You Don’t Know Squat
December 24, 2007
Super sumo squatter breaks World Record
SAN FRANCISCO — Imagine two sumo wrestlers assuming their traditional opening squats before a fight. What if there were a competition to see which wrestler could do the most squats? Well, there is such an event — but no sumo wrestler stands a chance against Dr. Thienna Ho.
Ho squatted — literally — for a Guinness World Record Dec. 16, in front of a large crowd at San Francisco State University’s gym. She completed 5,135 sumo squats in one hour, breaking Attila Horvath’s previous record of 4,657 squats. Carlos Martinez, a Guinness World Record adjudicator from the United Kingdom, certified the feat.
Back straight, chest out and legs spread in a wide stance, Ho, 40, performed her squats barefoot on a yoga mat. One squat consisted of Ho bending her knees until her thighs were parallel to the floor. The gym remained quiet for that entire hour, save for the loudspeaker’s metronomic beat from which Ho never strayed. With about three minutes left, the crowd erupted into congratulatory cheers. As the clock ticked down its final seconds, supporters rushed the floor while the event’s emcee, California state Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, led everyone in chanting, “Thi-en-na, Thi-en-na!”
“I am really proud of what I did,” Ho said of her achievement. “I [did] it in honor of my dad because he has done so much for me, and I wanted to give something back to him.”
It was her dad, a four-degree black belt judo master and competitive fighter, who inspired Ho to begin practicing sumo squats at an early age.
In preparation to break the record, Ho partnered with Giulia Divina, a professional trainer and bodybuilder. Biweekly sessions consisted of “exactly what I did during the competition, for one hour, without stopping.” Ho did 5,000 squats at every practice.
Ho also used the event to launch her book, Unlocking the Mystery of Skin Color. Born with a dark and uneven skin tone — in which she counted “at least seven distinct shades” — Ho set out to uncover a safe and natural skin-lightening method to achieve a fair complexion.
What is the secret to healthy skin? Ho, who holds a Ph.D. in scientific nutrition, emphasizes dietary sulfur, an essential mineral that regulates blood sugar, aids in fat absorption, and derives from eggs, meat and fish. In her book, she argues that the sulfur used to cleanse bodily toxins depletes the nutrients that are available to support the production of light, healthy skin. Ho’s Natural Fairskin Method explains how modifications in diet, cooking techniques and lifestyle can eliminate toxins and lead to significant changes in skin color, as well as overall health. “Skin health reflects overall health,” Ho maintains.
Before uncovering this method, Ho was only able to do 500 to 1,000 squats in 45 minutes. But, seven years after she developed the Natural Fairskin Method, Ho found that her “health improved drastically, and I was able to improve my stamina and strength.” Now, she can do 15,000 sumo squats in a week without feeling any pain.
Ho believes squats are “the king of all exercises.” If this is the case, she is the queen of all sumo squats.
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