'It wasn't easy for me to do this, but I proved [to] myself I could.'
. Initially, Millan started doing longer planks"as a way to find strength in the pain, because that's what we need to practice as endurance athletes." She worked her way up to longer times, starting with a seven-minute plank, then progressing to 10, 12, 15, and finally 21 minutes: her new personal record.
The 21-minute plank, surprisingly,"wasn't as bad as I thought it [would] be," Millan tells POPSUGAR. She says she was mentally prepared to suffer,"but really, I just focused on listening to a playlist I made for it." The playlist was 17 minutes in length, and she was surprised when it ended and she was still feeling strong. When she finally looked at the stopwatch, she saw she'd been holding the plank for 20 minutes — longer than she'd planned.
Millan came out of the experience even more inspired than before."It wasn't easy for me to do this, but I proved [to] myself I could," she tells POPSUGAR."It will never be easy, and it's more of a mental limitation than a physical one! I encourage everyone to do the uncomfortable — you can really get to know yourself more if you don't avoid it." It won't happen overnight and we definitely don't recommend trying a 10-minute plank right out of the gate.
And if you were wondering what's next for Millan and her plank holds, well, you probably already know the answer."I want to try a 30-minute plank," she says,"and more for sure!"