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Just yesterday, Australia made a huge feat in the world of exercise when an athlete held the abdominal plank position for 9 hours, 30 minutes and 1 second, breaking the previous record of 8 hours 15 minutes and 15 seconds. The athlete, Daniel Scali, admitted to using his elbows rather than his hands when holding the plank, but still felt massive tightening in the abdomen.
“Obviously putting constant pressure on my elbow and forearm, up to my shoulder did give me quite a bit of grief at the start,” Scali told Guinness World Records. “It was a full head to toe experience of constant pain. “My feet were numb. My knees were burning. My thighs were burning. My left arm felt like it was on fire. But it was all worth it in the end.”
Furthermore, Scali had suffered from complex regional pain syndrome prior to setting the record, which caused him to struggle further in his feat. This condition stemmed from breaking his left arm when he was 12 years old. “It’s the brain sending wrong messages to my arm, which is the affected area. So anything like soft touch, movement, wind, water, will cause me pain. Obviously putting constant pressure on my elbow and forearm, up to my shoulder did give me quite a bit of grief at the start”, said Scarli.
Most nutritionists recommended holding a plank for 30 seconds to 1 minute and conducting 10 repetitions of planks. Even so, Scarli went ahead and beat the previous record by over an hour. We wish Scarli the best of luck with his arm (and, presumably, his straining muscles!) and remember, no matter what endurance is faced, “It is all worth it in the end”.
