One-up, two-up, three-up …

Courtnay Browne sat on a bench at Kinetic Energy Physical Therapy on Saturday drenched in sweat. Her hands were raw where the top layer of skin had disintegrated from gripping the bar. All her energy was expended, and she was running on sheer willpower.

Each pull-up was exponentially harder than the last. On her face, one could see the toll her efforts were taking.

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Just one year ago Browne did her first pull-up. On Saturday, the Oak Creek resident pushed her body to do as many pull-ups as possible to raise money for women involved in sex work in the southern African nation of Malawi.

“It started out just to see what I could do,” said Browne. “But it morphed into more.”

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345-up, 346-up, 347-up …

Browne, 43, first intended to break the world record for most pull-ups done by a woman in a 12-hour timeframe — 4,466 pull-ups.

But her quest wasn’t for glory. It was intended as a trial of discovery. However, when she was approached about raising money for the Village of Hope, her focus shifted to helping women.

The Village of Hope is located near Monkey Bay, Malawi — the third-poorest country in the world — where women are often forced into prostitution to survive. Ten women at a time are housed at the village where they learn a new trade, start a business and eventually start a new life.

One-hundred women have been helped since the village’s founding. Currently, it’s at maximum capacity and has a waiting list of 20 women.

Fifteen-thousand dollars is what’s needed to build a second facility and get the women off the waitlist.

591-up, 592-up, 593-up …

Browne will be on a plane to Malawi in one week.

She and her sister Claire Browne are headed there on a service trip to the village where they will be immersed in the lives and stories of the women currently housed.

“We’re doing what we can to support these women,” said Claire Browne. “It’s a great opportunity to raise money and support women.”

The service trip is through the Steamboat Christian Center. As of Tuesday, a GoFundMe page showed that $11,625 had been raised.

777-up, 778-up, 779-up …

More than 25 supporters were arranged in a semi-circle around Browne and her pull-up bar. A crew of friends and family took turns feeding her and aiding her in any way she needed.

“It takes a village to do something like this,” said Alicia McCarthy, Browne’s friend. “The main thing is keeping her in the present moment and not allowing her mind to take her to a dark place.”

McCarthy fielded messages from faraway friends, hand-fed Browne when she couldn’t lift her arms and wiped tears when they inevitably fell.

“It’s an honor to do this for her,” explained McCarthy. “Whether or not Courtnay admits it, it’s a noble cause for something greater than herself.”

1148-up, 1149-up, 1150-up …

Browne trained for over a year for a shot at breaking the record.

“The most important training for pull-ups is to do pull-ups,” said trainer Sarah Coleman. “But we employed a range of different practice splits and even did a four-hour pull-up marathon prior.”

Coleman was also monitoring Browne’s condition throughout the record attempt.

“We’re worried about rhabdomyolysis and her hands,” explained Coleman. “There is a point where this is dangerous.”

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition where muscles break down and disintegrate from overexertion. Toxic components of the muscle fibers then enter the bloodstream and can cause kidney damage.

Her mother Donna Browne was anguished watching her daughter suffer.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” said Donna Browne. “I don’t want to see her in pain, but I am not surprised she’s doing this. It’s just who she is.”

1598-up, 1599-up, 1600-up …

At 3:33 p.m., Browne finally stopped at 1,600 pull-ups.

She had been at it for nearly 11 hours. She had endured immense physical pain, but stayed for the friends and family around her — and the women in Malawi.

“Obviously, I am disappointed at the result,” said Browne. “I’ve done well over 2,000 in training before.”

When Browne discovered she was off pace, she thought about stopping.

“I kept going for the friends and family that were there,” said Browne. “It wasn’t about me at that point.”

She is undecided on whether she’ll make another attempt.

“First, I need to heal,” she explained. “Everything that comes after is yet to be decided. I know I have it in me to do it, though.”

Browne is bringing lessons learned from the pull-up bar with her to Africa.

“Things don’t always go as planned and our path is often out of our control,” explained Browne. “In the end, this is about more than me and for the women I am hoping to help.”