Who is DonnaJean Wilde? Meet the 61-year-old grandmother who broke the women’s plank world record with a 5-hour hold

DonnaJean Wilde apparently decided four and a half hours in a plank was not enough.The 61-year-old Canadian grandmother has reportedly raised her own mark to five hours, according to the World Senior Games. Wilde previously earned Guinness World Records recognition after holding an abdominal plank for four hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds in March 2024.Who is DonnaJean Wilde, the 61-year-old grandmother behind the 5-hour plank world record?Wilde is a former high school vice principal and teacher from Alberta, Canada. She is also a mother of five and grandmother of 12.Her connection with planking started long before world records entered the picture.According to Guinness World Records, Wilde began planking after suffering a wrist injury that prevented her from running or lifting weights. She found that the static exercise was something she could still perform.Wilde later told Impact Magazine that the injury changed the direction of her training."I couldn't run. I could hardly walk down the road with a sling, but I could plank. It was such a pivotal moment for me that day. It just changed my life," she said.Her family eventually began testing how long she could stay in the position. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilde reached two hours.That result pushed the challenge into much more serious territory.She began structured preparation for the record in 2023. Her training included planks, running, weight lifting and push-ups, according to Impact Magazine.On March 21, 2024, Wilde held a plank for four hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds at Magrath High School, her former workplace.Guinness World Records recognized the performance as the longest time in an abdominal plank position by a woman. She beat the previous record, held by fellow Canadian Dana Glowacka, by more than 10 minutes.Wilde told Guinness that even after completing the attempt, the result was difficult to process."I actually still can't believe it," she said. "It feels like a dream."Two years later, the World Senior Games reported that Wilde had pushed the mark even further with a five-hour plank.How did DonnaJean Wilde train her body to hold a plank for five hours?Five hours did not come from doing planks alone.Wilde has said she uses several forms of strength training, including push-ups, weight lifting and running. She has also added dead hangs to her routine.In an Instagram post about upper-body strength, Wilde said she performs hundreds of push-ups and credited dead hangs with improving her grip.That matters because Wilde has dealt with chronic pain and numbness in her hands. Guinness previously reported that she lives with discomfort in her hands and arms.Her training volume before the 2024 record was far beyond a normal fitness routine. Guinness reported that Wilde sometimes practiced planking for as long as six hours per day while preparing for the attempt.And the plank is not her only record-setting exercise.In 2024, Wilde completed 1,575 push-ups in 60 minutes, breaking the existing record of 1,207 at the time. That mark has since been surpassed, according to Women’s Health.Her approach also comes with an important distinction. Wilde has trained for extreme endurance over several years. Her routine is not a starting point for an average person trying to improve core strength.Wilde’s own advice is much simpler."Keep trying and keep practicing," she told Guinness after her 2024 plank record.At 61, she is apparently still following it herself.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.