A Bay fitness group, dominated by elderly women, is giving unfit youngsters a run for their money with the recently established fundraising initiative Planking for Ponchos, which sees the women perform planks for the longest possible time in exchange for donations.
Among the women who perform the isometric exercise, which leaves youngsters almost a quarter of her age groaning in agony, is 92-year-old Betty Thompson, who can plank for up to one minute at a go.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I think the Lord has blessed me in a special way.
“I am very healthy and able to do a lot of things for myself and I love doing charity work,” said Thompson.
The planking is a trend among Be Fitness Training members who meet regularly in different groups to exercise.
While Thompson can plank for up to a minute, the longest plank was 14 minutes and 30 seconds by an 84-year-old Be Fitness Training member.
The group’s initial goal was to raise funds for 70 ponchos for financially disadvantaged children, but the initiative exceeded expectations when donations reached up to R20,000 in less than three weeks.
“We thought to do something to give back to the community this year and we love kids, so we decided to do the planking move to raise funds.
“So we take our donation forms and go around telling people what to do and ask them to donate,” said group trainer Elmarie Nel.
Nel said the money was enough to buy material for more than 1,600 ponchos.
The material is set to be cut into ponchos next Friday, to be donated to various Port Elizabeth crèches through Charity Projects PE on Monday July 16.

“Everyone who has been involved with donations can join us when we do the cutting. It’s so special to see all these people getting out of their comfort zone and doing things they wouldn’t normally do, to bless kids.
“My mind still can’t fathom it. . . . and the best part is that the money is still coming in, so we will probably have more to give in the end,” said Nel.
Be Fitness Training comprises about 300 women who have formed groups in different Port Elizabeth areas to do fitness training.
“We started with the donations about two weeks ago and saw that it was actually bigger than I thought it would be when we reached R10,000 within such a short while – and now we’re at more than R20,000,” said Nel.
Be Fitness Training member Cecilia Williams, 67, who planked for six minutes, said she was excited about the poncho programme and credited Nel’s leadership for the members’ determination.
“It doesn’t matter how old we are, when we have a group of people who say we can do this, then we can. I think that attitude has a lot to do with Elmarie’s leadership and spirit,” said Williams.
“The most exciting thing for me is that we are doing this for children and we're having fun while doing it.”
Contact Nel through the Be Fitness Training Facebook page...