Vegan Bodybuilder Sets New Guinness World Record At 61 Years Old

Vegan bodybuilder Joe DeMarco has set a Guinness World Record at the age of 61.

DeMarco, who is a two-time masters national bodybuilding champion, chiropractor, and author, recently performed 602 “toes to bar” in one hour, setting the new record.

The toes to bar movement is common in gymnastics and CrossFit workouts, and requires athletes to hang from a bar with straight arms, then lift their feet up over their head to touch the bar. It is considered an advanced variation on leg raises.

On March 2, 2026, DeMarco performed 602 toes to bar movements in 60 minutes, passing the previous record of 466 and setting a new Guinness World Record.

DeMarco told Plant Based News (PBN) that he wanted to show that “we are all ageless if we take care of our bodies,” and said that exercise and a plant-based diet are the keys to “longevity and health.”

In 2022, DeMarco broke two Guinness World Records in a single day. At 57 years old, he claimed the records for the most pushups performed in eight and 12 hours with 15,261 and 21,008, respectively, breaking the second record by nearly 1,000 pushups.

DeMarco said that he “always loved to exercise. He received a weight set on his eighth birthday and went on to practice gymnastics in high school and college. After college, he competed for 20 years as a bodybuilder before retiring, but continued lifting weights and returned to competitions in 2024 after turning 60.

‘I try to keep my meal preparation simple and quick’

Photo shows the chalk-covered hands of vegan bodybuilder and former gymnast Joe DeMarco, who has set a new Guinness World Record at the age of 61 by performing 602 “toes to bar” movements in one hour — Joe DeMarco DeMarco received his first-ever weight set on his eighth birthday

DeMarco has dabbled with meat-free diets on and off since college, and has been vegan since 2017, when his son asked him if he wanted to try a 100 percent plant-based diet. “I agreed, and the 2 of us have never looked back,” DeMarco said.

“My journey to becoming a vegan was a long road,” he explained. “I grew up in an Italian family, in an Italian neighborhood. I honestly did not know a single vegetarian/vegan growing up,” he said, and added, “I wasn’t even familiar with the concept.”

He told PBN that he avoids sugar, processed foods, and “snacks,” and drinks plenty of water and some juice every day. He said, “I’m a big believer in always preparing my meals in advance,” and added that his wife, Lori, is also an “excellent” vegan cook.

“I will cook up four to five meals at a time,” DeMarco said. “I will stir-fry various types of beans, rice, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, broccoli, etc., and then place it all into containers for the next couple of days. Basically, I try to keep my meal preparation simple and quick. That is important!”

DeMarcho also runs a YouTube channel under the name OcraMed Health, where he offers workouts, stretches, and plant-based nutrition advice for people of all ages.