First published June 30, 2019.
Dana Glowacka holding her record plank in May 2019, with the clock running beside her and a Canadian flag behind.
On 18 May 2019, Dana Glowacka, a 48-year-old fitness enthusiast from Montreal, held an abdominal plank for 4 hours, 19 minutes and 55 seconds, a time widely rounded to four hours and twenty minutes. It set a new Guinness World Records mark for the longest plank by a woman and beat the previous best, held by Maria Kalimera of Cyprus at 3 hours 31 minutes, by close to 50 minutes.
Her record has since been overtaken, but the attempt is still one of the best-known endurance feats in fitness. Below is what she did, how plank records work, and what the rest of us can actually take from it.
The day of the record
Glowacka made her attempt in Naperville, Illinois, at what UPI described as the First International Plank Training Conference. Photos from the event show her propped on her forearms on a padded platform, a large timer counting the minutes and a Canadian flag hanging behind her.
She was not alone for those four hours. Her brother reportedly travelled for about a day to be there and stayed at her side while the clock ran. Support like that matters more than it sounds: in long isometric holds, the hard part is often mental, and a familiar face can make the difference between quitting at a cramp and pushing through it.
Canadian media covered the result widely. CTV News reported that her son had inspired the attempt, and Guinness World Records says he had spotted the plank record in one of its books. When the hold grew uncomfortable, she told CTV, she would close her eyes and reconnect. Endurance athletes in long static holds generally describe two kinds of training: building the muscles slowly over months, and practising the mental side of staying still and calm while discomfort grows.
How a plank record works
Guinness World Records runs the category “longest time in an abdominal plank position”, with separate titles for men and women. The basic rules are strict and simple:
- The body rests on the forearms and toes only, with elbows under the shoulders.
- The back, hips and legs must stay in one straight line. Sagging hips or a raised bottom can end an attempt.
- Knees and other body parts may not touch the ground, and the hold must be continuous.
- Timing and judging are checked by independent witnesses and video.
That last point is why exact numbers such as 4:19:55 matter more than headline roundings. An extra minute in a news story is harmless; in a record book it is the whole point.
The record since 2019
Records in this category have climbed steadily. Kalimera’s 3 hours 31 minutes stood until Glowacka’s attempt. Glowacka’s mark then held for several years, until Guinness World Records confirmed in March 2024 that Donnajean Wilde, a 58-year-old grandmother from Alberta, had held a plank for 4 hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds. That keeps the women’s title in Canada.
The men’s record is far longer. Former US Marine George Hood held a plank for more than eight hours in 2020, at the age of 62, and in 2023 Czech athlete Josef Šálek pushed the men’s record to 9 hours, 38 minutes and 47 seconds, according to Guinness World Records. These are extreme outliers, trained for years.
What a plank actually trains
A plank is an isometric exercise: the muscles work hard while the body does not move. It mainly asks the deep abdominal wall, the obliques, the muscles along the spine and the glutes to work together to keep the trunk rigid. The shoulders and arms carry much of the load as well, which is why many people feel a plank in their shoulders before their abs.
That kind of trunk stiffness is useful in daily life, for lifting a heavy box or carrying shopping without twisting awkwardly. It is one reason planks appear in so many training plans, physiotherapy programmes and military fitness tests.
A record hold, though, is a different activity. After the first few minutes, a multi-hour plank is mostly a test of pain tolerance, small-muscle endurance and concentration. It is impressive, but it is not a more effective way of building a strong core than shorter, well-formed sets.
Myths about long planks
“An average person can hold a plank for five minutes”
Older versions of stories about this record repeated that claim, but there is no reliable study behind it. Hold times vary hugely with training, body weight and technique, and many fit people stop well before five minutes. There is no single “normal” number to measure yourself against.
“Longer is always better”
Not for everyday fitness. Many coaches and spine researchers favour several short holds with good form, often in the range of ten seconds to a minute, over one long, shaky effort. Once the hips sag or the lower back arches, the exercise stops doing its job and can strain the back.
“If it hurts, it is working”
A burning feeling in tired muscles is normal. Sharp pain, pain in the lower back, or pain that lingers afterwards is a signal to stop. Anyone with a back condition, a recent injury or pregnancy should talk to a doctor or physiotherapist before starting core training.
Practical takeaways for the rest of us
You do not need to aim for hours to benefit from the exercise Glowacka made famous. A sensible start looks like this:
- Check your form in a mirror or video: elbows under shoulders, body in one line, neck neutral.
- Hold only as long as you can keep that line, then rest and repeat.
- Add variety with side planks and planks on the hands, which train different parts of the trunk.
- Progress slowly, adding a few seconds a week rather than chasing a big number.
What makes Glowacka’s story worth remembering is less the clock than the preparation and support behind it: long preparation, a clear goal set partly for her son, and family support on the day. Those ingredients work at any level, from a first 20-second plank to a world record.
Sources: UPI (23 May 2019): Woman holds plank position for record 4 hours, 20 minutes; CTV News: Montrealer smashes record for longest plank held by a woman; Guinness World Records: History of the women’s plank world record; Guinness World Records (2024): Canadian grandmother planks for 4.5 hours to break women’s record.
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