September 8, 2021, 10:55 am | Read time: 5 minutes
It’s hard to believe what Australian Daniel Scali achieved for the new world record in planking. He surpassed the already incredible benchmark set by George Hood, who spent more than eight hours in a forearm plank in early 2020. Scali held out for over an hour longer, even under challenging health conditions. FITBOOK spoke with him.
Anyone who has tried it will surely agree: Planking for several minutes straight is already a real challenge. A hobby athlete can rightfully be proud if they manage five minutes. But that’s nothing compared to what world record aspirants regularly achieve in this exercise. After former Marine George Hood spent 8 hours, 15 minutes, and 15 seconds in a forearm plank last year, Australian Daniel Scali has now significantly surpassed this time. With 9 hours, 30 minutes, and 1 second, he set the new world record in planking. Sensational in itself. But Scali also accomplished this under enormous pain. He has suffered from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) since childhood.
Overview
World Record in Planking – Despite or Because of CRPS?
For Scali, planking holds a special significance. Sports in general, but especially the forearm plank, helped the Australian better endure his chronic pain. At 12, he broke his left arm after falling off a trampoline. The fracture healed, but the complex regional pain syndrome remained. “I started planking during a training session with friends in the backyard and noticed that training and fitness were very beneficial for my pain management. I knew I was causing myself pain by putting pressure on my arm. But somehow, after the session, something changed. After the initial worsening of the pain, my arm suddenly felt better,” Scali revealed in the FITBOOK interview.
Also interesting: Is it sensible to plank for a long time?
Unfortunately, planking did not have a lasting improvement effect. Nevertheless, the Australian was driven by ambition. He saw planking and the attempt to break the world record as an opportunity to raise awareness about chronic pain. “I had a goal in mind, and my pain shouldn’t stop me from achieving it. Since I’ve been battling it for so long, I’m lucky to have learned to deal with pain and make it my friend. No one likes pain, but if you treat it differently and welcome it, you can sometimes take the edge off it,” Scali explains.
9.5 Hours of Planking – An Extreme Experience
Planking for hours – it’s clear this is no walk in the park. To surpass Hood’s incredible time, Scali had to push beyond his limits. What helped him: his mental strength and the knowledge that he already overcomes the worst with his pain syndrome every day. “CRPS is rated 42 out of 50 on the McGill Pain Index, which is higher than childbirth or the amputation of a finger in the worst case. So I knew that planking wouldn’t reach those levels, which gave me more strength than I needed. Planking is very strenuous for the body, but you have to learn to control your mind because it screams at you to get down, while another part of you says you’re fine and have more in you. It’s up to you which side you want to listen to,” Scali told FITBOOK.
For this reason, he didn’t give up during the world record attempt – not when his legs started burning at minute 14, when his once-broken arm caused trouble, and not even when he vomited at hour 7. The champion persevered and planked for an astounding 9 hours, 30 minutes, and 1 second!
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How to Prepare for 9 Hours of Planking
The previous record holder, George Hood, revealed after his successful world record that his 18-month training consisted of daily 4 to 5 hours of planking, 700 push-ups, 2,000 sit-ups (in sets of 100), 500 squats, and 300 bicep curls. He also perfected mentally detaching from the concept of time over the years. Scali also trained hard to be in peak form for the world record attempt: “I did over 500 push-ups, 600 sit-ups, 500 arm curls with resistance daily, and planked for 5 hours every night. I also trained a single muscle group during the day to condition my muscles, ran 4 km, and worked out in the gym to maintain my overall fitness.” Like Hood, the new champion knew that mental strength would also be crucial. That’s why he focused on mental training alongside fitness workouts.
Here you can watch the world record in planking that Hood set in 2020 again:
How Is Daniel Scali Now?
After the “Longest Male Abdominal Plank,” Australian Daniel Scali is overjoyed. “Words can’t describe the feelings that washed over me after the announcement of the record. The pain, the fear, the blood, the vomiting, all the time was worth it, it took everything out of me, and I’m so glad I could do this on behalf of all people suffering from chronic pain,” he enthused. While 62-year-old George Hood hung up his planking career after his success, Scali is already back in the gym with full energy.
So it could very well be that he might attempt another world record in the future. Until then, he has a message for everyone who, like him, suffers from chronic pain: “Don’t let the pain define who you are or who you want to be, let it serve as fuel for the person you know you can be.”
If you’re interested in planking, you can learn the right technique with the following video featuring the “Capital Trainer”:
And: Don’t give up too quickly! At the beginning, it’s normal for the body to start shaking after 20 to 30 seconds. That doesn’t mean you’re done. There’s more to come! Always make sure that the body forms a straight line from head to toe and that neither a hollow back forms nor the butt is raised too high. Have fun!