Fitness trainer breaks 2 Guinness World Records — by doing lunges across New York City
A fitness trainer lunged his way around New York City, breaking two Guinness World Records.
Austin Head, a trainer at Life Time fitness club in New York, challenged himself to achieve a title as he turned 30, and he fulfilled that goal — twice.
The 30-year-old nabbed the record title for most lunges in an hour (male), as well as the farthest distance traveled by lunge in one hour, according to Guinness.
Head lunged 2,825 times in 60 minutes on Friday, smashing the previous record of 2,358. Twelve days prior, on March 10, he broke the distance record while training, lunging 2.14 miles (3.45 kilometers) in 60 minutes.
“My legs are FINALLY feeling better,” Head told The Post on Wednesday. “I feel so incredibly lucky to have had so much support on the day of my Guinness World Records attempt!”
He told Guinness that he isn’t a world record holder because he’s in the best shape — he is in great form but “not the absolute best.” Rather, he said he succeeded because he used his “mindset to help me take my physical abilities to another level.”
But he’s not finished yet.
“I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am thinking of training to attempt the Guinness World Records titles for the fastest time to lunge mile (male)! AND the fastest time to lunge 800 meters (male)!” an enthusiastic Head revealed to The Post.
Currently, the fastest time to lunge 800 meters (male) is 9 minutes 40.82 seconds, which was achieved by Jakob Holland in Granville, Ohio, on Oct. 6, 2023. The fastest lunge mile (male) is 22 minutes 52 seconds, marked by Paul Searles in Hamilton, New Jersey, on March 19 of last year.
His lunging journey started along the Brooklyn waterfront at the carousel in Dumbo and moved along the piers underneath Brooklyn Heights before circling back to conclude near his starting point.
Crowds gathered to watch Head, who lives in Brooklyn, as he took on the mammoth challenge to raise money for the Life Time Foundation, which aims to inspire healthier people, a healthier way of life and a healthier planet.
He raised $7,599 — $2,500 of it during the hour-long record-breaking attempt itself — which will go toward funding health and wellness programs in New York.
“I have a handicapped brother, and I grew up helping my mom out with him. This rooted in me the need to help people,” Head told Guinness.
“I also loved acting as a kid. Being a group instructor really is a perfect balance between the two! Getting to help people while also being on stage,” he added. “I feel very lucky to do what I know I was meant to do every single day.”
Head said he has been lunging “for years” and does them a lot during his fitness classes, but he started doing them consistently during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would do 45 minutes at a time, just walking lunges,” he shared with Guinness. “I feel very lucky to live in one of the best neighborhoods in NYC — Dumbo! I knew I wanted it to be along the waterfront.”
However, Head, who teaches about 30 classes per week at Life Time, admitted that he overtrained at first, going straight from lunge sessions to teaching a full day of classes — which “quickly” showed him “how important recovery was.”
Head called his endeavor “a big sacrifice” but encouraged others to “find your ‘why’ or your own purpose. Then on days you feel like giving up, always go back to your ‘why’ and the motivation will come!”
