Fitness fanatic breaks six records with exercise that helped him recover from accident

By Vicki Newman
Published 08 January 2025
Split image of George showing his scar and doing push ups

A fitness fanatic has broken a string of world records with the exercise that helped him recover after he severed the tendons in his arm in an accident.

George Kotsimpos (Greece) is the proud owner of six push ups records.

The 47-year-old super dad says the exercise was a crucial part of his rehabilitation after he fought his way back to fitness after his accident.

He told us: “I have always had a natural affinity for push ups and performed them rather effortlessly since I was very young.

"However after an accident where I severed all the tendons in my right arm - you can see the scars here [points to arm] - my relationship with push ups took on a new meaning.

“They became a very crucial part of my rehabilitation process, helping my tendons to regain their lost elasticity.

George pointing to his scar

“I committed to doing push ups every day, pushing myself harder and harder until I was ready to take on my first record attempt.”

George teamed up with friend Apostolos Dervas (Greece) to break his first record in December 2022.

They performed the most consecutive tandem push ups (male) – a total of 43.

But they bettered that in September 2023 to update their record to 51.

George and Apostolos doing tandem push ups

On the same day in November 2023, the duo broke records for the most consecutive tandem knuckle push ups (male) with 40, and the most tandem knuckle push ups in one minute (male) with 46.

George went solo for his next three records.

In January 2024, he did the most push ups on medicine balls in one minute (male) – 100 – and then broke his own record two months later with a total of 112.

George collapsed on the floor

And that same month, he performed the most decline push ups on medicine balls in one minute (male) – a total of 76 – and the most push ups (one leg raised) on medicine balls in one minute (male), with 96.

He said: “I decided to take on these records to challenge myself and push the limits of my physical abilities.

“The medicine ball records were very tricky because they require strength and balance.

“The tandem push ups records with Apostolos were all about team work and coordination, which adds a unique element to the challenges.

George doing push ups on medicine balls with a decline

“But the main reason I wanted to break a Guinness World Records title was to make my children proud of me and show them through hard work that they can achieve their goals.”

George’s training combined strength and core workouts, as well as lots and lots of push ups.

“In the lead up to the attempts I focussed on visualization and staying calm under pressure,” he said.

George doing push ups on medicine balls with one leg raised

“I was always reminding myself to stay in the moment and push through my discomfort.”

He said of breaking a world record for the first time: “It was one of the most significant moments in my life because at that time, I was not at the peak of my physical condition.

“It required cultivating a strong will and a right mindset. This process taught me the importance of persistence.

“If you fail, you try again. You never quit until you succeed.”