Take off your clothes to make it in TV

Snapshots from ChinaJoy 2014

What is so appealing about planking? I detest running, but I'll take 20 minutes of it over even three minutes of the punishing ab exercise.

"It's supposed to make you lose weight fast," says Lei Xiaoxun, a page editor at the newspaper, who discovered the exercise when he saw another colleague doing it. "I sweat a lot whenever I do it."

According to Hood, Chinese people are drawn to it because the root of planking is "deeply invested in yoga and Buddhist culture". Media reports have quoted him as saying: "They respect the true meaning of the plank and the energy that can be generated."

Underneath the burning pain and dripping sweat also lies a modicum of fun. Lei's 3-year-old son started planking while watching his father work out. After four months of doing the exercise twice a week, Lei has taken a break, but his son hasn't.

The boy set a personal record of 2:46 the first time he tried the exercise, which is probably a better time than that of some participants at the Plank World Cup. I know it puts my own record to shame.