Marine Veteran Holds Plank For Over 8 Hours, Setting Guinness World Record

Age is nothing but a number for George Hood. The 62-year-old recently broke the Guinness World Record for the longest time holding a plank position, the organization announced on its website. 

Hood, a marine veteran, held the plank for an astonishing 8 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds. 

"It's official and I'm so very proud of this one. Grateful for a TeamHood crew and support from around the world," he wrote on Instagram. Hood previously held the record, before Mao Weidong from China broke it in 2016.

To train, he completed 674,000 sit ups, 270,000 push ups and around 2,100 hours of planking, according Guinness' announcement. Hood even surpassed his record-setting time during a practice attempt in 2018, where he lasted 10 hours and 10 minutes.

Hood wasn't just showing off his planking skills for the record books — he also took on the challenge of raising awareness on how exercise can improve mental health. While he was planking, he spoke to onlookers and listened to presentations from guests with autism and adult learning difficulties.

After he beat the previous record of 8 hours and 1 minute, Hood announced that this was the last time he will attempt to beat the planking record. But even though he's now retired from planking, he wasn't in a rush to rest: He ended his record-beating feat with 75 pushups.

First published on February 24, 2020 / 3:29 PM

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