A 61-year-old woman from Alberta, Canada, has broken her own world record by holding a plank for more than five hours. A retired schoolteacher, DonnaJean Wilde, completed the feat at the Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah this week.
She previously held the official Guinness World Record for the longest abdominal plank by a woman after lasting 4 hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds in 2024. Though the latest attempt has not been approved yet, it still marks a major feat in her professional career, having started professional training just three years ago.
Guinness World Records has received an application for Wilde's latest attempt and will review the evidence before making it official. Wilde stayed in the plank position for five hours, and what makes her achievement even more unusual is how she got into planking in the first place.
Wilde began doing the exercise after breaking her arm in 2013. With many of her usual activities temporarily off-limits, she turned to core exercises and gradually discovered that she could hold a plank far longer than most people.
She began formal record training in 2023, mixing long plank sessions with running, weight training, push-ups and other strength work. During the final month before the Utah attempt, Wilde reportedly trained in the early hours of the morning, sometimes planking from around 2 a.m.
The five-hour plank is not her only endurance record. Wilde also holds the women's Guinness World Record for the most push-ups completed in one hour, after performing 1,575 in 2024.
She is also a mother of five and grandmother of 12. Wilde said keeping her mind occupied is one of the secrets to surviving such long sessions.
During training, she reads, watches films and even works on writing while remaining in the plank position. Her determination continues to inspire fitness enthusiasts around the globe, proving that age is merely a number when it comes to human endurance and physical capability.
Experts and trainers have praised her disciplined approach to physical fitness, highlighting the importance of consistency and core strength.