Up
53.5 inches
Ahmed “Iron Monkey” Kerigo of Norway performed an explosive push-up flying to the height of 1.36 meters, or 4.46 feet, gripping stacked benches on either side with his hands and propelling his body to the top.
Most One-Armed Burpees in Two Minutes While Wearing A Boxing Glove
59
Guillaume Bourgeois of France completed 59 one-armed Burpees in two minutes…wearing a boxing glove on the Burpee arm.
Bourgeois also holds the record for Most Squat Jumps in One Minute Over a Three Toilet Paper Roll Stack with 37.
Furthest Distance Climbed Inverted Up A Pole in One Minute
31 feet, 7 inches
In September 2007, Nele Bruckmann of Germany performed an upside-down pole climb and broke the record for highest distance in under a minute, climbing 31 feet and 7 inches.
Longest Time Standing on Physioball
307 minutes
Standing and balancing on a physioball for a couple seconds would prove challenging for most. Ashrita Furman of New York did it for 5 hours, 7 minutes and six seconds.
Furman also holds the record for longest time spent Pogo Stick Jumping Underwater (3 hours, 40 minutes), Pogo Stick Jumping Up Steps (1899 steps in 57 minutes, 51 seconds), Longest Distance Somersaulting (12 miles, 390 yards), and Fastest Somersaulting One Mile (19 minutes, 11 seconds), among others.
Fastest 100-Meter Hurdle While Wearing Flippers
14.82 seconds
Christopher Irmscher of Germany set this record in 2008, running the 100-Meter Hurdle wearing swimming fins in 14.82 seconds.
Most Push-Ups in One Hour on Back of Hands
1,940
British fitness and endurance fanatic Paddy Doyle competed nearly 2,000 push-ups in one hour using only the backs of his hands, which is totally impressive, but looks darn right rough on the wrists.
Doyle also holds the record for most One-Armed Push-Ups in An Hour (2,521), in Five Hours (8,794), and one week (16,723), and Most Push-Ups in a Year (1,500,230 million, 4,000/day), among others.