In his latest video, fitness YouTuber Brandon William teams up with powerlifter Adam Soaf to take on the U.S. Olympic Gymnast Strength Test, a series of rigorous physical challenges designed to help the national team select the best of the best.
The first event is a 25-meter sprint, with a time of 3.4 seconds or less required in order to meet Olympic standards. Brandon goes first and achieves a time of 3.84 seconds, which is still technically a passing score for competitive gymnasts. Adam narrowly beats him with a time of 3.67.
Next up is the long jump. An Olympic gymnast needs to be able to jump a minimum of 270 cm from a standing start, while a competitive gymnast should be able to jump 250 cm. Brandon’s jump comes in at 274 cm, meaning he would make the team on this round, while Adam manages a distance of 281 cm. “I didn’t think I would be able to do that,” he says.
The third event in the test is the rope climb. “It might not look that crazy on camera, but this is actually a really high climb,” says Brandon, “and we have to do this in 5.6 seconds or less to meet the Olympic standard.” Adam fails this one almost instantly, and while Brandon does complete it, he takes too long to meet even the competitive standard.
The fourth challenge consists of leg raises: specifically, a minimum of 22 reps in 30 seconds. Brandon only succeeds in getting 10 reps in the allotted time, while Adam is barely able to get his legs high enough to complete a single rep. “If we count each one as a half-rep, I probably got like a solid 10,” he says.
The fifth test is handstand pushups; 15 reps are needed here for the Olympics, with the head touching the floor at the bottom of the rep and full extension of the arms at the top. Brandon manages 10 and Adam gets 11, meaning they both qualify at the competitive level, but not Olympic.
The test also includes some seriously difficult calisthenics exercises which neither Brandon nor Adam can complete, including ring muscleups, pike presses, iron crosses, front levers and straddle planches. Their flexibility is also tested in the form of a full front split. Long story short? These guys have spirit, but they’re definitely not Team USA’s next great hope.
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