During the spring of 2020, as businesses shut-down and everyone adjusted to working from home – I decided to throw down the gauntlet on myself:

Do a five-minute plank.

Ever since high school, I toyed with the idea but never committed myself to see it through. But forever whatever reason, during 2020 I decided it was time to do it.

The experience was enlightening and I discovered many lessons training up to the 5-minute mark including – fast bpm music does not help (slower Japanese music was the best)… look at the clock as little as possible… and how feelings of giving up were fleeting (and you can become more at peace with them).

While this accomplishment was deeply satisfying and a challenging mountain for me personally to climb, it does not hold a candle to what people have accomplished with this exercise.

For instance, 58-year-old Donna Jean Wilde recently broke the women’s world record for the plank.

On March 21st, she went back to the Magrath High School gymnasium, where she was a vice principal, and set-up on a platform for her marathon plank.

When the Guinness world record crew gave her the word, the clock started and the packed gymnasium cheered as kids held signs and did their own planks alongside her. And Wilde proceeded to hold her plank for 4 hours 30 minutes and 11 seconds.

(Apparently breaking the previous record by 10 minutes)

How’d she do it?

Apparently, Wilde had been an active exerciser for decades (often running 4 miles in the morning) but didn’t get serious about the plank until she broke her wrist. She found she couldn’t do the same workouts and sports while wearing a cast. But she found she could hold a plank comfortably so she started giving herself little plank challenges.

“That was one thing I could do for the next six or eight weeks with a cast on. I realized I could read and do things when I was planking and I fell in love with it.” 

After that she worked up to longer and longer bouts until she could plank for over an hour at a time. The month before breaking the record, she was totaling 5-6 hours of planks per day in 2-3 hours blocks.

Now some people will think,

Why? Why does anyone need to plank for that long?  

And that’s the thing.

It’s not about 'need to'.

It’s not about ‘have to’.

It’s about something more. It’s about going beyond your limits… seeing where you can go… how far you can take something…. and knowing it’s not just about you. That what you’re doing just might create a ripple-effect for countless others on their journey of excellence:

“Whatever it is that you like if it’s sports or academics or music [or] arts - whatever it is the more you practice the better you get and the easier it becomes and then you can help others around you.” - Donna Jean Wilde

Kelan Ern

P.S. If this type of record-breaking athleticism inspires you, check out my latest review of one of the greatest books on the mindset of a champion. This was the one book legendary wrestler Dan Gable returned to again and again over the course of his career.

Heart of a Champion

Along crawled a classic question:

Why do attempts to lose weight fail despite dieting?

One of the biggest frustrations is when someone decides ‘enough is enough’ and starts hitting the local gym or hops on a diet – but shockingly they are not rewarded for their efforts (at least not in the way they expected).

Psychologically that puts them in a bind because they are working hard… making sacrifices… and putting in sweat equity.

But it’s not working.

(Or so they think)

Here are four mindsets that can get in the way:

One measuring stick dilemma

Many people have one, maybe two measuring sticks to gauge their success. In many cases, it’s the bathroom scale. So if the scale is not showing progress they assume they are not making progress (and possibly failing at life). The reality is: they might have too few measuring sticks. And if they had more ways to measure, they might realize they are right on track. In some cases, they might realize they are already kickin’ butt.

Expecting linear results

Many people have an expectation of linear results - that results will be constant. And that what works will always work. But the path is never strait, it ebbs and flows. There’s volatility in it. And what works at first, might not always work. You might have to adjust your approach to breakthrough to another level.

Destination vs. journey

Many people attack their fitness goals with an underlying belief: As soon as I get my goal weight then I’ll be happy. Or then I’ll be done. Problem is, that’s not how lasting transformation happens. It’s not about ‘getting fit’ and then being done with it and moving onto something else. It’s about a much different relationship with nutrition and exercise where it expands and enhances all other areas of life.  

Short-term vs. long-term strategies

Short-term many people can put up with spinach salads, celery sticks and lack of variety in their meals. Short-term many people can turn down dessert or bread at the restaurant. Many people can push through and suffer if they set their mind to it - for a finite amount of time. But long-term this is hard to do. It takes a different approach. That’s why it takes a willingness to embrace healthy and delicious. And it takes embracing a new lifestyle where you enjoy the results and enjoy the process.

These are just a few stream-of-consciousness thoughts on the topic. Not sure who might have needed to hear this but these tend to be what trip people up most often in my experience.

For a deeper dive into the mindset of lasting transformation, athleticism and a whole new relationship with fitness, check out:

Mind-Body Breakthroughs

Kelan Ern