Harvard Law School lecturer Adam Sandel aka “Professor Pull-Ups” has reclaimed the world record for the most pull ups in one minute with an astounding total of 77.
Adam, 38, trained consistently for the last four years to take back the record he’d lost in 2020 to China’s Hong Zhongtao, whose total of 74 reps beat Adam’s previous best by six.
Adam has now broken this record five times, significantly pushing its boundaries since first achieving 51 in 2016.
“This record is widely regarded as one of the most difficult, and has in recent years become fiercely competitive,” Adam said, describing it as “the ultimate test of strength and endurance”.
Adam’s pull ups were required to adhere to several criteria: an overhand grip must be used, the chin must be raised above the bar, the body must be lowered until the elbows are straight, and the waist cannot bend at any time.
To maximize speed, Adam adopted a wide grip, shortening the distance between his chin and the bar.
“Those who have not trained with a wide grip may not realize that it’s actually quite hard to maintain,” Adam said.
“It may look easy because you travel a shorter distance to the bar, but it’s a weaker grip than a narrow one, so there’s a trade-off between grip strength and shortened range.”
Adam is equally adept at doing pull ups with a longer range of motion, currently holding the record for the most chest to bar pull ups in one minute (36).
To compensate for the weakened grip strength, Adam wrapped his hands around the bar as much as possible – including ‘digging’ his fingers in – thereby generating more upward force from his lats.
The hardest part of the record attempt for Adam was the last 15 seconds, where he pushed his body to its limits.
He said: “The most intense burn is in the outer biceps and forearms. But it’s also a full-body fatigue, given the degree of aerobic fitness that is also required for all-out one-minute effort. I even feel the exhaustion in my legs.”
For the first 50 or so reps, it’s all about being efficient and smooth – everything fast, but nothing strained. The last 15 seconds is where you put everything on the line. It’s what separates a new record from “better luck next time”.
Adam trained six days per week in preparation for this record attempt, with two days devoted exclusively to pull ups and the other days being focused on cross-training, allowing him time to recover from his “very intense” pull-up sessions.
He experienced several setbacks with injuries and “inexplicably weak workouts” causing doubts to creep in, but after narrowly falling short of equalling the record in 2022, he remained confident he could reach it with a longer stretch of training.
Adam drew motivation from his training partner and fellow record-breaker Ron Cooper, who currently holds three Guinness World Records titles including the most chest to bar chin ups in one minute (33).
“It was an honour to have the record witnessed by my long-time friend, who also broke a record on the day,” Adam said.
“It feels satisfying to hold the record once again, especially in light of the intense competition that has pushed me to defend the title four times since 2016.
“Of course, part of me hopes that my current record will stand for a while, but I’m also excited to see if someone can push the bounds of pull ups even further. When they do, I hope I can be ready to respond.
“The real joy of these records is the chase, the back and forth, the testing of limits.”
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