2019 was the year of the viral challenge, ranging anywhere from celebrities high-kicking the caps off bottles to parents vacuuming their children into actual bin bags.
Yeah, I know, I don’t understand why either. It happened though, which is all we need to know. And now the internet has graced us with yet another online craze, the ‘new flex challenge’.
If, like me, you have absolutely zero clue what the new flex challenge is, it was created by gymnast Jax Kranitz – which should give you some clue as to how difficult the challenge really is.
It looks relatively simple though, with many people trying to flex in the same way as Jax after she made the challenge look so easy. They ultimately failed though, because it isn’t easy. Like, at all.
Jax posted the video, which has now racked up nearly 400k views, on Instagram alongside the caption: ‘new flex challenge??? Tag a friend that you think can do this.’
The challenge involves standing up from lying face down on the floor without using your hands or rolling onto your side.
In the video, Jax lies face down on the floor with her legs straight behind her and her hands behind her back. Then, she stretches her legs out into a split position, bringing them all the way round her body so they’re in front of her and standing up – all without moving her hands.
You can give it a watch below:
So, although Jax might make it look easy-peasy, when you give it a watch and see what it entails it almost certainly isn’t. Unless you’re flexible and can do the splits, in which case it probably will be.
Her follower’s were impressed to say the least, with one person saying she resembled a ‘windshield wiper’ (a compliment, I think?) and another writing: ‘Just saw this on Tik Tok. You’re a beast. I can hardly touch my toes.’ Same.
Another person made the (very fair) point that Jax was ‘like an All American Gymnast’, adding: ‘I ain’t blessed like that.’ Again, same. One of her other followers was a tad more dramatic about the whole thing, writing: ‘I’d die if I tried this.’
I think we can all agree this is something we should leave to the professionals, as it doesn’t seem like something just anyone should be trying at home.
Let’s not beat ourselves up about it though. After all, she is a gymnast.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).