71-year-old Andy Steinfeldt had never even heard of a plank (as anything other than a piece of wood) a few years ago.
Now he hopes to hold the world record for longest-held plank in his age group.
Steinfeldt knows he cannot compete with younger world record holders who have held the plank position for hours, not minutes. The current world record among all men is held by Mao Weidong of China who held the position for 8 hours, 1 minute in May 2016.
The Minnetonka, Minnesota resident told the Lakeshore Weekly News that he joined a new gym a few years ago and was asked to do a series of fitness tests to make sure he was fit enough to use the equipment.
Steinfeldt said that he got down on the floor and held the plank for about 10 minutes before the employee stopped him.
They only needed him to hold the position for around 30 seconds!
Andy recalled the employee being impressed that he could plank for such a long time.
"I had no idea. I didn't even know what the plank was."
On his 70th birthday last year, Andy decided to see how long he could hold a plank without stopping.
The result: 35 minutes.
"I surprised myself with it. I still didn't know what a big deal it was until I did a little Googling and found out that 90 seconds is considered exceptional."
For his 71st birthday, Andy decided to make an official try at the world record. He broke it, though not easily, managing to hold the plank for 38 minutes!
Based on his research, the previous record for his age group was set by Betty Lou Sweeney of Wisconsin in 2011 with a plank of 36 minutes, 58 seconds. Steinfeldt will have to wait for Guinness to review his application before he knows for sure if he can claim the title.
The Guinness website does not contain all records by age groups, just the title holders by gender. But even if he fails to get recognized by Guinness, Andy is pleased with his performance.
Twitter users were awed and inspired by Andy's accomplishment!
Andy's new world record attempt shows that determination and dedication can lead people to do amazing things.
