Strong woman - Most consecutive pull-ups set world records by Crystal West
A former lawyer who six years ago struggled to manage a single pull-up has gone on to smash three world records in the discipline... at the age of 46.
Crystal West, from Palm Desert, California, has been dubbed the Queen of Pull-Ups after earning three world titles.
But it didn't always come so easily for the blonde, after she attempted her first pull-up at the age of 40 and found she was unable to complete even one.
She said: 'Since I was very athletic, I thought I could get 10 or 15 pull-ups easy.
'That day I got one, maybe one and a half, and I was really embarrassed. I thought "Wow, I can't do pull-ups".
'I went home thinking it was a terrible idea, but then my natural drive and self-discipline kicked in and I thought if it takes me ten years I'm going to do ten pull-ups.
'Everything snowballed from there.'
Today, Ms West can do an astonishing 36 pull-ups at a time and an incredible 148 in ten minutes.
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She set the new world record for the most consecutive pull-ups by a woman - smashing the previous best of 27 set by a woman in her 20s.
Her second title was earned in the 40 to 50-year-old women's division and the third was in the most added-weight pull-ups (36kg) in the women's open division.
Ms West works as a personal trainer, models for fitness magazines and does motivational speaking.
After setting herself the goal in 2005, she decided to try pull-ups every other day before her regular gym routine.
She said: 'I had to psyche myself up because in the beginning it hurts. It was really hard and I was really bad at it.
'However, each time I was able to do one more pull-up, I'd vow to keep going.
'I've always been a bit of an overachiever, so once I got to ten, I thought I should do 15 and when I got to 20, I thought "I've never even heard of a woman that can do 20".'
A former lawyer who six years ago struggled to manage a single pull-up has gone on to smash three world records in the discipline... at the age of 46.
Crystal West, from Palm Desert, California, has been dubbed the Queen of Pull-Ups after earning three world titles.
But it didn't always come so easily for the blonde, after she attempted her first pull-up at the age of 40 and found she was unable to complete even one.
She said: 'Since I was very athletic, I thought I could get 10 or 15 pull-ups easy.
'That day I got one, maybe one and a half, and I was really embarrassed. I thought "Wow, I can't do pull-ups".
'I went home thinking it was a terrible idea, but then my natural drive and self-discipline kicked in and I thought if it takes me ten years I'm going to do ten pull-ups.
'Everything snowballed from there.'
Today, Ms West can do an astonishing 36 pull-ups at a time and an incredible 148 in ten minutes.
She set the new world record for the most consecutive pull-ups by a woman - smashing the previous best of 27 set by a woman in her 20s.
Her second title was earned in the 40 to 50-year-old women's division and the third was in the most added-weight pull-ups (36kg) in the women's open division.
Ms West works as a personal trainer, models for fitness magazines and does motivational speaking.
After setting herself the goal in 2005, she decided to try pull-ups every other day before her regular gym routine.
She said: 'I had to psyche myself up because in the beginning it hurts. It was really hard and I was really bad at it.
'However, each time I was able to do one more pull-up, I'd vow to keep going.
'I've always been a bit of an overachiever, so once I got to ten, I thought I should do 15 and when I got to 20, I thought "I've never even heard of a woman that can do 20".'
