Why and How I Set A Burpee World Record During COVID

Short answer: Challenge from a friend and intentional stress. But let me elaborate…

I was stationed in Guam from AUG 2016 - MAR 2020. During this time, I began training in mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu jitsu after learning I was going to be a father. While I had always been interested, I never took the leap for whatever excuses I created. Knowing I had a baby girl on the way motivated me to learn some skills that would contribute to my confidence and ability to defend my family if need be. I also became more serious about preparedness, firearms training, resilience and other controllable factors in my life to optimize my physical and mental health in order to be the best father and husband.

I found a placed called Steel Athletics. The owner of the gym was a guy named JJ Ambrose who was a twelve year mixed martial arts veteran with a ton of professional fights, experience, and knowledge. He had an impressive team of guys around him and was getting ready to open a new facility that was going to be a martial arts/fitness gym. His original intent was to have a spot on the island that he could bring in guys for fight camps without having to travel off island. The fitness side of the gym would just help pay the bills. I began training twice a day before and after work and soon started getting invited to work with the professional fighters for those fight camps or invite-only practices.

Left to right: dorky me, Ricky Camp, Jeff Mesa, JJ Ambrose, Kyle Aguon, Seay Camacho

JJ and I started becoming closer and would do some fitness competitions or obstacle races to supplement training.  

He was progressively getting more passionate about the fitness. He began offering free seminars to first responders, local sports teams, or anyone interested in physical health on the island. We began doing CrossFit, hero workouts, and other fun ways to collectively get after it as a team.

It was interesting to watch his purpose evolve from personal goals to service of others during this time. In a few years, he was still fighting professionally but his heart was in fitness, specifically creating a community that promotes achievable health goals for all. He became a certified trainer in multiple disciplines and was continuously studying programming methodology to allow for all ages and abilities to perform alongside one another. 

This experience was invaluable to me. Incredibly challenging workouts can be completed by anyone in a safe and effective manner as long as exertion level, amount of resistance, and/or modifications are considered. Anyone can then document an outcome based on time, weight, reps, or whatever the workout is focused on and set a slightly higher goal the next time around. 

Progressive overload to cause beneficial adaptations.

It was also during this time that JJ began creating daily challenges for members outside of the gym. A way to supplement training or provide an achievable goal for people from home who are unable to train consistently. 

One of those challenges was complete 50 burpees a day for 50 days. 

Before this time, I avoided burpees when making my own workouts. I was in good shape and could do them with proper form but found them exhausting. Essentially, I didn’t like burpees because I wasn’t proficient or efficient at them. 

The only way to get better at any skill is with intentional training. This 50 day challenge was definitely that.

The first few days I would do five sets of ten burpees with short breaks in between. Once that felt easier, I did two sets of 15 and finished with a set of 20. Soon enough, I could do two sets of 25. From there I progressively added more reps to the first set each day until I could do 50 unbroken. The challenge now became how fast could I do 50. 

JJ was doing the same thing so naturally it became a competition. Outside of a footrace, there wasn’t much I could consistently or even realistically beat JJ in. He’s one of the best all-around athletes I’ve ever met. This challenge, however, revealed I could become quite good at something I consistently put my mind to. By the end of the 50 days, I could do 50 burpees in 99 seconds.

It’s important to note I had a good fitness foundation prior to this challenge. We had several teammates who were older, heavier, or simply not starting with the same physical capacity as me or JJ but still progressively improved over 50 days to be able to complete 50 straight reps at a high perceived exertion level. 

1% better every day is possible for anyone. 

The end of my tour came and I had to travel to my new duty station in Maryland at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in early 2020 as the pandemic was ramping up and everything was shutting down. The move is a crazy story in and of itself but everything fortunately worked out and we were able to settle into our first home now having a three year old girl and baby boy. 

The early days of COVID were challenging for everyone in a variety of ways. While attempting to learn a new job remotely, maintain a new home, manage a growing family, and respond to the numerous stressors happening due to the chaos of the world at the time, I found myself struggling without my former outlet of training. 

I was able to use some of my savings to build a little gym in my basement and began using the time with my daughter in the early mornings to go downstairs and workout while she played alongside me. I was applying what I had learned from JJ in regards to programming workouts in a variety of ways, following many online programs, and creating small challenges but I didn’t really have any specific direction or set goals. 

Early in 2021, I get a message from JJ. He shared an article about the Guinness World Record for the most chest-to-ground burpees in one hour that had just been broken along with a message that said, “you won’t do it.”

My favorite way to challenge others and to receive a challenge is with that sentence. 

He had just given me a goal.

I don’t remember the number at the time but the new record was something around 16 burpees/min for 60 min. Also, the this chest-to-ground type of burpee required you to extend your arms out to the side after dropping to the ground, like an exaggerated hand release push-up, before returning to your feet. While this modification would inevitably require more time per rep, it also felt like a micro break for the arms. 

Micro breaks in a workout can be extremely brief pauses between reps rather than needing longer breaks from exhaustion. Micro breaks allow for a sustained work rate vice intermittent resting to due fatigue. The more proficient one is in a movement, the shorter the micro breaks can be between reps.

I began doing EMOM (every minute on the minute) type workouts in a variety of ways and progressively making them more challenging by either increasing the amount of burpees I would do in a given minute, the total amount of minutes or the difficulty of other types of exercise I would add in. 

Little did I know, I was building my aerobic and anaerobic capacity to make a shorter time period much easier.

