Anything is possible for mental health patients, says record breaker
CRIMINOLOGIST ALEX IS ALSO WORKING PART-TIME AT NHS UNIT
A FORMER Nottingham Trent University student and 15-time Guinness World Record holder has stressed the importance of mental health and exercise.
Alex Goulding is a personal trainer and mental health coach who holds more than a dozen world bests for push-up-related categories.
The 29-year-old broke his first record doing 51 side push-ups in one minute, but he has since broken his own record five times. It stands at 63 side push-ups in a minute.
He also holds the world records for the most 180 push-ups in a minute, the most side jump push-ups with claps in a minute, and the most push up to planks in a minute.
This is on top of the record for the most consecutive double-high-five push-ups and the fastest time to climb 10 levels via plyometric pushups.
Alex studied for a degree in criminology at NTU from 2013 to 2016 and then completed a master’s in the same subject.
He now focuses on helping people with their fitness and mental health, and believes anything is possible with the right support.
Alex said: “I have been involved in exercise in some aspect for the majority of my life.
“Growing up I did a bit of karate and a lot of gymnastics, which I think set me in good stead when I got older, and a bit of football.”
He got a bench press for Christmas when he was 15, and then he signed up to a gym when he was 16.
Alex says that he hasn’t missed a week since joining and the thing he loves most is the community aspect.
However, this drastically changed when the pandemic struck.
“When gyms closed as a result of the lockdown that was massive for me, as my safe space or a space I could go when I had stress on my mind for an hour or two of exercise was gone.
“When lockdown happened a lot of people were struggling, and I also had a lot going on in my life just before lockdown, and I wasn’t in a good place really.”
Alex said he still did exercise at home but because he had limited equipment he was struggling, so decided to look for some push-up variations on Youtube. He added: “I remember thinking at the time that all of these were amazing.”
Five months later he broke the most side jump push-ups record.
However, by the time he was able to confirm everything the record was broken by someone else, but he did not give up and was able to again break the record.
Regarding the pandemic, he said: “After going through a bit of a rubbish time myself, I thought I would give back to the community and work within the mental health sector.”
Alongside private coaching, Alex works part-time at an NHS mental health site where he helps people with their day-to-day activities as well as exercise.
He has also set up a group for socially isolated men struggling with their mental health, which he described as “really rewarding.” Last year, he was awarded an honorary degree by Nottingham Trent University for his success with fitness and mental health.
“I had such a good time at uni, it was really special to be recognised by the uni, somewhere I have such great memories and where I grew up a lot. I always felt so supported by them,” he said.
He now lives in Bedfordshire and hopes to show that anything is possible with hard work, determination and dedication.
“I just want to try to spread the message as much as possible about people exercising when they are in a bad place of feeling down.”