Just because much of the world is currently stuck inside their homes doesn’t mean that fitness challenges at record-breaking attempts come to a screeching halt. British Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson took on a particularly lofty (and slightly ridiculous) task when he and fellow gymnast Luke Stoney attempted to complete 1,000 back flips in 24 hours.
“I don’t think this has ever been done before,” Wilson told the camera at the very beginning of the video. “And I think it’s absolutely, stupendously silly.”
Wilson and Stoney were each going to take on 334 backflips, while Wilson’s viewers, affectionately dubbed the “Wilsonators,” would send in videos of them completing the challenge, rounding up to 1,000 backflips. Each gymnast had a different approach to how they would achieve this feat. Wilson figured that if he could do six flips in one minute, then he’d get to 60 in ten minutes easily. Stoney on the other hand, had a goal of finishing the challenge in three hours, with completing 18.5 flips every 10 minutes (no, half-flips aren’t a thing, so he’ll have to fudge the time in their to reach his goal).
As the challenge began, the two gymnasts were all ready to take on whatever was in store for them. But it wasn’t as easy as they made it out to be—especially on their core muscles. “I need a new set of abs,” Wilson complained after making it to 100 backflips. Stoney wasn’t in much better shape. “I’ll tell you what guys,” he told the camera. “That is hard, man. I’m really struggling with my abs.”
After a slight pause in the video to encourage viewers to reach out to friends and family who may be struggling during the pandemic, the duo get right back in on the action. Stoney achieved his backflips in just under three hours. Wilson, on the other hand, believes that he broke the world record for most backflips in an hour, as he completed his set in 59 minutes.
“Get the Guinness World Records on the phone,” he told the camera. “No one else has ever done 334 backflips in 59 minutes.” (To actually set a record, a representative from Guinness would need to be present to verify the attempt, so his mind is in the right place).
After a video compilation of fans completing the challenge, Wilson sat down to break down what happened. Although each gymnast noted that they had abdominal pain for two weeks afterwards, both were proud of themselves for taking on such a challenge and completing it. “My mind wanted to stop,” Wilson said, “but it shows the power of the mind. The right resilience, determination, desire, belief—you can achieve anything you want.”
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