A 58-year-old Canadian grandmother broke the Guinness World Record on March 21 for the longest time in an abdominal plank position by a female.
DonnaJean Wilde held the position for 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 11 seconds, according to the Guinness World Records (GWR). Her time beat the previous record, set by Dana Glowacka in 2019, by over 10 minutes.
“My elbows hurt pretty bad,” Wilde told GWR after breaking the record. “I was so worried about losing my form, and I think that’s why my quads hurt because I was just really tense.”
To successfully achieve the record, the person’s toes and forearms must be touching the ground at all times, according to GWR. The rest of the challenger’s body should be kept off the ground and straight. (RELATED: Real-Life ‘Mermaid’ Valentina Cafolla Breaks Guinness World Record).
Wilde said the first two hours went by fast, but felt the remaining two hours weren’t as easy, “The last hour was the most challenging, just to stay focused and keep my form.”
She reportedly suffers from chronic pain in her arms and hands, but her husband, Randy, believes her condition helps her push through. “That chronic pain and numbness that she deals with every day has helped her to be able to plank through the pain,” he told GWR.
Wilde routinely planks for up to three hours daily, the GWR noted. She introduced planking into her exercise routine 12 years ago after she broke her wrist and was unable to lift weights or run. To prepare for the record attempt, she began planking for six hours, which she split into two three-hour blocks.
“I realized that I could read and do things when I was planking and fell in love with it,” she told GWR. She told GWR she even completed her master’s degree studies while planking.
Wilde was reportedly motivated by her 12 grandchildren, who gathered to watch her attempt to break the record, the GWR noted. She completed the challenge at the high school where she was vice principal before her retirement. Students also gathered at the school to cheer her on.
“I actually still can’t believe it,” she told GWR. “It feels like a dream.”