They say there’s no such thing as a former Marine – that it’s once a Marine, always a Marine. Which we 100% believe given this new world record set by 62-year-old George E. Hood. An extraordinary individual who held the plank position for a grand total of eight hours, fifteen minutes, and fifteen seconds.
Hood – a former US Marine and former DEA agent – went balls to the wall, floor, and door for this one. Heart monitor strapped. Catheter inserted. Rock playlist pumping. And “… a custom-built table covered with a lambskin…” to support his body. He even had coaches and a support team on standby to feed him liquids along the way. Â
In preparation for this eight-hour marathon, Hood accumulated a total of:
- 2,100 hours of practice plank time
- 270,000 push-ups
- and almost 674,000 sit-ups
There was, of course, also an element of specific dieting. As hood himself tells The New York Times:
Within 12 hours, I have to be done with my supper: grilled salmon, a ton of spinach and a nice baked potato. The drinking process starts the day before. I start throwing down water and electrolytes.
When I wake up on event day I have to have a cup of coffee, a hard-boiled egg and a cup of oatmeal. I don’t take supplements on an empty stomach. You don’t want to get nauseous. They have to make me drink; they put the tube in my mouth.
I burned 4,252 calories.
The seventh hour reportedly proved the most difficult. But Hood eventually persisted. By the time the physical (and mental) ordeal was over, he eased into the child’s pose yoga position instead of dropping straight down. As he would explain, his legs were cramped to such an extreme extent, lowering himself took twelve whole minutes.
Shortly after, he pumped out 75 quick push-ups to top it all off. Go figure.
You can read the full interview over at nytimes.com.Â
