Home > Fitness Testing > Tests > Strength > Sit-Ups > Records

The sit-up or abdominal curl is a common fitness test for abdominal core body strength. The test usually requires the participant to do as many sit-ups as they can in one or two minutes (see sit-up test). In extreme tests of endurance fitness, there have been attempts of the most sit ups in time periods from one to 24 hours and longer.

The following records are not all verified, and I do not claim that the lists are complete. Most of the data has been found from various sources online. Also the technique used is not always standard so it makes comparisons between different records difficult, for example some records are set using an "abdominal frame". See my guide for attempting a world sit up record.

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Maximum Sit-Ups in a minute

Sit-up tests of fitness are commonly conducted over a one minute period, with results between 30 and 60 usually achieved (read a description of the one-minute sit up fitness test). Some of the records listed online include ‎Mike Janko‎ achieving 47 sit ups in 30 seconds and 87 sit ups in 60 seconds in October 2016. There is also a reference to Mr. Ramu K. from Madurai, India performing 68 sit-ups in one minute at Army Camp, Srinagar on March 27, 2018.

However, most world record attempts are for longer periods (see below).

1000 Sit-Ups

Fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne set the original benchmark for sit up-ups by completing 1,033 sit-ups in 23 minutes (44.9 average per minute).

Max Sit Ups in 5 minutes

Josh Clark, a fighter out of Valhalla Combat Sports center, did 305 situps in five minutes at the Moon Plaza to break the world record held by a guy from Georgia (the country not the state) who did 268 back in 2012.  This is a new world record that was set 11 April 2020 in Fridley, Minnesota. He attempted this record to gain some funds and publicity to help his gym stay open since the Corona Virus has really hurt the business. (info supplied)

Max Sit-Ups in 30 minutes

David Begiashvili of Georgia did 1,430 sit-ups in 30 minutes on 25 July 2011 at Zurab Zviadauri Judo School in Akhmeta, Kakheti, Georgia, beating the previous record holder Guy Schott of the USA who did 1,337 sit-ups in 30 minutes at Sonomy County Family YMCA in Santa Rosa, California, USA on 7 November 2009.

Max Sit-Ups in an hour

2013 December 20th, James Clark did 2,601 sit ups in 58 minutes 43 seconds to reclaim his record (not sure if this has been verified). His attempt was made at 10 South 5th street, the Pourhouse down town Mpls, Mn, from 6pm to 7pm.

2011: On April 1st, 2011, 60 year old Vladimir Jurcik broke Jim Clark's world record by just 37 situps, achieving 2,238 crunches in Rundle Mall, Adelaide South Australia. This record has not been officially confirmed. You can see the video of Jurcik breaking the record, in which you will notice that his feet are held down, unlike for Jim Clark's records.

2009:on 7 November 2009, Guy Schott of the USA did 2,477 sit-ups in one hour at Sonomy County Family YMCA in Santa Rosa, California, USA .

2006: A search online found information about James (Jim) Clark, setting a world record 2,201 sit ups in one hour (36.7 ave per minute) at the Mall of America in Bloomington (Minnesota,USA), on June 2, 2006. This apparently broke the existing record of 1,448 by a man from India. It took him just 32 minutes to break the record and he did another 753 by the time his hour was up. You can see the video of Clark breaking the record.

It has come to my attention another one hour Sit-Ups record set back in 1999 at Leominster Leisure Centre, UK by Ged Musto. In an hour he achieved 2,908 situps (average of 48.5 per minute). The attempt was witnessed by four fitness instructors, two who were counting, one who had placed their palm up to the level that his chest had to touch, and the other who was checking the legitimacy of the sit-ups (his feet were held by one instructor). Guinness did recognize this record at the time because they did not have their adjudicators present, though it was classed as a world's best. This figure is still widely regarded by many fitness and governing bodies as the benchmark for the one hour sit-ups record.

Using an Abdominal Frame

You may note that the situp numbers above are very low compared to the 24 hour sit-up records below, with Freitas averaging over four and a half thousand situps each hour for a whole day! The answer to the discrepancy of sit up numbers is due to the use of an 'abdominal frame' in some record attempts which greatly increases the number of situps. Hour records using a situp frame include 8,555 by Ashrita set in Paris on March 24, 2004, and about 12,000 situps by Norwegian Bård Botten in April 2007.

Max Sit Ups in 24 hours

There are references to several world record marks for sit ups in an hour, here are some that I have found. The record of Skip Chase was done using a "using an abdominal frame" as may some of the other records.

Freitas broke his previous record of 111,000 sit ups in 24 hours by completing 133,986 in 30 hours. 

Maximum Total Number of Sit Ups (Guinness World Record!)

The Guinness Book Of World Records only lists the record for the maximum number of sit ups, not the most performed in a particular time period as the above records are. Here are some of the records that have been found - there may be others. For endurance records, Guinness allow a five-minute break every hour.

