San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
FORMER MARINE CAPTURES GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR HOLDING PLANK
Former Carlsbad resident achieved feat in February
Only George Hood’s forearms and toes were touching the platform, as he held the rest of his body in midair.
Powered by the mix of heavy metal songs blaring over the speakers, the 62year-old from Naperville, Ill., didn’t look at the clock or even at the time displayed on the phone in between his hands to control the music. He drank only periodic sips of water, and he didn’t eat much at all. Instead, he planked and planked and planked.
Eight hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds later, when he finally unclenched his thighs and stretched out his arms, Hood had broken the Guinness world record for the abdominal plank.
The record-breaking feat, which Guinness officially announced Feb. 20, caps nearly a decade of planking for the former Marine and Drug Enforcement Administration officer, who trained for hours each day to raise awareness about mental health issues.
“A lot of peers in my age group . . . they use it as an excuse. ‘Oh, I’m too old,’” he told The Washington Post. “Well, I’m changing all that. I’m in the best shape of my life, and that’s how everybody should feel.”
The previous record for men’s planking was set by Mao Weidong of China, who in 2016 held a plank for eight hours, one minute and one second. Canadian Dana Glowacka holds the current record for women, at four hours, 19 minutes, 55 seconds.
Hood, a former Carlsbad resident, said he can’t remember exactly how he learned about the plank a decade ago, back when the exercise was unheard of in the U.S. fitness world. But when he did, he got hooked fast, and by early 2011, at age 53, he was testing out the move for five minutes at a time at his gym in Illinois.
“It was a static exercise. There was no movement involved. I could put music in my ears at the gym and lay on the floor and plank,” he said. “So I said to myself, ‘I think I can do this, I’ll try it,’ and I did.”
He did indeed. A few months into his training, in December 2011, Hood held the pose for one hour and 20 minutes straight, breaking the Guinness world record for planking. By then, he said, it had become an addiction.
“I did it every day,” Hood recalled. “I would blow things off to get my planks in. It was like sugar.”
As a former Marine and supervisory special agent with the DEA, he had long been used to working out to fit the part for his occupations. But planking provided a kind of mental peace of mind that weightlifting and other gym exercises never could.
“When I plank, I don’t have to sit in traffic. I don’t have to buy gas. I don’t have to sit and listen to anyone ... complain about how tired they are,” he said. “I just plank and that gives me all the satisfaction I need.”
In fact, he said, planking has allowed him to work through personal issues. While talking mid-plank, either to himself or to others, he often gets ensconced in his emotions, which both distract him and fuel him to hold the pose longer. Part of his goal in setting the Guinness record was raising awareness for mental health issues, particularly among military and law enforcement officers.
As he planked for hours, Hood’s intense poses became a full-time job. He was invited to Asia for international planking competitions in the mid-2010s and held a multi-hour plank aboard the USS Midway Museum in honor of Veterans Day. Soon, an elevated platform for planking became the centerpiece of his home.
“My plank is my best friend,” he said. “Do I have a social life? No, not one to really speak of, because all I do is train.”
Once the world record was his, he took a short break and celebrated with 75 consecutive push-ups. He told The Post that one of his next two goals is to break the world record for pushups.
His other goal? Make it to age 100.