A 6-foot-4, 235-pound man in a red-and-black sleeveless flannel shirt cranked out 36 grappler pull-ups in 60 seconds outside a Sherman Oaks fitness studio on Sunday, breaking his own record and putting himself back in line for Guinness World Records certification. Lance Pecht, who competes under the nickname Lumberjack Lance, performed the feat on the front deck of BUF Studio at 13514 Ventura Boulevard, between Sunnyslope and Allott avenues.
The attempt improved on the 31 grappler pull-ups Pecht completed just two months earlier, a mark that had already topped the existing Guinness World Records benchmark of 29 repetitions held by Switzerland's Elias Benz, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. BUF Studio owner Natalie Joseph said the Sherman Oaks attempt was conducted under Guinness World Records guidelines, with four judges on hand to monitor Pecht's form and determine whether each repetition qualified. Those judges included an attorney serving as an independent professional along with two fitness professionals, per the same account.
What Makes a Grappler Pull-Up So Brutal
Grappler pull-ups swap the standard bar grip for lacrosse balls suspended over the bar, eliminating a full palm wrap and forcing the hands, wrists, forearms and upper body to work overtime just to hold on. The variation relies on spherical grip friction rather than the flat surface of a normal bar, according to MyNewsLA. That instability helps explain why even elite athletes fall well short of standard pull-up numbers: the male Guinness World Record for strict pull-ups on a solid bar in one minute stands at 55 repetitions, set by Adam Sandel in September 2017, as noted by thefitfork.com.
The Sherman Oaks setup included a visible digital clock, a repetition counter and multi-angle video equipment for official review, the studio's owner said. The attempt will be submitted to Guinness World Records for certification, though the organization's guidelines call for review by independent professional witnesses and judges alongside video documentation, a process that can take weeks or months before a claim is officially ratified.
From Spokane Valley to Southern California
Pecht's push toward the record began on his 43rd birthday, July 12, when he completed 31 grappler pull-ups in one minute at Body Unlimited Fitness in Spokane Valley, Washington, surpassing Benz's official mark of 29 at the time. He notched 31 successful repetitions before straining for a 32nd, and that performance was recorded from multiple camera angles and monitored by witnesses as part of the Guinness verification process, per the Daily News report.
Speaking to TV station KXLY after the July attempt, Pecht said he had decided he wanted a world record and then went looking for pull-up variations that matched his personal strengths. He has a basketball background of his own, having played forward and guard at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, where he was named the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Most Valuable Player for the 2005-06 season before graduating in 2006, according to Plexuss.
A Bigger Goal Than the Bar
Pecht said he hoped his effort would encourage people to set more ambitious goals, arguing that people often train their minds to think smaller than their actual capabilities. He said he wanted to be the best in the world rather than just the best in his area, a mindset that carried him from a Spokane Valley gym to a studio deck on Ventura Boulevard in under three months.
For now, both the July and September numbers sit with Guinness reviewers. Whether 36 becomes the new official mark for most grappler pull-ups in one minute by a male will depend on how the certification process, which can stretch for weeks or months, ultimately shakes out.
