Global sportswear company Puma, along with 1623 women broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of people to hold the abdominal plank for 60 seconds. The core strength exercise was attempted by only women at the Jio Garden in Mumbai today as part of their ‘DoYou’ Campaign.
The record was previously held by King George V School in Hong Kong where 1549 participants held the plank position back in 2011, which included both men and women.
“I really do believe in girl power and what we can do united but this has exceeded my expectations. I feel so proud right now,” said actor Jacqueline Fernandez, ambassador for Puma.
Back in October’16, on International Girl Child Day, Puma had launched DO YOU – an international movement with women as the focus. The objective of the campaign was to instil confidence in women across the Globe to do what they truly wished to do in their life and career.
Also present at the event was Sakshi Malik, who recently bagged the bronze medal in wrestling (58 kg) at the 2016 summer Olympics held in Rio, Brazil. The 24-year-old reminisced about the time when not many believed in her abilities as an athlete.
“When I started out as a wrestler, the struggle was immense. A lot of people taunted me and tried to pull me back because I am a woman. But as the medals started arriving, people’s mindsets started changing. After the Olympics, a lot changed. The people who didn’t even like looking at me beg for a selfie” she said.
The freestyle wrestler spoke about how the plank exercise is an integral part of her workout routine, “During every exercise session, I do 3 sets each for 3 minutes each. I do both the side plank and the front plank. Wrestling is my passion and my identity now,” said the wrestler from Haryana.
The event also had its share of nervous moments. After 1623 women attempted the record, they were told that it would take at least 30 minutes for the officials to evaluate whether everyone held the plank position in the right manner and for the stipulated time of 60 seconds. However it was worth the wait when it was offically announced that the 5-year-old record was broken much to the delight of all the women present in the ground.
Talking about the movement, Abhishek Ganguly, managing director of Puma, India said, “As a brand we have a strong focus in the women's category. We wanted to provide women a platform to express their individuality and demonstrate their inner strength. We are extremely thrilled to see the campaign succeed and snowball into a massive movement,” he said.
