Crossfitter sets pullup world record

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In high school, John Bocek said he could barely do one pull-up. He later attended Virginia Military Institute, where pull-ups became his “thing.”

Now, Bocek, 34, can do 5,800 more pull-ups than he could in high school.

Bocek, who works at Merrill Lynch by day, completed 5,801 pull-ups over a 24-hour period this past weekend, potentially setting the Guinness World Record for the under-explored

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Bocek has been training for the marathon pull-up session for the last two years.

“All I did for two years was pull-ups,” he said, noting that he actually didn’t do any other exercise other than pull-ups — no legs, no cardio, no weights — during that time. “It’s probably against every personal trainer’s advice.”

For much of the time, Bocek trained at Ballston CrossFit, which his friend owns. Sometimes, he’d go in and train for six hours in the middle of the night to acclimate his body to working at a time when it wants to be sleeping.

He completed the 5,801 pull-ups at Ballston CrossFit in front of a couple of dozen people who flowed in and out of the gym over the 24 hours. The onlookers consumed pizza and beer while they watched. Bocek chowed on cold mashed sweet potatoes, beef jerky, two full jars of crunchy peanut butter, flax seeds and a slice of pizza.

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