Retired Alberta teacher, 61, breaks her own world plank record with 5-hour hold at senior games

DonnaJean Wilde, a 61-year-old retired teacher from Welling, Alta., broke her own world record by holding an abdominal plank for five hours on Tuesday at the Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah.

Wilde surpassed her previous record of 4 hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds, set in 2024, in the women's category for longest time holding an abdominal plank position. She held the plank in front of a cheering crowd and several judges. On Friday, speaking to CBC News Network, Wilde said she was "feeling good" and waiting for Guinness to make the record official.

"I just love it," Wilde said. "It just becomes easier to do the more repeated times you do it."

Wilde, a grandmother of 12, discovered planking about 15 years ago after breaking her arm. "I love to work out. I love fitness, and I discovered I could plank with a cast on. And when the cast came off, it became a habit that I actually embraced and fell in love with," she said.

When she first started, Wilde could hold a plank for about a minute or minute and a half. With encouragement from her family, she kept practicing and improved steadily. According to Health magazine, most adults can hold a plank for 20 to 60 seconds, making Wilde's endurance extraordinary.

Guinness World Records require that forearms and toes touch the ground at all times while the remainder of the body is lifted and kept straight throughout. Wilde's 5-hour plank is pending official Guinness verification.