Sweating it out for Guinness record

KOTTAYAM: He may be a school dropout, but the 32-year-old auto driver Johny James, from Villoonny, has set his sights on the Guinness Book of World Records. He is planning to enter the record book for taking the maximum number of push-ups in one hour.

Johny, who practiced wrestling from a tender age, is now planning to set a record  by doing more than 3,400 push-ups.

Impressed by the achievement of a Thodupuzha native who took 2,198 push-ups, he is attempting to score a record at a meet to be held on November 2nd at Mannanam.  Right now, the Guinness record is held by Carlton Williams, who took 1,874 push-ups in one hour.  

Johny says he was a wrestler from school days and represented the Medical College High School, Arpookara, at the state wrestling championship in 1997-98. He emerged first and ever since, he has been hooked to body building.

 “Due to this passion for body building, I did not attend classes regularly which forced me to leave school while I was in class nine. Then I worked as a private bus driver in the Kottayam – Karippunthuttu route for eight years still pursuing my passion for body building”, said Johny. He is planning to take 20 push-ups at a stretch, then take a one-second break and continue to take the maximum number in one hour.

He began his body building exercise while he was just 13 and began with a local gymnasium at Villoonny. Later, he started a new gymnasium, Olympian, at Mannanam with his friends Manoj and Balu.

He has no special diet…only homemade food.  

Many dignitaries are expected to witness his feat and the entire exercise will be recorded and sent to the Guinness World Records authorities.