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If you were looking for fitness inspiration today then you have come to the right place because Joe DeMarco, a 61-year-old vegan, just set a new toes-to-bar world record. The toes-to-bar abs exercise is an advanced CrossFit exercise that requires incredible abdominal strength and he demolished the previous world record.
Joe DeMarco’s goal was 600 in 60 minutes. The previous toes-to-bar world record was 466. He smashed that record and beat his own goal.
61-Year-Old Vegan Sets ‘Toes-To-Bar’ Ab Exercise World Record
If you are unfamiliar with the toes-to-bar move, you will see it demonstrated in the video below. Essentially, it is a dead hang + leg lift but instead of stopping at 90 degrees you lift your toes all the way up to touch the bar. This full 180 degree lift, from 6 o’clock to 12, absolutely blasts the abs.
Why did he set out to break this world record? Well, as a 61-year-old vegan and previous world record holder of the most push-ups in 8 and 12 hours (15,261 and 21,008 respectively), he wanted to show the world that at his age *and* while being a vegan, nothing will hold him back.
DeMarco competed as a bodybuilder for 20 years of his life. Upon retiring, he stayed jacked (as one does) by lifting regularly and following his 60th birthday the competitive urge struck him again. That is when he set about setting the new toes-to-bar Guinness World Record.
Check it out:
For context, he completed 602 T2B’s in 60 minutes. At the novice level, men are expected to be able to do 1-3 reps. The average male lifter can/should be able to complete 16 toes-to-bar lifts. ‘Advanced’ level is considered anything about 20 reps… 602 in 60 minutes!
This video shows how to do the exercise and progress:
Before I injured my lower back two weeks ago, I worked on my core 4 days a week. I’m not ashamed to admit I have visible abs definition. But the thought of doing more than 75 (25×3) of these in an hour makes me sick. Breathing and laughing the next day would be excruciating after an abs workout like that!
Why vegan?
Joe DeMarco’s achievement is all the more spectacular because he gets all of his protein from plant-based sources. The website PlantBasedNews has this quote from DeMarco who said “my journey to becoming a vegan was a long road. I grew up in an Italian family, in an Italian neighborhood. I honestly did not know a single vegetarian/vegan growing up. I wasn’t even familiar with the concept.”
He eats primarily whole foods, avoids process foods, ‘snacks,’ and stays well hydrated every single day. And on his YouTube channel (see that video above) he regularly documents his workout routine and nutritional advice, for those out there who might be curious about a plant-based lifestyle and protein absorption.
His videos on biceps tendonitis in particular have received a lot of attention!