After overcoming physical adversity, a Murray man broke the record for a bicep curl weightlifting record. Now he has a new challenge to overcome—getting it recognized officially by the record books.

Jared Dangerfield smashed the world record for the preacher curl by lifting 275 pounds. The preacher curl, the strictest form of bicep curling, requires the lifter to place their elbows on a bench resembling a preacher’s pulpit and curl the weights toward their body. The previous record was 225 pounds.

“I had always preferred them over the standard standing lifts. I tend to like to do the harder lifts. They prove that when you succeed, there’s no question you have done well,” Dangerfield said.

Starting as at an “out-of-shape” 330 pounds seven years ago, Dangerfield lost 110 pounds. He became a student of anything weightlifting, sometimes going seven days a week. He worked closely with a local supplement shop owner to focus on his diet. 

“I try to get a consistent intake of protein and simple carbs, mixing up my diet to include Keto, intermittent fasting and natural foods. I train in heavy intervals with short sets, typically three sets of five reps, breaking down each section of the muscle to isolate individual fibers in high-compression lifts. I have had gym sessions where I couldn’t walk out of the building due to my body seizing up or cramping uncontrollably. I’ve spent most Monday nights for the past five years, unable to bend my arms all the way because my biceps Charlie horsing (cramping) every time I try. Following two days after every workout, the section I’ve worked on is tender and sore. That is standard protocol for a gym nerd,” Dangerfield said.

Eight weeks before he set the record, he would lift 255 pounds for three sets of five reps until he could handle 265. Next, he started curling 265 pounds for one set of five and then dropped to 255 pounds for the remaining two sets. He repeated this until three weeks before the lift, where he started doing all the sets at 265 pounds. 

Along the way, he suffered a broken collarbone and torn muscles in his forearm and shoulder. Not to mention, as Dangerfield puts it, “the normal day-to-day grind that comes with committing to anything worthwhile.”

A native Texan, he sells pipe and tubing for Marmon Keystone and hopes his weightlifting achievement inspires his children, Aiden and Amberlin.

“I want my kids to know that if you do what you love, work hard, and are patient, anything is possible,” Dangerfield said. “Their childhood is much different than growing up as I did in the 90s. In our digital age, you can get lost and feel insignificant quite often. But knowing them and seeing what they have and are overcoming. I just want to be the example that proves they can make a mark if they try hard and don’t quit.”

According to Dangerfield, his role models for doing this were his mother and football player Steve Young.

“Having people like them in my life helped me grow up into the man I am today. I wish I would have had someone like myself to guide me and show me how in so many different aspects of my life. I would have made a lot less mistakes and had an easier time,” Dangerfield said.

Dangerfield still has one more challenge: getting it recognized in the “Guinness Book of World Records.”

“At this point, they are interested in coming out; only if I pay them the starting price of $12,000,” Dangerfield said.

Evidently, the publishers need to physically be on hand to certify the record even though there is video evidence of him breaking the record multiple times. Dangerfield is currently searching for a sponsor in his quest.

“If I get sponsored either by an individual or a company, I can pay Guinness to document the record, bring attention to Utah, a fitness club, or a business,” Dangerfield said.