{"id":626007,"date":"2026-10-10T02:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T02:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/626007\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T02:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T02:52:09","slug":"61-years-old-grandmother-of-12-broke-her-own-world-record-with-a-5-hour-plank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/626007\/","title":{"rendered":"61 Years Old Grandmother of 12 Broke Her Own World Record With a 5-Hour Plank"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 61-year-old grandmother from Canada has wowed the internet by breaking her own Guinness World Record for longest time planking<\/a> after holding the position for five hours.<\/p>\n

DonnaJean Wilde of Welling, Alberta, helped kick off the Oct. 6 opening ceremonies at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, when she planked in front of a crowd to beat her 2024 world record, for females, of 4 hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds.<\/p>\n

Viral videos from the games, which celebrate athletes ages 50 and over, show Wilde planking on a platform<\/a> with a smile on her face. One video has racked up more than 9 million views with commenters expressing their awe over Wilde\u2019s feat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really good about it,\u201d Wilde tells TODAY.com about her new world record. \u201cNow that it\u2019s done, I\u2019m really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The retired schoolteacher said she\u2019d wondered for a long time if she could plank for five hours straight. She began training six months ago by planking between four and five hours every day. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, she began her record-breaking plank with confidence, but shortly after she surpassed her record 2024 time, she began losing steam. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat last half hour was harder than I ever thought it would be, I think I just kind of hit a wall,\u201d Wilde says.<\/p>\n

It was the crowd chanting her name that helped her get the job done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd was cheering through the last few minutes and they carried me through,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd now I look back and I think, \u2018Wow, wow, we did it. We did it together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A Lifelong Love of Sports and Fitness<\/p>\n

The mom of five, who also holds a second Guinness World Record for most pushups in one hour by a female<\/a> \u2014\u00a0she did 1575 of them in just under 60 minutes in 2024 \u2014\u00a0tells TODAY.com she fell in love with sports and fitness as a child.<\/p>\n

A lifelong runner, Wilde ran track in junior high and high school. She began planking 15 years ago after breaking her wrist in a gym accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a cast on and I couldn\u2019t run. I couldn\u2019t work out. I couldn\u2019t do everything I wanted to do, and then I discovered planking,\u201d Wilde recalls. <\/p>\n

At first, Wilde could hold the position only for a minute or two. She figured she\u2019d keep at it until her cast came off and then return to her regular exercises. <\/p>\n

Instead, she \u201cfell in love\u201d with planking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just kept doing it and doing it … so I planned my school lessons and marked my students\u2019 work while I was planking,\u201d says Wilde. <\/p>\n

For years now, Wilde has planked for about two hours every day, incorporating the low-impact exercise into other tasks. <\/p>\n

\u201cI go on the floor and plank when I have something I need to do, like texting, emailing, reading or messaging somebody,\u201d Wilde says, adding she also planks while doing an assignment or calling one of her kids.<\/p>\n

If Wilde\u2019s husband Randy, 63, also a fitness enthusiast, turns on a movie, Wilde will watch it with him while on the floor planking.<\/p>\n

The physical benefits of planking can\u2019t be beat. <\/p>\n

Planking<\/a> helps tone all of the muscle groups, including abs<\/a>, arms,<\/a> back, shoulders<\/a>, glutes<\/a> and legs, experts say. Planking can also help improve balance, ease back pain and reduce belly fat.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanking makes me feel so good and helps me stand up straight,\u201d says Wilde.<\/p>\n

Asked how strong her core muscles are, Wilde simply laughs.<\/p>\n

The Kids and Grandkids Stay Fit, Too<\/p>\n

Wilde and her husband stay healthy by walking or running together every day. They also work out in their home gym.<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s kids and 12 grandkids have inherited their love of sports and fitness.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen out of 12 grandchildren at this moment are on at least one or two sports teams, like volleyball, basketball, baseball, football. The two who aren\u2019t on sports teams are into dancing and gymnastics,\u201d Wilde says.<\/p>\n

As for Wilde\u2019s diet, she shares that she and Randy try to stick to fresh whole foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of eggs, lots of real protein, lots of real fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, just real food,\u201d Wilde says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we go somewhere, of course, then we will eat whatever anybody serves us. We don\u2019t worry about it,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Does Wilde foresee herself attempting to break her world record for planking again in the future?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure I\u2019m going to try and break my planking record. Maybe my push-up record,\u201d Wilde says, laughing.<\/p>\n