When she was 22, she was fighting for immigrants and rallying against the Vietnam War. At 81, she broke a Guinness World Record.
“I have a tendency when I’m doing something to sort of rise up, because that’s just who I am,” said Bonnie Sumner, interviewing from her Colorado home.
Summer, who lived in Milwaukee for decades and has four adult children in the area, Noah, Robin, Nathaniel, and Sam Sumner, was recently featured in the New York Times for her record-breaking 3-minute dead hang — that is, hanging from an overhead bar with straight arms until failure. But let’s not feel too surprised – Sumner has been reaching for new heights all her life.
As a young woman, she was a teacher in New York City who spent her free time at protests fighting for peace and equality. After meeting her late husband, Mark, at an overnight camp in upstate New York, the couple moved to Wisconsin.
They both attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison before settling in Milwaukee. Sumner joined leadership for several organizations, including the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Center, and the Urban League. She fought for fire prevention and even testified before Congress.
Despite her history of activism, Sumner wasn’t always an active gym-goer. “I didn’t really do any kind of weight training until I was 55,” she said. “I started going to the gym to just do things differently as I got older.”
Now, Sumner aims to inspire those who don’t feel empowered by the fitness community. “I’m doing this to encourage women, but especially older women, that it’s not too late,” she said.
Sumner champions “fitness for functionality” – not the glamorized bodybuilding and diet culture that we all see on social media. “I’ve heard so many conversations in the locker room at the gym with girls who are in their 40s saying, ‘Oh, I can’t do what I used to do.’ I’m trying to encourage them to do a little this and a little that … for your own ability to stay strong and healthy.”
“It is never too late to incorporate fitness into your life, no matter what age,” Sumner said.
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