Donagin Wilde slaps up while she reads. She sits cross-legged while checking her phone and emails as well.
The 59-year-old woman from Alberta, Canada, mastered the plank exercise to the point that she broke the Guinness World Record for women for the longest time in the abdominal plank position, Guinness announced.
The plank exercise, which strengthens the core muscles, involves holding oneself in a push-up position while lying on the forearms. Some people can only hold it for a few seconds, others for a minute or even several minutes.
But it looks like Wilde can hold his plank for four and a half hours.
Wilde tells USA TODAY how she got into planking
Wilde recently put in her winning time in theater at Magrath High School, the same school from which she retired, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, students and staff.
Wilde told USA TODAY on Wednesday that her interest in planking began about 10 years ago when her children started doing plank challenges.
She broke her wrist in an accident at school but didn’t let that stop her from trying to plank herself. She found that she could do it, and well at it.
“I kept doing that for about six or eight weeks while I had the cast on,” she said. “I found that I could read my school lessons, grade some papers, and read emails… I felt like I was working out even with the cast on and I loved the feeling it gave me.”
She continued to plank as part of her daily exercise routine and eventually went ahead to set a Guinness World Record after her family encouraged her to do so.
Preparing for the big day
Wilde started training about a year ago. She did longer sessions of planking and tried to fit in five or six hours of planking a day. She said she would do two-hour sessions, then three-hour sessions.
She also did multiple exercises such as running, jumping, weight lifting and other activities.
I tried to read motivational books about athletes as well, to learn how to train their minds for competitions.
When she applied for the record, Guinness sent her guidelines, which prompted her to make some changes to her workout routine.
“I’d been planking for years, always in shoes, and I couldn’t do it,” she said. “I had to be barefoot. I also couldn’t touch my hands together, my hands had to be wide apart and I had to have perfect form.
Before her record-breaking attempt, she set up encouraging conversations on her phone to listen to on the day of the event.
“I could just listen but also focus on my level,” she said.
The retired school teacher reached her goal surrounded by her loved ones
Wilde said almost all of her children were there the day she broke the record, as well as her grandchildren.
She chose theater for her previous job because she needed a public space to complete the challenge. Throughout the day, people would come to sit and watch, and they had rugs on the floor, so if students wanted to sit with her, they could, she said.
During the challenge, I looked out at the crowd a little.
She said the theater was sometimes full of people, including students she once taught.
“It was very encouraging and fun,” she said. “It was great to see the students cheering for me and my family cheering for me.”
She said the hardest part of the challenge was the last hour.
“The last hour was probably the hardest,” she said. “It was getting close and I was very excited, maybe a little emotional.”
Record holder “I always love sports and running”
A mother of five and grandmother of 12, Wilde said she comes from a very active family and coaches high school volleyball.
“I have always loved sports and running,” she said. “I love running and working out…fitness, health and nutrition were really important in my family.”
“My husband is very active and into fitness as well, so it’s a way of life for us,” she said.
She said breaking the record was “unbelievable” and still felt like a dream. It has also taught her something that she can pass on to the students she substitute teaches.
“I always try to encourage them, especially since I broke this record, that if you do something you love consistently, you will get better at it,” she said. “It will get easier for you, and then you never know where it will lead.”
She doesn’t want her students to look back on their experiences and say, “I wish I’d tried harder” or taken that chance.
“You never know what opportunities are going to be at the door,” she said.
Saleen Martin is a reporter for USA TODAY’s NOW staff. She’s from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SallenMartin Or send her an email at[email protected].
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