Supreme Court

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Fit As Hell

RBG does real pushups.

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Ginsberg works out like a bossHere at Above the Law we’ve spent a fair amount of time talking about the man that stands between Donald Trump’s influence on the Supreme Court for a generation. I am talking about Bryant Johnson. He’s the records manager in the clerk’s office that moonlights as a personal trainer, and he oversees the fitness routines of not one, not two, but three Supreme Court Justices (Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer).

But while we could only imagine what the workout routine of the Justices looks like, POLITICO’s Ben Schreckinger actually went to Johnson to do that same workout as RBG, and it sounds harrowing. But there are some fun tidbits in there. First of all, she prefers her twice weekly workouts to be at 7 p.m. so she can listen to PBS NewsHour while she works up a sweat. And Johnson stands next to the Justice while she warms up on the elliptical, just in case she loses her balance.

For strength:

The strength exercises started with a machine bench press, where Ginsburg normally puts up 70 pounds. From there it was leg curls and leg presses, chest flies and lat pull-downs, all on machines, while stretching the muscle groups being exercised in between sets. I performed three sets of seated rows and three sets of standing rows. It was so many rows I asked Johnson, “What about Wade?”

She also does one-legged squats followed by pushups:

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“Justice Ginsburg does 10 pushups and she does not do the so-called ‘girl pushups,’” explained Georgetown Law Professor Mary Hartnett during an appearance with the justice earlier this month at the Virginia Military Institute. “She does not use her knees.10 And then she stretches back for a very brief pause and she does 10 more.”

RBG’s routine has progressed from sit-ups to planks (though she reportedly isn’t a huge fan of the change). Then onto strength workouts for the arms/shoulders followed by leg/hip flexibility moves.

The final piece of the workout is designed to make sure the Justice can get off of the toilet bowl unassisted:

Finally, he had me sit on a bench while holding a medicine ball, then stand up, toss him the ball and sit back down again after he flipped the ball back to me.12 “I told the justice that if you cannot do this exercise, you will need a nurse 24-7,” Johnson recalled.

Let’s hope the routine keeps RBG going for at least another 4 years.

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I Did Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Workout. It Nearly Broke Me. [Politico]

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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