Danish plank champ vows to reclaim record
Justin Cremer - [email protected]
Published: 2 Oct, 2014 CET.
Updated: Thu 2 Oct 2014 08:42 CET
51-year-old fitness instructor Tom Hoel has his work cut out for him if he wants to regain the world record for the longest plank, but he tells The Local he has accepted the challenge.
They say that records are made to be broken. Danish fitness instructor Tom Hoel was reminded of that old saw this week when his world record for planking was smashed by China’s Mao Weidong. Mao held the plank position for four hours and 26 minutes, topping 51-year-old Hoel’s previous record by over an hour. But rather than lie down flat and admit defeat, Hoel is preparing to rise to his feet (and elbows) to reclaim the title. “I’m training for a new attempt on June 12th, 2015. This time, the planning will need to take longer to get my whole body ready for the challenge,” Hoel told The Local. Despite Mao’s impressive feat, Hoel said he’s up for giving it another go. “I’m positive about it as long as we’re under five hours. I will reconsider my attempt if anyone pushes the limit beyond that,” he told us. “Nothing is impossible. I’m still in shape with room for improvement. I just did a two-hour plank yesterday!” he added. Hoel, whose plank time of three hours and eight minutes held the world record for over three months, is a fitness instructor and personal trainer in Frederikssund. His attempt to set a world record for the largest collective plank earlier this month fell short, but true to form Hoel didn’t let that get him down either. “For me, it’s really not about world records – it’s about getting people involved. This is my new motivation and purpose. I’m very good at inspiring other people to do things,” he told The Local in August.
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They say that records are made to be broken. Danish fitness instructor Tom Hoel was reminded of that old saw this week when his world record for planking was smashed by China’s Mao Weidong.
Mao held the plank position for four hours and 26 minutes, topping 51-year-old Hoel’s previous record by over an hour.
But rather than lie down flat and admit defeat, Hoel is preparing to rise to his feet (and elbows) to reclaim the title.
“I’m training for a new attempt on June 12th, 2015. This time, the planning will need to take longer to get my whole body ready for the challenge,” Hoel told The Local.
Despite Mao’s impressive feat, Hoel said he’s up for giving it another go.
“I’m positive about it as long as we’re under five hours. I will reconsider my attempt if anyone pushes the limit beyond that,” he told us.
“Nothing is impossible. I’m still in shape with room for improvement. I just did a two-hour plank yesterday!” he added.
Hoel, whose plank time of three hours and eight minutes held the world record for over three months, is a fitness instructor and personal trainer in Frederikssund. His attempt to set a world record for the largest collective plank earlier this month fell short, but true to form Hoel didn’t let that get him down either.
“For me, it’s really not about world records – it’s about getting people involved. This is my new motivation and purpose. I’m very good at inspiring other people to do things,” he told The Local in August.
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