Hackney woman beats men’s world record
Hackney record breaker Rhian Cowburn whipped a 44 foot, 10 kilogram rope almost 11,000 times. Picture: Strong + Bendy - Credit: Strong + Bendy
A Hackney woman has broken a men’s world record by whipping a 44 foot, 10 kilogram rope for an hour.
Family and friends watch Rhian beat the record via live stream. Picture: Strong + Bendy - Credit: Strong + Bendy
Founder of Strong + Bendy gym in Hackney Wick, Rhian Cowburn took on battle rope training to cope with her business being closed during the coronavirus lockdown.
Rhian became intrigued about the world record as her confidence achieving unbroken sets over increasingly longer periods of time grew.
She soon discovered there was no women’s record and all she needed was a minimum of 22 minutes to set the bar.
The fitness instructor and gym owner collapsed after an hour of battle ropes, beating the men's record of 59 minutes and 28 seconds. Picture: Strong + Bendy - Credit: Strong + Bendy
The men’s record to beat stood at 59 minutes and 28 seconds and was set by Ambrish Parmar.
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Rhian said: “It was clear to me that setting the women’s record was going to be relatively easy. An unbroken 22 minute set on the battle ropes had become the norm for me, I did it in nearly every training session.
“So for me the goal was really to break the men’s record.”
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Rhian took up battle rope training as a way to cope after her business closed during the coronavirus lockdown. Picture: Strong + Bendy - Credit: Strong + Bendy
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Despite the men’s and women’s records being categorised separately, Guinness World Records requires exactly the same length and width of rope be used.
“It’s an annoying fact that men typically start from a place of having 40 to 50 per cent more upper body strength than women, and of course there is normally a height difference too.
“Initially I thought it would be fairer if the rules stipulated a slightly shorter rope could be used for women, however this wasn’t the case.
“I have proven that when it comes to battle ropes, men aren’t stronger, they just have a head start - with enough determination [the advantage] can be overcome,” Rhian added.
The rope had to be a minimum of 40ft long and one inch thick and be whipped from hip to shoulder height with each repetition. Rhian whipped the ropes at a rate of three repetitions per second, 10,800 times in total, in order to beat the world record.
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The attempt was overseen by a specialist witness, an independent witness and two timekeepers. Video footage was then verified by Guinness World Records specialist team.
Rhian runs battle ropes classes at Strong + Bendy.
For more information or to learn battle ropes from the world record holder, visit www.strongandbendy.co.uk
