It looks like record-breaking feats run in the Hall family. James Hall, the brother of 2017’s World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall, is an incredibly accomplished athlete in his own right: he’s been a professional rugby player for eight years and has Level 3 Certificates in personal training and in coaching rugby union.
Based in Bristol, a city not far from England’s west coast, Hall also trains clients in strongman — there’s little doubt he’s learned a thing or two from his brother — but one of his biggest focuses is clearly the ski erg. He just broke the world record in the 1,000-meter ski: 2 minutes and 49.7 seconds. Watch how gassed the guy is once it’s over.
He posted it with the comment,
Ok so I had another crack at the #skiergworldsprints New OPEN WR by nearly 2 seconds. 2.49.7
I heard afew whispers that my age category time had been beaten and just couldn’t let it lie. It may well get beaten as a few times are still to come in but now I can say that was truly my best effort!!! I lay on that floor for about 15mins at the end!
This is actually the second time he’s broken a record on the ski erg. While the video above shows him breaking the open world record, he set a British record for ages 30 to 39 back in August by completing 500 meters in 1 minute and 19.8 seconds. (That’s what he meant by ‘my age category time had been beaten.’)
It looks like these records are judged by Concept 2, the company that makes the ski erg, and not a large governing body like the Guinness World Records. But there’s reason to believe Concept 2 keeps a pretty close eye on how people are pushing the limits of their equipment.
[Concept 2 recently released a bike erg that uses the same flywheel to generate resistance. Check it out here!]
While it’s not the most popular conditioning tool, the ski erg is an awesome piece of equipment in its own right. While most cardio equipment engages the lower body, the ski erg trains the lats, triceps, pecs, and abs as you pull the handles down — and the more resistance you generate, the harder it gets. To reach world record-breaking levels on the thing must have been one of the most difficult workouts imaginable. Props to Mr. Hall.
Featured image via @james_hall_pt on Instagram.