On Wednesday, April 9, NEIU Campus Recreation held a planking competition to see who could hold a plank the longest. The event took place on Court 4 in the Auxiliary Gym, where seven participants tested their endurance.
A plank is a static hold of the push-up position, where a person supports themselves on their toes and forearms. The exercise relies heavily on a strong core.
Strong cores were not lacking, as multiple participants held their planks for over two minutes. The winner was NEIU student Chihiro Takahashi, who held their plank for exactly 10 minutes. Not to be overshadowed, one of the runners-up, Omar Soto, also an NEIU student, held his plank for an impressive 4 minutes and 35 seconds.
A previous contest was held at NEIU’s El Centro Campus, located in the Avondale neighborhood. The winners of that contest also posted impressive times: Josue Morales, the winner, held a plank for 5 minutes, Santiago Teran came in second with 3 minutes and 26 seconds, and Simon Avila placed third with 2 minutes and 41 seconds.
