WELLING, Alberta — DonnaJean Wilde does not just incorporate planks into her fitness routine; she practically lives inside them. The 61-year-old grandmother of 12 from Welling, Alberta, has once again captured international attention by shattering her own Guinness World Record, maintaining an abdominal plank position for an astonishing five consecutive hours at the Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah.
To put her achievement into perspective, holding a rigid core position for five hours is longer than it takes to fly coast-to-coast across Canada, complete a marathon at a comfortable pace, or roast a traditional Thanksgiving turkey from scratch. Wilde accomplished this monumental feat before a live audience of cheering spectators while official judges closely monitored her form to verify every grueling second of the attempt.
Breaking Records Has Become a Habit
Wilde’s latest athletic triumph completely surpassed her previous benchmark set earlier in 2024, when she recorded a time of four hours, 30 minutes, and 11 seconds to secure the official title for the longest time holding an abdominal plank position in the female category.
Speaking with the CBC News Network just days after completing her historic endurance test in Utah, Wilde shared that she was feeling remarkably well as she awaited formal certification from Guinness World Records to make the new milestone official.
Reflecting on her journey with extreme physical challenges, Wilde noted that maintaining these positions tends to become more manageable the more frequently they are practiced. Her composed and steady demeanor is hardly surprising; the retired teacher and school administrator has effectively turned extreme endurance planking into a personal discipline and a cornerstone of her daily routine.
What Exactly Is an Abdominal Planter?
For the uninitiated, an abdominal plank is a demanding isometric core exercise that requires an individual to keep their body rigid, straight, and elevated, bearing a resemblance to a solid plank of wood.
According to the rigorous guidelines enforced by Guinness World Records, a challenger must maintain continuous contact between their forearms and toes with the ground throughout the duration of the attempt. The remainder of the body must stay elevated and perfectly straight without sagging or bowing at any point during the challenge.
While the average adult can typically manage to hold a standard plank for somewhere between 20 to 60 seconds, maintaining the position for even three minutes is widely regarded by fitness professionals as an exceptional display of physical conditioning. Holding a strict plank for five hours, however, places an athlete into an entirely different realm of human endurance and perseverance.
How a Broken Arm Started It All
Wilde’s extraordinary path into the world of elite planking began roughly 15 years ago under highly unusual circumstances—following a broken arm. Determined not to let an injury derail her commitment to physical fitness, she searched for alternative exercises she could safely perform while wearing a heavy orthopedic cast.
She quickly discovered that planking was one of the few movements she could execute effectively despite her immobilized arm. Once the cast was eventually removed, the exercise transitioned from a temporary workaround into a dedicated habit that she enthusiastically embraced.
When she first began incorporating planks into her daily regimen years ago, Wilde could comfortably hold the position for about a minute to a minute and a half, which is a respectable baseline by any standard. However, through persistent daily practice, those minutes steadily grew into tens of minutes, and eventually into hours. With the steadfast encouragement and support of her family, she began pushing physical boundaries that most individuals would never consider attempting.
Not Just Planks—Pushups Too
Wilde’s athletic capabilities extend far beyond static core endurance. In addition to her planking achievements, she also claimed the Guinness World Record in 2024 for the most pushups completed by a female in one hour, executing an astonishing 1,575 repetitions.
She has noted that she developed a deep appreciation for pushups while performing 500 repetitions every single day as a supplemental training method to prepare for her grueling plank attempts. Today, the grandmother of 12 dedicates a portion of every single day to planking for at least a few hours, viewing the time not as an interruption to her day, but as a productive opportunity.
Multitasking While Making History
One of the most remarkable dimensions of Wilde’s daily practice is her ability to transform hours of intense physical exertion into a period of high productivity.
During her multi-hour sessions, Wilde does not simply focus on endurance; she reads literature, manages text messages, completes academic assignments, and engages in ongoing intellectual projects. Most notably, she successfully completed the coursework required to earn an entire master’s degree while holding plank positions.
Furthermore, she utilized her unique training environment to write an entire book, appropriately titled From Minutes To Hours: I Wrote This Book While Planking, which was published last year. By pairing an extreme physical challenge with focused mental engagement, Wilde has effectively turned what many would consider a grueling exercise in discomfort into a productive backdrop for higher education and creative writing.
The Physical Reality of Extreme Planking
While Wilde discusses her multi-hour endurance feats with an air of casual ease, the underlying physiological demands are exceptionally rigorous. Planking primarily targets the deep core musculature, including the rectus abdominis, the transverse abdominis, and the obliques, while simultaneously engaging the shoulders, upper back, glutes, and lower extremities to preserve proper alignment.
Maintaining any static position for extended stretches creates intense muscular fatigue, putting immense pressure on the nervous system and cardiovascular network. Beyond the obvious physical toll, the psychological component is arguably even more demanding. Maintaining absolute mental focus, composure, and strict physical form for five uninterrupted hours requires an extraordinary level of psychological resilience and emotional fortitude.
What Drives Someone to Plank for Hours?
When pressed about the underlying motivation that drives her to spend hours suspended in a rigid posture, Wilde’s explanation remains refreshingly straightforward and direct: she simply loves the activity.
Her genuine passion for the challenge is evident in her demeanor. Her record-breaking pursuits are not driven by a desire for self-punishment or the need to prove a point to skeptics, but rather by the pure enjoyment of pursuing an activity she excels at and finds deeply fulfilling.
At 61 years of age, Wilde serves as a living demonstration that chronological age does not have to be a barrier to achieving extraordinary physical milestones. Her journey illustrates that consistent dedication, patience, and a genuine affinity for a chosen pursuit can yield world-class results at any stage of life.
The Power of Incremental Progress
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Wilde’s ongoing narrative is the timeline of her development. She did not simply decide overnight to attempt a five-hour endurance test; rather, she began with modest increments of 60 to 90 seconds a decade and a half ago.
Through steady, daily practice and gradual, incremental increases in duration, she transformed those initial seconds into minutes, and those minutes into hours. This progressive timeline highlights a fundamental truth about human capability: extraordinary feats are almost always built upon a foundation of ordinary, consistent effort applied over extended periods.
By changing how she approaches the discomfort of the exercise through multitasking, Wilde has successfully reshaped her relationship with physical endurance training, turning what could be a grueling trial into a manageable and even enjoyable part of her daily life.
What’s Next for the Planking Grandmother?
As Wilde awaits the final verification and official certification of her latest record from Guinness World Records, she shows no signs of slowing down her active lifestyle. Given her established track record of continuously expanding her own personal boundaries and capturing multiple world titles, observers would not be surprised if she is already contemplating her next major endurance challenge.
Whether she chooses to push her planking duration to even greater heights or explore entirely different avenues of physical conditioning, DonnaJean Wilde has firmly established a new standard for what is possible for athletes in their sixties and beyond. Her journey continues to serve as an authentic reminder that perceived limitations are frequently self-imposed, and that with patience, persistence, and passion, seemingly insurmountable goals can be realized one minute, one hour, and one plank at a time.
