If 10 minutes on Dance Dance Revolution sounds like an exhausting workout to you, imagine doing it for six hours.

Because that's the remarkable feat managed by Szabolcs Csépe, an IT engineer and gamer from Budapest, Hungary. 

Mr Csépe played the dance platform game commonly found in arcades for 144 hours straight, setting the world record for the longest videogame marathon, according to Guinness World Records. 

The 34-year-old – who posts gaming content on Twitch and YouTube – beat a record that stood for nearly 10 years. 

He's been playing the game for more than two decades, but he still had still had to put in years of training in preparation for this remarkable feat.

'Those who know me personally or follow me online know that I am very competitive by nature,' he said. 

'Standing for long hours is not something that humans are designed for.

'There is nothing more encouraging than dancing or doing body workout while listening to your favourite tunes.' 

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) was developed by Japanese firm by Konami and hit Japanese arcades in September 1998 before becoming popular around the world. 

In time to the music, players have to move their feet to rhythms and patterns displayed on a screen in front of them.

Players need a blend of balance, dexterity, strength and rhythm to achieve high scores – as well as, in Mr Csépe's case, endurance. 

During his successful attempt in the Hungarian city of Kecskemét, he danced to more than 3,000 songs and burned more than 22,000 calories. 

However, video clips show him taking short seated breaks, allowing him to briefly rest his feet and take a sip of water.

According to Guinness World Records, videogame marathon record attempts include 10 minutes of rest time for every hour completed, which covers bathroom breaks and sleep. 

Mr Csépe, who has set gaming records before, called this experience both 'challenging and comfortable at the same time', as well as 'the most physically demanding' he'd ever done.

'[My] arms and shoulders expressed fatigue for extended hours without stretching,' he said of the ordeal, which took place between October 23-29 last year. 

It's unclear which songs he danced to over the course of the 3,000 hours, but his tune of choice is 'New Millennium' by Japanese composer Sota Fujimori. 

Mr Csépe has overtaken the long-standing record of 138 hours and 34 seconds, set by Carrie Swidecki from the US in 2015.

Mrs Swidecki set her record using Just Dance, a rival game created by French developer Ubisoft, which inspired the Hungarian to go one step further – or several thousand steps, to be precise. 

However, such extreme physical endurance challenges come with health risks.  

Dr Chris Seenan, senior lecturer in physiotherapy at the University of Stirling, called it an 'impressive' achievement but 'not a model for everyday activity'. 

'As a physiotherapist I’m very much in favour of people moving more, and most of us benefit from sitting less and being more active, but you can run into problems at the other extreme,' Dr Seenan told the Daily Mail. 

'Long bouts of continuous, high-intensity activity like dancing hard for several hours can place a lot of stress on the body.

'Without sensible pacing, fuelling and hydration, there’s a risk of dehydration or heat exhaustion, muscle strains, and in rare cases a more serious condition called rhabdomyolysis, where muscle tissue breaks down. 

'That’s not common, but it is recognised in situations where people push far beyond what they’re conditioned for.'

Dr Seenan said the goal for most of us should be 'regular moderate or vigorous activity spread out over the week', rather than trying to squeeze everything into one very long effort. 

'If someone enjoys dancing for long periods, that’s great, but take breaks every 20-30 minutes, drink to thirst and include some electrolytes, have a snack to keep energy up, and stop if you start feeling dizzy, unwell or your coordination drops,' he said. 

'Record-breaking attempts are usually done with training, planning and support like seems to be the case for this one.' 

Mr Csépe's successful record attempt will feature in 'Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition’, a new spinoff book dedicated especially to gaming.