Spokane man completes number of grappler pullups for Guinness World Record attempt

Jul. 12—Most people might spend their birthday relaxing with their loved ones by lounging by the river with a beer in hand. Most don’t decide to break fitness world records on their special day.

Lance Pecht, a former Whitworth University basketball player, spent his 43rd birthday Sunday at Body Unlimited Fitness, attempting the Guinness World Record for the most grappler pullups in one minute.

“I worked hard for 43 years of life,” he said. “Why am I not the best in the world at anything?”

While pushing the body to failure is not the typical idea of fun for most people, the feeling of accomplishment after is what Pecht said he finds motivating and fun.

At 11 a.m., Pecht was set to use two lacrosse balls while he attempted to defeat the previous Guinness World Record of 29 grappler pullups set by Elias Benz in Switzerland.

A grappler pullup requires the use of two golf or lacrosse balls. The balls are held over the edge of the pull-up bar, forcing the wrists to flex while using tension in the forearms to pull up and over the bar.

“It puts way more pressure on your hands, wrists, forearms, all through the lats and back and chest,” Pecht said. “It hits every muscle.”

The already difficult move is compounded by Pecht’s large stature. To complete the exercise, he must hold 235 pounds above the bar. His stature factored into his training and made his completion of the record more difficult, said Natalie Joseph, owner of Body Unlimited Fitness.

“When someone is lighter and more compact, it’s less weight they have to lift, but also their limbs are shorter, so it’s less distance that they have to travel,” she said.

Joseph helped Pecht train for the record. They bounced technique and style ideas off each other, she said, and she helped monitor his form as he tried different positions.

An hour before his attempt, Pecht paced around the gym to the tune of early 2000s rap and rock as he helped set up the competition site. Dressing in a red and black flannel with the arms cut off and black gym shorts complemented his gym nickname “the Lumberjack.” At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds with tan skin, he looked like a lumberjack, too.

Cameras were set up throughout the gym to monitor each pullup from multiple angles. Guinness requires a front and side-angle camera to count reps and monitor form. Two computers were also set up in view of the front-facing camera, one to count the number of grappler pullups completed and another to keep time. Spokane Valley fitness professionals and a police officer also monitored the attempt by either counting reps, keeping time or monitoring form to ensure the record would be beaten faithfully.

Pecht had unofficially broken the world record in his last push of training, he said, but he still felt surges of anxiety as he attempted to break the record Sunday.

“I think that would be kind of embarrassing to have some build-up for one minute and then not be able to follow through,” he said.

Pecht ultimately defeated the record, completing 31 grappler pullups in a minute. The gym erupted in applause and cheers at his finish.

Although the record-breaking attempt is over, Pecht’s record is still not official. He has to submit the videos and signed paperwork from the witnesses for the Guinness World Record board to certify and approve. The process could take 12 weeks, Joseph said.

Pecht is setting his sights on other fitness world records he can break in the future. On Sunday, however, he was only focused on finally dropping his discipline and celebrating his birthday.

“I’ll eat and drink good tonight,” he said. “And then next week, I’ll start looking at other world records.”