If you’ve ever had to hold a plank at the gym, you’ll know how hard it can be to stay in position.
Spare a thought then for former US Marine George Hood (pictured), who has just grabbed the male world record after holding a plank after for eight hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds – beating the previous record of eight hours, one minute and one second.
The retired Drug Enforcement Administration supervisory special agent had held the title in 2011 after ‘planking’ for one hour and 20 minutes but lost it in 2016 to Chinese man Mao Weidong.
His daily training regime in the 18 months leading up to the attempt was just as impressive.
“It’s 4-5 hours a day in the plank pose,” he told CNN. “Then I do 700 push-ups a day, 2,000 sit-ups a day in sets of a hundred, 500 leg squats a day. For upper body and the arms, I do approximately 300 arm curls a day” (I feel tired just thinking about this).
Mr Hood had an added motivation to stay upright.
The former military man completed the challenge at 515 Fitness, a gym that helps address mental illness through exercise and professional help – and stayed the extra 15 minutes so he could dedicate the “515” record to the gym.
Mr Hood didn’t finish there either, celebrating with a quick 75 push-ups – and says his next goal is breaking the record for the most pushups completed in an hour – currently at 2,806.
“Anybody can do what I do,” he says.
We’re not sure about that – but we’ll salute George’s stamina.
