You've probably seen the videos. A guy with calloused hands, dripping sweat, and wearing—of all things—a pair of blue jeans, relentlessly grinding out rep after rep on a pull-up bar. That’s Truett Hanes. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he's the son of legendary bowhunter and endurance junkie Cameron Hanes. But Truett isn't just living in his father's shadow anymore. He’s carved out a space in the ultra-endurance world that most people find frankly terrifying.
We’re talking about Truett Hanes pull ups. Specifically, the kind of volume that makes your lats scream just thinking about it. On February 1, 2025, Truett did something that sounds like a typo: he completed 10,001 pull-ups in a single 24-hour period.
Honestly, the math is staggering. To hit that number, you’re looking at an average of roughly 7 reps every single minute for 24 hours straight. No sleep. Barely any breaks. Just you and the bar. It’s a feat of mental resilience that most "gym bros" couldn't fathom, but for Truett, it was a necessary redemption.
The Rollercoaster of World Records
The road to 10,001 wasn't a straight line. It was actually a bit of a heartbreak story first. Back in 2023, Truett set a world record by hitting 8,100 pull-ups in 24 hours. He was on top of the world. For exactly one day.
The very next day, an Australian named Gary Lloyd (sometimes cited as Harry in different reports, but Lloyd is the man on the leaderboard) absolutely shattered Truett’s record, tacking on another 500 reps. Imagine training for months, destroying your hands, and finally claiming a global title, only to have it snatched away while you're still icing your elbows.
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Truett didn't just shrug it off. He got obsessed.
He spent the next nine months in a training cycle that most would call "overkill." He was reportedly hitting around 120,000 reps in the half-year leading up to his second attempt. He wasn't just trying to beat the record; he wanted to put it out of reach. When he finally stepped back up to the bar in Salt Lake City, he didn't just edge out the old record—he blew past it to hit that iconic 10,001 mark.
What a "Daily Minimum" Looks Like
If you want to understand how someone gets to the point of doing 10,000 pull-ups, you have to look at what Truett calls his "bare minimum." For most of us, a good workout might be three sets of ten. For Truett? He starts his day with a 100-rep ritual.
The Morning Ritual
- 100 pull-ups total.
- Done as 10 reps every minute.
- Finished in exactly 10 minutes.
This isn't even "the workout" for him; it's basically the equivalent of a cup of coffee. He’s also known for his "30-day challenge" which involves 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, and 100 air squats every single day. It sounds simple, but the magic (and the misery) is in the total lack of rest days.
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During his peak training for the 10k record, things got much weirder. He was spending up to six hours a day in the gym. His sessions weren't just about strength; they were about pacing. You can't sprint a marathon, and you can't sprint 10,000 pull-ups. He learned to work at a "sustainable" pace of 4 to 6 reps per minute, often taking 5-10 minute breaks only after several hours of work.
The Training Split
Honestly, his routine is pretty chaotic because he also runs marathons—often in jeans, because apparently, he hates himself (or just loves the "Keep Hammering" brand).
- Weighted Pulls: Twice a week to build raw power.
- Max Reps Per Hour: Once or twice a week, he’d aim for 700+ reps in 60 minutes.
- Endurance Blocks: 4-6 hour sessions where he’d just sit at the bar and grind.
- Running: 10 miles a day to keep his aerobic base high.
The "Jeans" Factor and Mental Games
Why the jeans? It’s become a bit of a trademark. He ran the Austin Marathon in 2:42 wearing denim. He does pull-ups in jeans. While some people on Reddit or Instagram call it a gimmick, there’s a psychological layer to it. It’s about "leaning into the suffering."
If you make the conditions worse—hotter, stiffer, more uncomfortable—the actual task feels more manageable by comparison. It’s a page straight out of the David Goggins playbook. Speaking of Goggins, Truett was actually inspired by him. Goggins famously did 67,000 pull-ups in nine months during his own record-chasing days. Truett took that blueprint and refined it.
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The Critics: Job vs. Grind
It’s not all praise in the fitness community, though. If you dive into the forums, you’ll see people debating his "ultra-hard" lifestyle. When Truett set his first record of 8,100, he was working a full-time job. He’d wake up early, hit the bar, go to work, and come home to hit the bar again.
By the time he went for the 10,001 record, he had transitioned into being a full-time athlete/influencer. Some critics argue that training 6 hours a day is "easy" when you don't have a 9-to-5. But let’s be real: regardless of your schedule, doing 10,000 pull-ups is a level of physical trauma that most humans will never understand. His hands were literally raw, bleeding meat by the end of that 24-hour window.
How to Apply the Hanes Method (Safely)
You probably shouldn't go out and try to do 1,000 pull-ups today. You will get rhabdo. Your tendons will quit. But there are pieces of the Truett Hanes pull ups philosophy that actually work for regular people.
- Grease the Groove: Instead of doing one massive workout, do small sets throughout the day. Put a bar in your doorway. Do 5 reps every time you walk under it.
- Focus on the "Lead": Truett and experts like Major Charles Armstrong (the OG pull-up king) emphasize leading with the chest. Don’t just pull with your biceps. Engage your lats and drive your elbows down.
- The Minute Clock: Using an EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) structure is the best way to build volume. Start with 1-2 reps per minute for 10 minutes.
- Consistency Over Intensity: Truett’s "100 a day" minimum is more effective for long-term growth than doing 500 reps once a week and being too sore to move for six days.
Truett’s story isn't just about a world record. It’s about what happens when you get embarrassed by losing a title and decide to come back twice as strong. He’s currently eyeing more "insane" feats, including sub-3-hour marathons and likely defending that pull-up record if anyone dares to touch it again.
If you're looking to level up your own pull-up game, start with a volume test. Find a number you can do comfortably without failing, and try to hit that every single morning for 30 days. No excuses. No "I'm tired." Just get to the bar.
To get started on your own volume journey, you should track your "Maximum Reps in 10 Minutes" this week to establish your current baseline. Once you have that number, try to beat it by just 1% every week for the next two months.