Chinese man sets Guinness World Record by doing pushups, but here is the catch

A man from China took pushups to a whole new level by performing the popular exercise using four fingers. Zhang Yuxuan, an ardent fan of Chinese martial art form Kung fu, set a Guinness World Record for doing the most number of pushups in a minute on four fingers, along with claps.

He achieved the feat by performing 22 sets, something that took him years to perfect. The 21-year-old, who is a student at Shaanxi Aviation Vocational and Technical College, dreamt of completing a challenge like this at an early age. During his second year of junior high school, he began practicing the finger pushups and was quickly able to reach the target of 10.

"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," he said, according to the Guinness World Records website.

"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. 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 added. 

Zhang Yuxuan sheds light on his journey to a world record 

The record-holder tipped the hat to his grandmother, who he says "encouraged" him to pursue the goal. "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," he said. 

With the world record now in his possession, Yuxuan hopes to inspire others to achieve confidence by following a fitness regimen. According to him, doing finger pushups not only challenges one's physical strength, but also their physics aptitude and "pressure knowledge".