Other Records?

52,003 situps by Steve Sokol

From the St. Petersburg Times - Jun 29, 1981, page 4

Another article in The News and Courier (Aug 2, 1971, p5) reporting on the same feat mentions that he "placed his feet under a low bar wrapped in rags". The records in the table above, unlike this record, are believed to have been achieved without having the feet supported.

Most people doing sit ups simultaneously

The Guiness World Record for the most people doing sit-ups simultaneously is 263, achieved by Sysmex Corporation (Japan) in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, on 19 October 2013. The participants included employees and their family members of the Sysmex Corporation. The record attempt was part of celebrations of the 45th anniversary of the company's foundation.

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Related Pages

• Guide to attempting a world sit up record
• Procedure for sit-up testing
• More Fitness Testing Records and other Sporting Records
• See Sit Up Videos
• More Records? I scan the internet for the latest athlete results. If you know of something I have missed, it would be great to hear from you.

Old Comments

Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.

• An amazing fellow named William Smith did 5,100 sit ups over a 5 hour period. Many different records. I first saw him in a clint eastwood movie. I was really surprised that rod taylor made it through a fight with him without permanent brain damage or coma. They had a 'mock' film fight, but it became a real brawl. Rod got thrown around like a rag doll. (from Scott, Dec 2022)
• I forgot to add that Vladimir Jurcik, Guy Schott, and Jim Clark are all mentioned but they have all fell short of Ged's amazing number which was all checked and adjudicated. One of the greatest stamina feats of all time. Geoff McMillan (2014)
• Skip Chase (2013)
  My record of "Most sit-ups, using an abdominal frame, for 24 hours" by performing 110,912, IS a Guinness World Record. I have the letter and Certificate from Guinness to prove it.
• Those people must have some serious 12-packs. They should keep it up. My friend Ever is going to try to beat the world record. One word for everyone of you OUCH! Alyssa nommensen (2016)
• I attempted and broke the world records held by James Clark and Vladimir Jurcik on the 31st of August 2011. My number of sit ups in 1 hour was 2395. This was witnessed by many people and also filmed. Robert McAuley (2016)
• I am a Boy Scout leader, and I looked this up tonight out of curiosity because one of my 11 yr old scouts did 1700 sit ups in about one hour. He had to quit because his ride was there to take him home. He was still going strong! Brent (2016)
• These records are simply amazing I wish I could do that much but sadly I'm only 15 and the most sit-ups and crunches I can do a night is 300 a night °^° I respect these people for there hard work. Amazing (2016)
• On the 31st March 2013 i did 2450 sit ups in 1 hour, is that a world record? Salmaan Utim (2016)
• I am 16y ears old i can do 250 push-ups 250 squats 250 rope skipping in 1 go. I just did 1000 sit ups earlier today in 1 hour i know i have to improve. I am hoping to do 2400 or 2500 sit ups in 1 hour SOON! Salmaan Utim Salmaan Utim (2016)
• In 1962 I did 1313 sit-ups in 2.5 hours. Jeff Stefanski (2016)
• I broke 2 Prison Bootcamp nonstop sit up records.The first was 1000 in which I did 1063 for the 63rd platoon I was in. Then someone beat ne by 1 in the platoon below me.But it was said he cheated and did not come all the way chest to knee and elbow to ground so we had a sit up duel in the senior drill insrtructers office,this guy did 600 and quit I did 6363 for the 63rd platoon again 4 hours nonstop no pee break nothing.Nevada Boot Camp 1994.6363 nonstop situps 100 in minute. Norman Campbell (2016)
• My grandpa, 80 years old, did his own kind of record of 5000 situps. This during 2h20min iirc, and with 3kg strap belt around his head. No official record but impressive! Tynne.se (2016)
• Whoever wrote this article needs to revise it. You spelled Wayne Rolling's name wrong, and left out his greatest sit-up world record of 40,000 in 16 hours. Guy (2015) - fixed!
• I can't verify this but I did see an interview about the now deceased pro wrestler Randy the machoman Savage while he was in the Navy set a 1 hour sit up record for the Navy at around 2000 sit-ups - this would have been in the early 70s. The story goes that he actually wore the skin out on his tail bone in the process to the point you could see bone through the skin. If you look at the older photos of him he was really ripped and though probably using steroids doesn't change the fact he did it while they were legal. Tim (2015)
• It was actually Randy Savage's father, Angelo Poffo who did the sit ups in the Navy, Not Randy. He did 6,033 in 4 hours and 10 minutes. He did the first 6,000 then 33 more; one for each year of Jesus Christ's life. Mike Tim (2015)
• My father (I'm told) had the US Army sit up record in 1946 with 3,610. The story goes that they were straight legged. He was stationed in the Philippines, and played football for the US Army Air Corps team. I was told as a young man that his record still stood by a friend who "looked it up" while in basic training. I can't find it anywhere online. Any ideas where one might look? His name was Richard Wilinski (b. 1927). Arthur Wilinski (2015)
