Pinole resident Holly Reese has twice set the Guinness World Record for most push-ups in an hour by a woman. Now, at 64, she’s aiming to reclaim the title.
“I was actually the first woman to set any record in that category, and I then broke it. Now I’m going to try and get it back,” says Reese, a healthy aging coach and lifelong athlete.
On Sunday, Reese will attempt more than 1,575 push-ups in an hour at Finnish Hall in Berkeley at a free event open to the public.
Reese first set the record at age 61 on Aug. 19, 2023, when she completed 1,036 push-ups during a trial run in an Oakland martial arts studio.
“I had video cameras going, I had my judges, I had it all set up in the studio, and I had some people from the public in there,” she says. “I was like, ‘Well, Guinness wanted a minimum of 1,000, and, technically, I just did that.’”
She nabbed the record and an official certificate. But, unsatisfied with the conditions of the testrun — a hot room and a slippery yoga mat — she tried again.
“I knew I would get more,” she says.
On Sept. 30, 2023, at Unity of Walnut Creek, Reese broke her own mark with 1,207 push-ups — and set a new Guinness record. Here’s the video.
Operation reclaim title
Even after setting that record, she hadn’t reached her limit: “I still had gas in the tank,” she says.
She continued to stay active and kept the possibility of going again in the back of her mind.
After 59-year-old DonnaJean Wilde of Magrath, Alberta, Canada, set a new record of 1,575 push-ups in an hour in September 2024, Reese decided to take another shot.
“I’ve always wanted to do more, to see how much I can do, and it’s always personal, not really against anyone else. I know I have more to put out, so I go for it,” she says.
In early 2025, she started training; as year progressed, she became more regimented.
“There are, of course, a lot of push-ups in there — a lot of different types of push-ups — and training around the supportive muscles involved in doing a push-up and the whole body,” she says.
She incorporated meditation and visualization, along with focusing on consistent nasal breathing: “The first time I instituted that protocol, I doubled the number of push-ups in my sessions,” she says about breathwork.
When people hear about her pursuit, they tend to assume she’s doing only a few hundred push-ups. Reese says, “When I tell them I have to beat 1,575, they just get a blank look.”
Sources of strength
Reese credits martial arts training during her youth for teaching her discipline and perseverance.
“I got a great foundation in learning about yourself, your potential and what you want to do and then doing it,” she says. “We can always do more than we think we can.”
Her love of push-ups began at an early age, as did a certain ambition: “I had a dream since I was a kid to set a Guinness World Record. I just didn’t know what it would be,” she says.
That goal took on added significance after she battled a rare autoimmune disorder in her 40s.
“I learned what it felt like to be old and debilitated,” Reese recalls. “It took me 10 years to recover. I was very much a stick figure at the end of that, but I built myself back.”
The experience also shaped her work: “I have a great empathy and understanding for older adults and the challenges they face as they age,” says Reese, who teaches older adults how to create and maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.
Noting that her clients are ecstatic about her attempt to reclaim the record, she says, “Part of my passion is to be a role model for what you can achieve when you’re older — or at any age. My tagline is ‘Age is irrelevant. Never, ever give up on your dreams.’”
Community contest in the Castro
Rikki’s, a women’s sports bar in San Francisco’s Castro, supported Reese’s upcoming attempt by hosting a push-up contest on May 24.
The idea came from one of Reese’s friends, a regular at the bar. “We immediately said yes. Setting a push-up record is super badass, and Holly’s story is really inspiring,” says Danielle Thoe, Rikki’s co-owner and general manager.
Thoe, who competed on behalf of the bar, says the contest appealed to the competitive nature of patrons and gave contestants a chance to showcase their strength in a fun, supportive environment.
Before the contest, Reese performed a five-minute demonstration.
Among those attending was Franco Stevens, founder of Curve magazine and co-founder of the Curve Foundation, a nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people, who said of Reese: “They call her the Lavender Legend, which I think is completely fitting. And to try to break the Guinness World Record for most push-ups by a woman in an hour — at 64 years of age — is superhuman.”
Yet the afternoon brought a setback. Making her way to greet Stevens, Reese struck the corner of the bar and bruised her ribs.
The injury left her status uncertain, and she was willing to postpone the date of her attempt. But, focusing on healing, with rest, acupuncture and herbal remedies, she trusted the months of training behind her.
Ready, set, push-up
On June 5, her 64th birthday, Reese put her recovery to the test with an hour-long push-up session. The result convinced her to move forward with her original plan.
While it remains to be seen if this weekend’s event will be Reese’s final attempt, what’s certain is the work she’s invested in reaching this moment: “This has pushed me harder than anything I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m super excited about it and know I can do it,” Reese says. “But after this, would I do it again? I’m not sure.”
Holly Reese appears at 4 p.m. June 14 at Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley; visit healthyagingtranformations.com.