Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Trainer Honored Her by Doing Push-Ups at Her Memorial
Ruth Bader Ginsburg—the second woman to sit on the Supreme Court—passed away at 87 last week, leaving behind a towering legacy and an uncertain future as the Democrats and Republicans face off to fill her seat on the court.
RBG continues to make history, even though she’s passed. On Friday, September 25, Justice Ginsburg became the first woman and the first Jewish person to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. Among the gathering of mourners was RBG’s longtime personal trainer, Bryant Johnson, who was captured doing three push-ups in front of the casket in her honor.
Back in 2017, Johnson revealed RBG’s complete workout routine for Glamour, sharing that the Justice “found” him while she was recovering from cancer in 1999. “She gives it her all,” he wrote at the time. “Justice Ginsburg is T.A.N. (tough as nails).”
RBG’s fitness routine went on to become a sort of running bit on the late-night and variety show circuit. In 2018, Stephen Colbert joined the duo for a workout, with RBG donning a “Super Diva” sweatshirt to raise awareness for 2Unstoppable, “a nonprofit organization which encourages and supports exercise among women who have had a cancer diagnosis.”
In April 2020, Kate McKinnon even brought back her famed RBG impression for Saturday Night Live’s first at-home episode during the pandemic.
Johnson’s tribute spurred some emotional reactions. “Brought me to tears,” one Twitter user wrote. “We relied on her for so much & are all feeling her absence in different ways…The unconventional tribute made my heart smile.”
“The work she put into her health and wellness kept her in the fight,” another tweeted. “She did that for us. She did it to keep going. So that’s what we do, we keep going and STAY IN THE FIGHT.”
“I have never cried over push-ups before,” one user wrote. “But that streak is broken.”
Originally Appeared on Glamour
