A HELENSBURGH-BASED fitness fanatic is aiming to become a world record holder this weekend - and he hopes his own superhuman efforts might inspire others to push themselves to the limit too.

Twenty-three-year-old Joe McCready will attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours: to do so, he must beat a target of 7,600 which was achieved by American John Orth in 2016.

Former Royal Marine Joe is no stranger to sweat-inducing workouts at The Journey in West Clyde Street, where he is now a manager.

His day-long endeavour will also raise funds for local mental health hub Jean’s Bothy, with more than £1,200 having been donated so far.

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Ahead of Saturday’s record-breaking bid, Joe told the Advertiser: “I’ve wanted to do it for a long time and now is the time for me to have a go at it.

“It’s one of those things, with lockdown and everything else over the whole of this year, it’s just been so strange and made me think about trying to help as many people as I can by doing what I do best.

“I wanted a challenge. I need something that’s going to push me.

“Since I left the Royal Marines it was a case of wanting that buzz back of pushing myself because normal life doesn’t really give you that same sense of buzz.

“This is that limit I want to push myself to. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to claim a little bit of self-gratitude as well.”

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After building a gym in his back garden in Balloch during lockdown to train for the event, Joe has been preparing relentlessly to make his own piece of history.

Confident in his chances of success, he said his ultimate mission is to encourage others to overcome their mental and physical barriers.

He said: “Challenges that people perceive to be impossible are where I thrive. I like being able to prove that people can do these kinds of things and if that motivates other people to do what they want to do then that’s great.

“Any time I’ve done one of these challenges there have always been people who’ve been motivated from it and realised that they can do stuff.

“That’s definitely part of the reason why I do it.

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“I want to prove something, not just to myself but to other people as well - that you can push past the pain barrier and achieve something.

“You don’t have to be so beaten down by everything that’s happening in the world, you can still bring some positivity out. It’s just a case of searching for it and doing it.

“There have been times when I’ve got up in the night and gone through high volume pull-up workouts when I really wasn’t feeling it after a day of work and having already trained that day. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s what you’ve got to do.

“I’m 100 per cent confident of beating the record. You can’t go into these things without being confident, otherwise there’s no point in doing it.

“You have to go in with the mindset of ‘I can do this’.”

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With Joe’s attempt set to be live streamed on Facebook to comply with the judging conditions, he will be buoyed by the online support which has already boosted his GoFundMe page.

He added: “It’s going to be hard and not very pleasant, but as you get into your zone you start bringing up points of motivation in your life - stuff that you’ve been through that was tough, then you break through.

“It sounds weird but you search your soul for tough stuff and try to bring that to the forefront of your mind.

“When I did 4,000 pull-ups in 10 hours the other week during training I wasn’t in the room at that point, I was somewhere else trying to battle my own demons.”

Joe’s challenge will start at 4pm on Saturday, November 28.

Search for gofundme.com/f/24h-pull-up-world-record to donate.

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