Danish PT spanks old plank PB

Sure, he can hold the plank position for four 1/2 hours...but he can sit in an office chair all day? Youtube

Four hours, 28 minutes.

A little uncomfortable if you're crammed into a budget-airline economy seat. Unthinkable agony if you're holding a plank to set a new world record.

So MH raises its hat to Danish fitness instructor Tom Hoel for his incredible feat of endurance, stamina and determination. In regaining his world record, Hoel beat the previous record, set last October by Chinese police officer Mao Weidong, by two minutes, and his own previous PB by a whopping 80 minutes.

Hoel spent nine months training to regain his planking crown, also giving up alcohol and eating a diet high in nutritious foods.

The record didn't come without its difficult moments, with Hoel having a serious crisis of confidence for almost two hours. "After mentally arguing with myself, I finally asked for the time at three hours and 41 minutes," he told Danish news website The Local. "I thought that I was still under three hours and was ready to quit, but when I realised I that had beat my former record and the goal was within sight, I mobilised every resource in my mind and body."

Have two hours to kill? You can view the highlights package here.