H.B. coach breaks lifting record

A Huntington Beach fitness and anti-aging coach hoping to start a new world record category lifted 50,645 pounds in a single hour this week, beating unofficial records by 10,000 pounds. With pledges donated by number of pounds lifted, he managed to raise money for autism and cerebral palsy research as well.

Nick Delgado made 1,979 lifts, according to tallies from the event Tuesday night at No Limits Gym in Irvine. He does not yet have a figure for money raised for groups like Cure Autism Now, but said it was still coming in from donors.

Assistants doused Delgado’s feet in ice water to keep cool and fed him liquefied watermelon so he could stay hydrated and energized. He lifted 25-pound dumbbells with a hammer curl and pressed them over his head — 55 inches in all — till he beat teammate Tim Nash’s score of roughly 41,000 pounds. Then he switched to heavier weights to see how far he could push the record.

“It went beyond belief,” Delgado said. “It was quite an incredible event and it went great. I exceeded my wildest dreams of what could be done.”

Asked Wednesday morning if he was tired, Delgado said he felt surprisingly good: “I don’t know if I’d go for a world record today, though.”

A video of the event is being sent to Guinness World Records as part of an application to start an official record. It’s not the only one Delgado hopes to chase, though; he hopes to beat Stuart Burrell, who holds a similar record in curls.

“I’ll make my next record attempt in about six months,” he said.