A student inspired by his love of kung fu movies pushed himself to new limits to smash a push ups record.

Zhang Yuxuan (China) is now the proud holder of the Guinness World Records title for most four finger push ups (two arms) with claps in one minute, with a massive 22.

The 21-year-old,who is studying at Shaanxi Aviation Vocational and Technical College, set his sights on a challenge just like this one at a young age.

While his love for kung fu movies was strong, Zhang struggled with his physical fitness and used traditional Chinese medicine in the hope of building up his strength.

At the age of 13, he decided to take matters into his own hands and began training with weights at home and doing push ups, slowly building up both his strength and his confidence.

In his second year of junior high school, he started to attempt the finger push ups he’d seen in kung fu movies, soon managing to do 10 of them in a row.

Zhang said: “I trained myself by watching reference videos and materials online. Soon, I realized that no one seemed to have demonstrated finger push ups while clapping at the same time. This stimulated my desire for the challenge.

“When I was a child, I watched the TV programme Guinness China Night, so I thought a Guinness World Records title should be my goal.”

Although he had planted the seed of the challenge in his heart, Zhang didn’t know where to start.

“At that time, I was in high school. When everyone talked about their dreams, I would always say that I wanted to challenge the Guinness World Records title, but my classmates would always laugh at me, saying I was bragging,” he said.

It wasn’t until March 2022 that Zhang met Zhang Shuang, another Guinness World Records title holder, through social media. Zhang Shuang is a sports blogger who obtained a title for the most consecutive handstand skips, and was kind enough to guide Zhang through the process of getting a GWR title.

Now Zhang is hoping to inspire others to find their own confidence through exercise.

He said: “I recommend everyone to persist in physical exercise. Do not underestimate basic training. Gradually and properly, push ups can be done from a few minutes to one hour. People who enjoy figuring things out can try finger push ups, which also involve the application of physics and pressure knowledge.”

Achieving his dream made Zhang feel particularly happy, and he immediately wanted to share it with everyone, especially his grandmother.

He said: “My grandmother is the most important person in my life. When no one supported me, only she encouraged me. My grandmother is an ordinary farmer, but she taught me many truths. If it weren’t for her support, I wouldn’t have achieved this honour.

“I started dreaming of breaking world records when I was in 8th grade, and it took me seven years to finally achieve it. I remember a saying: Dreams should still be pursued, in case they come true one day. This has been proven true for me.”

Zhang already has big plans to break more records.

“I think I have the ability to challenge records for 1-hour push ups, 3-hour plank, fingertip push ups with weights, handstand walking, and sit ups. Next, I will prepare for these record applications and train seriously, so please look forward to it!”