'Follow your dreams' - Laois fitness fanatic smashes third Guinness World Record

A Portlaoise gym-goer has managed to break his third Guinness World Record, not long after conquering another big record.

A long standing member of the Midlands Park Hotel gym, Anton Krivski was determined to add another world record to his belt recently and ended up achieving his third world record by training for a different one.

"I came up with this record completely by accident — I started preparing for one record but ended up achieving this one", the fitness fanatic explained.

No stranger to a challenge, Anton initially wanted to create a new record category in the Guinness World Records called 'Most push-ups in one go.' At the time, his personal best was an impressive 323 push-ups. 

However, he expected that his number wouldn't be high enough given the high standards associated with the Guinness World Records.

This is when he realised that another world record may be possible for him to take on.

READ NEXT: Start times and traffic advice issued ahead of Laois Offaly parades

"To improve my push-ups, I added different exercises to my training program, and battling ropes were one of them. While I was training with battling ropes, I decided to check if there were any Guinness World Records related to them. And there was only one, 'Longest time performing alternate waves with battling ropes.'

"The record stood at an impressive 4 hours. So I applied for that record as well, just in case."

A few months later, Anton received word on his two applications. They rejected creating a new category for the push-ups, but he got the green light for the battling ropes record.

Preparation for this new challenge started back in November 2024 which involved an intensive training schedule of several hours a day across seven days a week. 

Describing his workout routine, Anton said: "I developed new workouts and rope drills to keep the training process interesting and prevent it from becoming boring or monotonous, especially since I was doing it continuously for several hours at a time.

"When I wasn’t training with the ropes in the gym, I practiced backwards swimming in the pool (the Guinness World Record I set a few years ago), because it engages the same muscle groups. Pushing against the water while swimming backwards closely imitates lifting the ropes. During most of these swimming sessions, I used a parachute to build greater arm strength and endurance."

In his weekly weightlifting sessions, Anton managed to use weights between 110 and 150kg to prepare for the record. Cardio several times a week was also part of the routine. 

Anton aimed to double the current Guinness World Record by sustaining it for 8 hours. Anton stopped drinking liquids for the two days prior to the attempt taking place, as he said, "to avoid a call of nature during the record since rest breaks were strictly prohibited."

Despite being hit with issues with his battling ropes in the hours before it took place, Anton managed to more than double the record by hitting 9 hours and 21 minutes. 

This was the third world record Anton broke in recent years. In 2022, he broke the record for the greatest distance swimming backwards in 8 hours with 15.66km.

In 2024, he bet the record for the farthest simulated distance climbed on a stair machine. 

Delighted with his third record, Anton said: "Follow your dreams, guys!"