After a month or so, I checked out the Guinness site to see if the record had changed and learned there were several time categories for this style of burpee including a three minute one that was held by a guy in Australia. He had completed 69 chest-to-ground burpees in that time and there was a video on YouTube showing his record in full. I watched and thought this record was very doable based on some of the shorter workouts I had done with higher rep counts. 

The next morning I tested how many I could do in three minutes and did 65. I immediately applied to Guinness and pivoted my goal to the three minute category.

These mornings that I spent with my daughter are such a fond memory for me. We had a routine where I’d get some toys out and set up a show right by the gym and she would play while I’d do a 20-40 minute workout before we would then go to the playroom and continue to play until my wife and infant son were awake for breakfast. She’d often come sit on the bench and cheer me on or talk to me between sets rather than play on her own for a brief period. 

This morning routine was so helpful during such a difficult period. I had challenging goals each morning that I progressively made more difficult while connecting with my daughter before the day started. The rest of every day then feel easier. Intentional stress made inevitable and unexpected stressors lose some significance. Valuable time with my daughter before, during, and after only added to the perceived benefit of this routine. The day was already earned and my perspective, optimism, and gratitude were improved despite the challenging time.

I started consistently getting in the 70s when I’d test my three minute total and knew I was ready for an official attempt. It was also during this time that I had found a local jiu jitsu gym and connected with its owner online. He was coincidentally getting ready to open up a new spot now that the lockdowns and restrictions were loosening. I met him and some of the team in early June 2021. After a few training sessions, I let them know about the burpee attempt and several guys volunteered to help with the recording and needed admin required by Guinness for any official attempts like witnesses, timing, official counter, special witnesses with physical training certifications, etc.

I completed an attempt later in June and was able to complete 72 reps in under three minutes. When watching the video after, I was worried they might no rep me on a couple of the reps. Guinness required tape marks on the ground indicating needed foot positioning in the standing and ground positions based on height and my toes were hitting the line on a few of the reps. I decided to do one more recorded attempt the following weekend to have as a backup where I’d be more intentional about my foot placement throughout the reps. I was able to complete 71 reps on that attempt.

I submitted my first attempt to Guinness of 72 reps. For any record, Guinness has two submission methods. One that is expedited if you pay $5,000 and you can have add ones for even more money to include paying $14,000 for an adjudicator to watch your attempt live and give you notice of whether or not you set the record that day. The other is unpaid where you wait 12 weeks to hear back after submission and several weeks for correspondence if any part of the extensive package is unsatisfactory. Without question, I went the unpaid route.

I grew up loving Guinness books and was always fascinated by the different records, especially physical feats. I never considered how their unique business was run so it was interesting to get a better understanding of the inner workings. I learned during this time that only 30% of submissions to Guinness are accepted. Obviously all submissions are people who believe they’ve beaten a given world record but due to not meeting administrative or procedural requirements in a given attempt, there’s a 70% failure rate.

After about four months due to standard wait time and a few back and forth messages with my reviewer which tagged on more time, I learned that my attempt was being rejected because of a fault in my form. They stated I needed to perform a proper push-up prior to returning to my feet and that my shoulders were coming up quicker than my hips (which is absolutely true). Lucky for me, I had based my form on the current record holder’s video which was on YouTube and the picture of the current 12 hour record holder (yes, there are 12 and 24 hour burpee records) was of him completing an attempt with his shoulders raised and hips still on the ground looking like he was doing the cobra pose because that is incredibly more energy efficient and effective than a standard push-up when doing them over time. Also lucky for me, I had a second attempt already recorded that I was able to submit with all the supporting evidence I just mentioned since I wasn’t allowed to appeal their decision on my first attempt. 

12 weeks later in early 2022, I learned I was the new Guinness World Record holder for chest-to-ground burpees in three minutes. 

It was around a year that I held the record before several savages beat it and then a form change was permitted no longer requiring arms to be fully extended out to the side and instead allowing hands to just come off the deck, like a hand release push-up, in the down position. This allows for reps to be performed faster and the record was then beaten a few more times after that.

After all the training, collaboration, and support I received for my official attempts, I kept myself motivated during the administrative process of submitting everything to Guinness just to see it through in the way I could control. In the end, the validation of getting the record for a while was exciting. It truly doesn’t mean anything, however, compared to the benefits I received from the routine of training with a goal and connections I either improved with my daughter or established with my new team during the process. 

I’ve had many challenging times in my life that have changed me for the better and COVID was definitely one of them. The beneficial change would have happened regardless of Guinness acceptance. 

The perceived setback that was COVID and a difficult time of transition in my life became an opportunity. 

I became more resilient by inserting manageable stress into every day. This training heightened my capacity to manage and recover from inevitable stress. 

The Guinness World Record ultimately means nothing. The beneficial change I experienced from the challenge means everything. 

The concept of intentional stress to improve resilience, performance, and fulfillment in life can be applied to any person in any domain. 

Find something you are passionate about and/or want to improve and get after it. Focus, discipline, and consistency will undoubtedly lead to growth. 

*It’s worth noting that unmodified burpees are an advanced body movement that I wouldn’t recommend for everyone. I believe being able to go from a standing to prone position and back up is an important skill for all ages and abilities. That being said, there are countless modifications of burpees that can and should be done to reduce tension on tendons and ligaments in vulnerable areas like the shoulders for someone who is newer or less proficient in the movement. 

Here is a great YouTube video with seven burpee modifications.

Form over speed. Safety over stubbornness.

Be the best version of yourself and then progressively improve.

YouTube video of my successful attempt (second to last rep accidentally got counted twice on digital counter, total was 71)