NOT many persons across the globe can boast of achieving a Guinness World Record but Jamaican Brandon Chin Loy can do so, as he and five other members of a multinational team achieved the most chest-to-ground burpees (12,502) ever recorded in 24 hours, set in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on May 3 this year.

The goal or the minimum number needed to set the world record was 6,000 burpees.

Other members of the team achieving the feat were Eva Clarke (Australia), Anna Erdi (Hungary), Daniel Gill (United Kingdom), Tereza Petrovicova (Czech Republic), and Ivan Camponogara (Italy).

Members of the team received official plaques from Guinness World Records Limited in recognition of their achievement.

A burpee is a two-part exercise – a push-up followed by a leap in the air. It works many of the major muscle groups in your body and builds strength and endurance.

Chin Loy, who is currently employed at National Commercial Bank (NCB) as a data analyst, tells JIS News that the team’s record was achieved at a critical moment when countries around the world closed their borders with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was completing his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at New York University (NYU), Abu Dhabi, at the beginning of the pandemic in March.

Chin Loy and several students and staff members decided to undertake the challenge as a means of maintaining their physical and emotional well-being during the uncertain period.

He says the challenge was important as it was an achievement he and his teammates were able to experience together, in place of the traditional in-person graduation ceremony.

A virtual graduation ceremony was held instead on May 27, the same day that Guinness World Records Limited officially announced that the team had beaten the record and distributed plaques to the members.

“My commencement was cancelled. I [and my teammates] had family and friends flying in for that. This record almost became like a culminating goal for our undergraduate experience, but not just academically but also in our fitness,” he says.

The team, comprising members of the NYU Abu Dhabi fitness community, completed the challenge from their different locations in the UAE via the videoconferencing service Zoom, to facilitate social distancing.

He says the challenge was organised in relay format, with one person performing burpees for 10 minutes at a time.

“Once the 10 minutes were up someone had to immediately start as soon as the other person stopped. This was done over a 24-hour period. We managed to set the minimum record (6,000 burpees) in about seven hours and then we went up to 16 hours to get the 12,502 burpees – and that ultimately allowed us to set the record,” he explains.

Each team member participating in the challenge had cameras positioned at the front and the side for a full view of the exercise. Each member was required to do the exercise within the specified dimensions of floor markers.

Chin Loy says the team was supervised by two witnesses to ensure the members strictly adhered to the rules for the challenge.

“There were eight people who were on the call at any point in time to ensure that the rules were being followed by the six of us who were actually doing the burpees,” he notes.

“They made sure that we were transitioning from one person to the other almost instantaneously. The witnesses ensured we were following those rules, as well as it helped with the adjudication process by Guinness,” he adds.

Chin Loy tells JIS News that they trained together over Zoom, noting that doing it online during quarantine was a motivation to set the record.

The young record holder says he is excited and proud to represent his country in the challenge.

Chin Loy says he remains in contact with his teammates and they intend to pursue other challenges in the future.