Semper Fi! 62-Year-Old Former Marine Sets New Guinness Fitness Record

George Hood, a 62-year-old former US Marine and DEA Supervisory Special Agent, reclaims world planking record with a crazy goal in mind. 

8:15:15, and 515 

George Hood reclaimed the Longest Male Abdominal Plank record after previously being overtaken by Mao Weidong’s eight hours and one minute in 2016. This time, Hood topped the 2016 record with a whole fourteen minutes and fifteen seconds. The feat has been officially confirmed and recognized as the new record by the Guinness Book of World Records. 

The abdominal or low plank basically means that you keep your body straight – like a plank – while resting on your elbows and toes, which is an exercise meant to strengthen core muscles, as well as improve posture. Eight hours and fifteen minutes, though, might be a bit too extreme for most. 

Hood’s previous world record from 2011 took significantly less time – clocking in at one hour and 20 minutes, though the former Marine never stopped training, saying he did more than 2,100 hours in preparation for his record-breaking attempt. 

The record, however, wasn’t only meant to be just another record. The reason Hood was going for the specific time of 8:15:15 was to get the “515” number in the record books. Why? Hood’s co-sponsor is a gym called 515 Fitness, which helps “address mental illness through exercise and support.” By instilling the gym’s number in the record books, Hood’s goal was to raise awareness about mental health, especially in law enforcement and the military.