Fitness World Records

Matthew Lawson loaded eight 20 kg plates, 160 kilograms in all, onto one arm of a plate-loaded Viking press at a gym in Bathurst, Australia, and pressed it overhead with the left arm alone. A Viking press is a standing shoulder-press machine worked through lever arms with handles at head height; on this one each arm moves independently, and the continuous video shows the other arm parked while the left handle goes to full lockout seven times in a row. The plate count is clear on camera, and a training partner keeps a hand on the end of the sleeve only to hold the plates on. One arm, eight plates, seven reps.

Matthew Lawson loaded seven 20 kg plates, 140 kilograms in all, onto one arm of a plate-loaded Viking press at a gym in Bathurst, Australia, and pressed it overhead with his left arm for eight straight reps. A Viking press is a standing shoulder-press machine worked through lever arms with handles at head height; on this one each arm moves on its own, and the continuous video shows the other arm parked while the left handle travels from shoulder height to full lockout eight times in a row, with the seven-plate stack in view the whole way. Seven plates, one arm, eight reps.

At 50, Matthew Lawson loaded five 20 kg plates onto each side of a plate-loaded Viking press at a gym in Bathurst, Australia, 200 kilograms in all, and pressed it overhead with both arms. A Viking press is a standing shoulder-press machine worked through lever arms with handles at head height; the video shows him drive both handles from his shoulders to a full lockout and hold it there, then walks the camera along both loaded sleeves so every 20 kg plate is counted on screen. His aim is to show that age does not define what you can lift.

Stanley Tomajko, 61, deadlifted 505 pounds, more than two and a half times his 192-pound (87-kilogram) bodyweight, for two full reps in his barn gym in Strasburg, Virginia, holding the bar with a double-underhand hook grip, both palms facing forward. A pair of large spoked wheels on the barbell sets it about 13 inches off the floor, the classic wagon wheel deadlift height from strongman, with three 45-pound plates and one 50-pound plate stacked outside each wheel. The continuous video shows both pulls to a full standing lockout with the wheels resting on the floor between reps, and Stanley itemized the load (plates, wheels, a 44-pound bar and collars) to the 505-pound total. Surrounded by anvils, ropes and antique iron, it is old-school strength in every sense.

Stefan Popovic sat sideways on the seat of a rear delt fly machine at a gym in Calgary, Canada, and completed two one-armed flies with the pin in the bottom plate of the 300-pound weight stack. His phone, set on the floor in front of the machine, first shows the pin placement, then his right arm sweeping the handle out until it is level with his shoulder as the full stack rises off its rest. RecordSetter checked the pin and watched the stack lift on both reps in the continuous clip. Popovic, who has also logged one-handed rear delt flies facing the machine, turned sideways for this one and still moved the whole stack.

Daniel Tochev of Pleven, Bulgaria, did 51 crunches in 30 seconds on his living-room rug, arms crossed over his chest and knees bent while a training partner sat at his feet holding a stopwatch up to the camera. That is better than one and a half crunches per second, each one curling his shoulders well up off the floor. We counted every rep frame by frame against the stopwatch in the shot, and one more crunch landed just after the 30-second mark. Anyone chasing this record will need very fast abs.

Isaiah Tolbert pressed 847 pounds on a 45-degree leg press at a gym in Snellville, Georgia, three days before he turned 13. Before the lift he shows the camera the sled's 167-pound label and the plates loaded on both sides, then lowers the sled into a deep knee bend and drives it back up to nearly straight legs in one continuous take. The total counts the plates plus the sled, as the rules require. Not a bad way to sign off on age 12.

Abdul Rehman Nasim of Karachi, Pakistan, dresses head to toe in camouflage and skips across a sunny rooftop straight at the camera, driving each knee high and pumping a fist like a drill instructor on parade. The opening ten seconds of his video are one continuous take showing at least the 9 skips he claimed, before the clip cuts to other angles set to music. Recess has never looked so disciplined.

Jason Faulkner lay back on an incline bench at a gym in St. Joseph, Missouri, and worked a pair of 90-pound dumbbells through 26 incline flies in one unbroken set. Filmed from beside the bench, the clip shows the dumbbells sweeping apart and closing back together above his chest on every rep, and the 90 stamp on both bells is readable as he finishes. RecordSetter counted the reps in the continuous 48-second video. Flies hang the whole load off nearly straight arms, which is why most lifters use a fraction of this weight.

Jason Faulkner lay back on an incline bench at a gym in St. Joseph, Missouri, and took a pair of 100-pound dumbbells through 20 incline flies in one unbroken set. Filmed from beside the bench, the clip shows the bells opening out from above his chest and closing back together on every rep, with the 100 stamp readable on the near dumbbell late in the set. RecordSetter counted the reps in the continuous 41-second video, where one more rep stalls at the bottom and he sets the weights down. Flies hold the whole load out on nearly straight arms, so a hundred pounds a hand is far beyond what most lifters ever try.

Danail Parvanov performed 147 alternate heel touches in one minute in Sofia, Bulgaria. The alternate heel touch is a core exercise done lying on the back, crunching side to side to tap each heel in turn, so 147 in sixty seconds is a touch roughly every four tenths of a second, sustained without pause. His 62-second single-take video is exactly what an honest one-minute attempt looks like, and the cadence holds steady from first rep to last.

Danail Parvanov logged 288 alternate heel touches in three minutes in Sofia, Bulgaria, pacing the lying core exercise across a full 180 seconds rather than a single sprint. That is a heel tap every 1.6 seconds for three unbroken minutes of core engagement, a different challenge from his one-minute mark: less about speed, more about refusing to stop. The 181-second continuous take was verified unbroken with a steady cadence from start to finish.

Peter Renfors of Vantaa, Finland completed a standing ab wheel rollout carrying 32.7 kilograms of added weight, every component verified on camera: a plate-loaded vest weighed at 1.7 kilograms on a beam scale, loaded with a 25 kilogram plate, a 5 kilogram plate, and two 0.5 kilogram plates shown individually before the attempt. From a standing start he rolled out to full horizontal extension and returned to standing, using the bent-arm technique of 150-rep consecutive rollout record holder Alexander Lipay. His video documents the full progression, including warm-ups at 10, 20 and 25 kilograms and a completed rollout at 32.2 kilograms before the record weight.

Matthew Lawson loaded a 35-degree plate-loaded leg press to 750 kilograms at a gym in Bathurst, Australia, and knocked out eight straight calf raises with it. His legs stay locked straight through the whole continuous set, moving the sled with nothing but his ankles, and he finishes by walking the camera around the sled to show the stacks of 25 kg and 20 kg plates on every horn. That's three-quarters of a tonne, moved by two calves, eight times in a row.

At a New York gym, 56-year-old Joseph Naggar hung two kettlebells from a dip belt and pulled himself from a dead hang until his chin reached the bar. The bells are cast with 12 kg (26.4 lb) and 36 kg (80 lb), for 106.4 pounds of added weight, roughly 60 percent of his reported 176-pound bodyweight. The rep was verified from one continuous clip, with a separate photo of both kettlebells confirming their markings. Plenty of people half his age can't manage a single pull-up without the extra iron.

Fourteen-year-old Piyush Rawat sets up in a wide-stance plank on a dirt yard, plants two fingertips of one hand, and tucks his free hand behind his back. He lowers until his chest nearly brushes the ground and presses back to a straight arm seven times without a break. Each rep was counted from his continuous phone video. Seven reps on two fingertips is a serious grip test at any age.