Guinness World Record Holder George Hood Performs 2-Hour Training Plank at Five Seasons Burr Ridge

It's not an officially sanctioned Guinness World Record, but George Hood took his training to a new level on Nov. 15 by holding an abdominal plank for a full two hours.

Hood, the Group Exercise Director at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Burr Ridge, performed the demonstration in conjunction with Guinness World Records Day.

Since last December, he has held the Guinness record in the event, at 1 hour, 20 minutes and 5.01 seconds. Before the training session in the fitness room of Five Seasons, 6901 S. Madison, Hood had exceeded that mark three times, including a 1 hour, 36-minute plank in July.

"That was good," Hood declared in dramatic understatement, moments after transitioning into a side plank from the position he had held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In taking his training to Five Seasons, Hood returned to the exact spot where he first broke the Guinness World Record in static spin cycling, in July 2007.

Hood is a former Marine and Drug Enforcement Administration agent who turns 55 next month. He was accompanied during his demonstration by club members as well as men and women he has trained and mentored over the past several years.

Connie McCartney of Aurora said Hood has helped her push into new training-and-fitness levels.

"With George, you're encouraged to keep going and do more than you thought you could do," McCartney said. "He helps you learn how to push yourself, both physically and mentally."

On this day, Hood embodied that principle for not only those he has trained and others who came out to witness his feat but an international audience that tuned in to his demonstration via livestream broadcast.

Hood has indicated plans are afoot in 2013 to make an official bid to break his own Guinness record. As with most of his prior Guinness World Record events, the attempt would also raise money for a charity, which he has not yet identified.

For more information about Five Seasons, visit www.facebook.com/FiveSeasonsBurrRidge. To learn more about Hood's record-breaking performances, visit www.RideGeorgeRide.org.