Minnesota Man Set to Break Muscle Up World Record in Rice Friday

Tyler Shilson of Sartell is a strong man and knows how to push himself.

He placed three times at the Minnesota State High School Wrestling Championships grappling for Centennial High School in Blaine. And in college, he wrestled for Chattanooga and Wisconsin and was a 3-Time All-American at Augsburg. In fact, a year ago this coming Saturday, he captained the 2023 National Championship team.

This Friday, the now 24-year-old personal trainer and wrestling coach will try to break the Guinness World Record for the most bar muscle ups in a 24-hour period and raise money for a foundation created for a fallen friend.

WHAT IS A MUSCLE UP?

A "muscle up" is a specialized pull-up that requires Shilson to hang from a bar, and then pull himself up and above the bar, locking his arms out at the top.

Now, rinse and repeat at least 1,300 more times.

The move is used in Crossfit and advanced fitness programs -- and it's anything but easy.

GOING FOR THE RECORD

The current record for the bar muscle up is held by Brandon Tucker of Columbus, Ohio who in January 2022 set the Guinness World Record, performing 1,300 muscle ups in 24 hours.

But it was a live stream of internet personality Truett Hanes setting a pull-up record last October that prompted Shilson to try to break the muscle up record.

"I was deeply inspired by this and wanted to be a part of something like it," Shilson writes in a fundraising message on "The Curtis LeMair Legacy Foundation" website.

RAISING MONEY IN MEMORY OF A FRIEND

Tyler Shilson (PHOTO: Pursuit Wrestling)

Shilson's attempt this Friday is raising pledge money for the LeMair Legacy Foundation, created after a good friend of Shilson's -- college wrestler Curtis LeMair -- died in his sleep from "Sudden Cardiac Arrest" from an undiagnosed heart problem that made his heart twice the size it should have been.

The LeMair Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to be "committed to making a difference, changing student-athlete lives, and raising awareness about preventable death caused by Sudden Cardiac Arrest, or SCA."

You can make a pledge on the Curtis LeMair Legacy Foundation website.

Shilson says he hopes to inspire other people to do hard things. "I believe there is tremendous growth to be had in the depths of difficult things."

IF YOU'RE GOING...

If you want to witness Tyler Shilson descend into the depths of difficult things -- trying to break the world muscle up record -- you're invited to Pursuit Wrestling in Rice on Friday, March 22nd between 8 and noon.