An Australian dad has set an impressive new world record for the most push-ups in one-hour, completing more than 3,206.
Lucas Helmke completed the challenge this week at his local gym in Brisbane and did an average of over 53 push-ups per minute.
The previous record of 3,182 was set by another Aussie, Daniel Scali, in April 2022 and it’s the fourth time a new record has been set for the feat in three years.
Lucas attempted this record to “provide inspiration” for his one-year-old son and “show him nothing is impossible.”
Lucas trained for two to three years to break this record and now plans to break at least one record every year from now on.
Lucas broke the push-ups down into 30-second sets, aiming to complete 26 push-ups in each one. He slightly exceeded this target, achieving an average rate of 26.7 push-ups every 30 seconds.
He was required to maintain perfect form for each push-up, otherwise, they wouldn’t count towards the record total.
The Guinness World Record website states: "The body must remain straight throughout, meaning there can be no bending at the knees or waist. The body must be lowered until at least a 90-degree angle is attained at the elbow, then raised until the arms are straight."
Only 34 (1%) of Lucas’ push-ups were discounted due to improper form, which, the Guinness World Records say is "an impressively low number considering he was going as fast as possible in order to break the record."
He said: "This will be the first record I wish to set off a number of other push-up records. Then onto other physical records.”
For years, fitness has been a hugely popular record category at Guinness World Records.
George Hood from the US set a planking record in 2020 when he held it for eight hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds - with only his forearms and toes touching the ground.
Dana Glowacka from Canada holds the female version and is friends with George who helped her prepare for this record attempt.
The website says: "Spending four hours, 19 minutes and 55 seconds in the plank position, Dana smashed the previous women’s record by 48 minutes."
The record for the most burpees in one minute by a female is held by British Leigh Scott with 40, the male equivalent is 48 set by Brazilian Wesley Prado.
