Last month, 8-year-old TownLake YMCA member Isaac S. set a Kids World Record for the most consecutive sit-ups. We asked his father, Daniel, more about Isaac’s accomplishment and what drove him to achieve this goal:
YMCA: What was Isaac’s inspiration to achieve this record?
DANIEL: First, he’s a very focused and determined child overall. But as it relates to sit-ups, I think it secondly came down to brotherly competition. We were just doing normal sets of 20-30 consecutive sit-ups for our mid-section strength development together at the Y, and Isaac decided one day to do 70. Then a few days later, his 12-year old brother Sam did 200. Isaac then wanted to beat Sam, and did 710!!! That seemed like a rather absurdly high amount, so we looked up the world record for his age on-line, and it was only 282 (another child increased it to 320 just before we videoed Isaac’s record). So, we then asked him if he’d like to try and beat the posted record on video for it to be “official” with Kids World Records, and he really wanted to, which is when he did 611. Basically, just everyday normal kid-level sit-ups pretty quickly transpired into the world record.
YMCA: What was it like as Isaac’s parent to support him in his effort?
DANIEL: I’m very proud of who Isaac is as a person. He’s very determined, but still playful when doing something hard. He picks himself up quickly when things don’t go his way. He focuses on the positive. I think all of that is what led so quickly to the record. I think most record attempts take months or years of grinding away at 1% better than the last personal best. He improved >10x from one attempt to another (70 to 710), so I can’t say we supported him through tedious rigor. But his mom and I are just generally proud of his attitude and energy he puts into everyday ordinary things, as well as sit-ups records!
YMCA: How did it feel when you got the official news that the record was his?
DANIEL: Pretty shocked – It’s still a little hard to believe. Do I honestly believe there is no 7-9 year old child in the world who can do more? No. There’s children in serious gymnastics, wrestling, and circus activities that I think could surpass Isaac. So I realize he’s a bit lucky for his parents to be able to read English (KWR is in English) and have the time for and access to the internet. But he’s still probably in the top 0.1 or 0.01%…. That’s says a lot about his determination. Was probably pretty easy to stop at 300, 400, or 500 sit-ups after he already broke the record…. 611 takes some serious will power.
YMCA: How did the YMCA facilitate this accomplishment?
DANIEL: The Y provides a great place for families to do fitness together. It’s very nice that we can use the weights and machines upstairs together, even though Isaac is only 9.
YMCA: Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about Isaac and his world record?
DANIEL: The power of positivity is underappreciated and can unlock real untapped potential. Isaac is a little bundle of positive possibility. We all probably can untap some amazing things if we don’t let our less helpful thoughts slow us down.
