Student completes over 2,000 muscle ups in 24 hours to raise $20,000 for charity
A doctoral student spent his Sunday with his fingers wrapped around a metal bar instead of a pencil – for an inspiring and sentimental cause.
David Lloyd George (USA), a first-year quantum physics student at Duke University, broke the Guinness World Records title for most muscle ups in 24 hours (male) on 14 April, after over 15 hours of strenuous upper-body labour. He completed 2,002 muscle ups – 276 more than previous record holder Alejandro Soler Tarí (Spain) – in support of wounded veterans and their families.
David partnered with the Gary Sinise Foundation, an organization that provides funding and support for veterans and those in need, founded by the actor known for his role as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump (1994).
With GoFundMe donations and outside support, he raised an incredible $20,000 for the charity, which he was fond of because of their Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment programme that equips wounded servicemembers with smart homes and mobility devices.
“The muscle-up endurance event was something that I felt was really, really fitting… because it's something that really requires discipline. It requires a lot of sacrifice, requires a lot of commitment, and I think those are all things that members of the Armed Forces truly, truly understand,” David said to the Duke Chronicle.
He spent over nine months training for his attempt, and became known as the “muscle-up man” at his local climbing gym while preparing for the record. After assembling his own training plan, he started by doing 500 muscle-ups a week, before working on his speed and trying to lock down a speed of three muscle-ups a minute.
A muscle-up requires a full-body pull-up followed by a push-up on the bar – and David said the 30,000 muscle-ups he did in preparation was equivalent in upper-body movement to ascending Mount Everest four-and-a-half times.
“This [project] is kind of training me to, in some ways, mentally prepare to do… a full Ph.D.,” David said. He said he once dreamed of joining the military and becoming a Navy Seal, but decided to channel his drive into completing his doctorate and accomplishing a world record.
So by 13 April, David felt like he was more than ready to take on the challenge.
On the day of the attempt, he arrived at the Triangle Rock Club early, with some witnesses and friends in tow.
He planned on completing 900 muscle-ups in the first five hours – around three muscle-ups every minute – before dropping to two every minute. This rate would have him finish nearly two-thirds of the record about 12 hours into the competition, and he expected to take 15 hours total.
The muscle-ups did not have to be consecutive, so he took many breaks to replenish his energy with bananas, bread/sandwiches, and Nutella.
It was nearly 3:00 p.m. by the time he finished 1,300 muscle-ups – just 426 shy of the record.
But the demands of the competition were beginning to take a toll, and it was 7:30 p.m. by the time he got to 1,700 muscle-ups.
Yet David is not the type to give up – and just past midnight, at 12:38 a.m. – he did it! After 2,002 muscle-ups, and over 18.5 hours, he took home the record title and was celebrated with cheers from those left in the gym.
Congratulations on this Officially Amazing achievement, David – and we’re sure it felt even more rewarding knowing that you could support a good cause!