A 6-foot-4 athlete nicknamed “Lumberjack Lance” will bring his sleeveless flannel and a pair of lacrosse balls to Ventura Boulevard Sunday in an attempt to raise his own mark for the most grappler pull-ups completed in one minute.
Lance Pecht is scheduled to make the attempt at 11 a.m. Sunday outside BUF Studio at 13514 Ventura Blvd., between Sunnyslope and Allott avenues in Sherman Oaks.
Grappler pull-ups add a considerable twist to the familiar exercise. Instead of simply gripping the bar, Pecht performs the pull-ups using lacrosse balls suspended over the bar, putting additional strain on the hands, wrists, forearms and upper body.
Pecht, a former Whitworth University basketball player, completed 31 grappler pull-ups in one minute July 12 at Body Unlimited Fitness in Spokane Valley, Washington, surpassing the official Guinness World Records mark of 29 held by Elias Benz of Switzerland.
The July feat came on Pecht’s 43rd birthday.
“Initially I just made up my mind. I wanted a world record,” Pecht told television station KXLY in Spokane after the attempt. “I started looking at pull-ups and things I was actually better at.”
The July performance was recorded from multiple camera angles and monitored by witnesses as part of the Guinness verification process. Contemporary reports said the evidence was being submitted to Guinness World Records for certification.
Pecht, who performs under the nickname “Lumberjack Lance,” wore a red-and-black sleeveless flannel for that attempt and managed 31 successful repetitions before straining for a 32nd.
Sunday’s attempt will again feature multiple camera angles, judges, a visible clock and a repetition counter, according to organizers.
Pecht is scheduled to begin warming up at 10:30 a.m., with the record attempt beginning at 11 a.m. on the front deck of the Ventura Boulevard fitness studio.
Organizers are billing Sunday’s effort as an attempt by Pecht to break his own mark.
Pecht told reporters after his July performance that he hoped the effort would encourage people to set more ambitious goals.
“I think oftentimes we train our minds to think smaller than what we’re capable of,” Pecht told KXLY. “I didn’t want to be the best in my area. I wanted to be the best in the world.”