Cameron High Senior’s Pullup Totals A Serious Flex
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TRIADELPHIA - How many pullups can you do in a 24-hour period?
That's a challenge Cameron High School senior Braxton Birch accepted on Saturday, Oct. 10. The West Virginia state and OVAC wrestling champion clicked off 4,037 pullups at The Total Athlete Gym to surpass his goal of 4,030 set by David Goggins back in 2013, a former Navy Seal and one of the world's best Ultra Endurance Athletes. At the time, the mark was atop the Guinness Book of World Records.
"I feel accomplished," the 18-year-old Birch said. "He (Goggins) failed twice before he reached 4,000. I did it on my first attempt."
Birch is already an accomplished wrestler, both locally and at the statewide level. He won the OVAC Ron Mauck as a sophomore and the West Virginia Class A-AA state championship last winter, despite missing most of the season with an injury.
"I was shocked when he told me what he wanted to do," Braxton's father, Chris, said. "He started out doing 100 pullups a day for 100 straight days. He really got hooked last summer and did 1,000 in one day."
According to research by the older Birch, less than 20 people have ever done 4,000 in a 24-hour period.
"I saw a bunch of videos on YouTube of people doing pullups. One of the guys I really like watching, Truett Hanes, would always post videos of himself breaking records," Braxton said of his start. "I liked what he was doing and wanted to try it."
Birch did sets of five to start and a mark was put on a white board for each pullup he finished. The key?
"To keep remembering it's a marathon and to keep pacing myself. Even then, it was hard," he explained. "Around the 2,000-to-3,000 mark I was really struggling. By far, that's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."
For every 1,000 pullups he did, he would take approximately a 40-minute break where he'd eat some food to try and regain some strength.
"I'm still super sore," he admitted nearly a week later. "It was very hard, but I'm not done. I'm going to continue and break world records until I get to the real one which is around 12,000.
“I'm super young, 18, and I have a bunch of time, so ...”
Just in case there was a chance at some type of record, Birch had people in his corner.
"I had people checking to make sure I wasn't jumping and that my chin was over the bar every time," he noted. "I also had every single pullup documented via livestream."
While, according to Birch, there is no real technique, it's all about "proper pullup form and being tough."
He also said the workouts he's receiving will definitely help his wrestling skills.
"It's going to help me with my shots. It's going to help me with my pulling. It's going to help with everything," he admitted.
Birch revealed that he recently committed to continue his academic and wrestling careers at West Liberty University.
When handing out thanks, he heaped praise on a pair of individuals.
"Thanks go out to my dad. Without his support I definitely would not have been able to do it," he said. "He's been pushing me since I was like 5 years old. My girlfriend, Sydney Hupp, was there the whole time. She even fed me when I didn't want to lift my arms."
The next number in his quest for the top is 8,100 set by Hanes in 2023.
"I want to reach that next summer and see where I can go from there."
Hanes has since performed 10,001 twice. The all-time record is 12,345 by Mexico's Enrique Zapata set on Jan. 31, 2026, while 22-year-old Virginia native Xavier Dillard reportedly did 12,412 but the mark has not been verified by GBWR.