• While memory eludes me and I never cared for records, I believe I could do 80+ situps in a minute and 1000 quite easily in 20 minutes, though I never bothered to go further than a 1000 as I never went in for too many records. I did do 29 pull ups when asked by an ex marine, and around 150 pushups in a minute using a bar one time (gravity was too slow so i pulled myself down, its possibly more or less by a little i cant recall exactly.. never thought people cared tbh.) All around the age of 17-18. I also enjoyed doing situps where the arms were parallel, but for the most part I've never seen another do a proper situp with a straight body and arms behind/nextto the head. Also did 400m in under a min (55secs), reached international level in athletics, national level in many areas. But in the end, i still don't get why people need to justify it to anyone else. Except perhaps to set a reasonable level to define say fit or super fit. I agree 3k situps in an hour is someone who is fit at that, but if they can do world record levels at majority of areas, like me, then they can be called super fit. Matt Groom (2015)
• Ged Musto holds the record with 2,908 in one hour and was witnessed and adjudicated by a leisure centre full of watchers, myself included. Geoff McMillan (2014)
  • as mentioned above, Guinness did recognise this record at the time because they did not have their adjudicators present
• I'm trying to locate a plaque that was in the floor of the base gym at Guam, Iwo Jima, Clark, et al. My Uncle, CPO William Kusaila set the world record for the time when he was a Sea Bee in the Navy during WWII, 1942-ish. He was building airstrips at the time. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Just post it here if you can help. Wimp Nephew (2013)
• To Salmaan. No it is not, the most sit-ups recorded in one hour is that of 2,908 by Ged Musto who has held the record since 1999, it was adjudicated and has been verified..Details are above. Geoff McMillan (2014)
• The 12 year old guy ... that's nowhere near the record ... a guy did 1033 in 23 minutes ... the other one did 2k in an hour so no it's not a record (from sentivo43, Nov 2012)
• These guys do not have the biggest abs, those belong to body builders who want huge mass. These are endurance records (from 1984, Oct 2012)
• Do any of you know someone named bhupender singh negi he held a record for sit ups but it doesn't show over here. plz reply if anyone knows this. (from suraj, July 2012)
• One time i did a situp. it felt cool. (from Pazz cherofoot, June 2012)
• My son did 300 sit-ups today only to cinch the class record, watch out, Max is in the game. (from capesteve, May 2012)
• Mr. Kides is now a substitute teacher at my high school. he wears awesome neon shirts all the time. we call him the ab master (April 2012)
• I was wondering if anybody has broken the record on the decline sit-up? i wanted to break that record ... (from  roger coleman, Jan 2012)
• I am a 12 year old kid and i just did 1263 in 67 minuets is that a world record (i filmed it) (from Grant, Nov 2011).
• Goddam Lairs! :( (from Carlos, Oct 2011)
• I'm 13, have no defined abs, but I did 1000 yesterday and it only took me about 35 minutes. I was wondering if that's even significant compared to others my age (from Matthew, Sept 2011)
• In 1986 I broke the One Hour Crunch World Record (at the time). I did 3200 in 52 minutes. It was two months after watching another man break the same record on the "David Letterman Show". His record, which I broke, was 3120 in 60 minutes. (from Richard Glasser, Aug 2011)
• Awesome. Never thought this was actually possible. By the way, is this in the Guiness Book of World Records? What is the world record for most curl ups done by a 13 year old? (from Ginger, May 2011)
• I just did 200 sit ups and i'm only a teenager. Doing 110,00 is UNBELIEVABLE!
• I'm 13 we had our PE Fitness test 2day and i was wondering is 61 per min good and note I dont do them daily.
• I'm also only 13 and i did 1000 sit-ups in 15 minutes.
• I did 1000 in 20 minutes!!!!!
• I was doing Ab Crunches, as I workout everyday on it, and easily can do 1,738 in 1 hour. Which I did 2 days ago, so I usually do 700 in 22 minutes as I did yesterday, but I know I can easily go with more then 2 hours to 3 hours nonstop with 50 lbs, = 23 kilos in a few hours straight. This is on the Abdominal Crunch, 50 lbs nonstop. My nickname is Dartina, I also am a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Compete in Steeltip Darts and Marshall Arts.
• In 1963 i did 123 situps in 2 minutes in a supervised phy ed class, as part of the jfk fitness program. They were the old style going from prone to touching your knees with your elbows with hands locked behind your neck.
• I started doing sit-ups but rather than doing as many as I can. I started adding weights to my shoulders. Over the past 3 months, I am now up to 3st weights on my shoulders and can do 20 sit-ups 2x per day. I have to hook my feet under my bed frame and weigh the bed down. The weights I use consists of a jemmy bar + sledge hammer and 8 builders chisels tied together with string and cling film. I am 52 years old. Andrew Dyson. UK