Set On

December 4, 2014

Location

Miami, Gold Coast, Queensland

Info

Background of the record attempt

In mid-2013 I entered a fitness competition at my gym. One of the activities was an abdominal plank (unweighted). I had only done this once before and knew that it was hard! On my first attempt at the beginning of the competition, I held it for just over 4 minutes. At the end of the 6-week challenge I did it for 23 minutes. The manager at the gym was quite impressed. This encouraged me to go for a record. I began experimenting with weighed planks. This enabled me to do a lot more in a lot less time!

A close friend of mine works for a childrens’ charity, the Mirabel Foundation. Mirabel helps children who have been orphaned due to parents with substance abuse issues. I know that they do some great work and that they would appreciate some publicity and fundraising. I have involved them and I have begun raising funds.

The event took place at my local gym, Miami Fitness, in Miami on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. I invited witnesses to act as judges and timekeepers, my family and a few friends.

The event started at 7:30PM. Two people place the weighted backpack on my back, I got into position and the judge blew the whistle. At 3 min 40 seconds I didn’t feel I could continue so I stopped and the judge blew the whistle. The backpack was removed from my back.

The weighted bag was measured on scales before and after the attempt (we photographed this and included it as well). The weight recorded before and after the attempt was 45.7kg (the required weight was 45.4kg). This was witnessed by both witnesses, the timekeepers, myself and the gym manager.

Details of who took part in the record attempt

Lisa Hansen-Burns: Lisa is the gym manager and my person trainer. It was her role to set things up and help place the weight on my back.

Sara Carrigan: Sara acted as a timekeeper as she is an accredited cycling coach (Cycling Australia, Level 2). Sara is a former professional cyclist and won the gold medal in the Athens Olympics for the women’s road cycling race. She has also been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM).

Steven Sing: Steven acted as a timekeeper as he is an accredited cycling coach (Cycling Australia, Level 1)

Jason Konrath: Jason acted as a witness and the judge. Jason is a qualified exercise scientist and is currently a PHD Researcher in this field at Griffith University at Griffith University.

Christopher Sharpe: Chris acted as a second witness. He is a professional firefighter.

Description of how the record was measured

Two experienced timekeepers used stopwatches accurate to the 0.01 seconds. Their times were recorded as:

Sara Carrigan: 3 minutes 40 seconds 42 milliseconds

Steven Sing: 3 minutes 40 seconds 40 milliseconds

I have attached a video of the attempt as well as some still photography of the bag being weighed before and after the attempt, the stopwatches, and the people involved in the attempt.