How One Athlete Chased a Pull-Up Bar Record at 81

When you see a pull-up bar, there’s one physical activity that likely comes to mind: pull-ups. While they’ve lent this piece of equipment its name, they aren’t the only physical feat that an athlete can accomplish using them. In 2022, for instance, Japan’s Kenta Adachi set a new world record for hanging from a pull-up bar for well over an hour.

Sustaining the dead hang position has plenty of health benefits. One Healthline article noted that the fitness benefits of the dead hang can both help athletes looking to complete more pull-ups and are good for overall finess on their own. Even if you aren’t looking to set a new world record, spending time every day in a dead hang position can be good for your shoulders.

Still, the prospect of setting a new world record is nothing to sneeze at. In 2025, Annie Judis set a world record by being the oldest person to sustain this position on her 81st birthday. This week, The New York Times published an article by Hilary Achauer about the efforts of another octogenerian athlete, 81-year-old Bonnie Sumner, looking to set another record involving the dead hang.

Hanging from a Pull-Up Bar for a Few Minutes Each Day Will Fix Your Shoulders

It ain’t magic. It’s science.

There were many obstacles to Sumner’s pursuit of the record, from arthritis to grief over the recent death of her husband. Sumner wound up hanging from the bar for three minutes and three seconds — a time that dramatically exceeded her previous attempts.

The Times credits a number of factors, including Sumner’s own talent for sustaining this position, her work with personal trainer Eve Lawrence and her discovery of certain ways of making the task easier, including crossing her ankles. It’s an impressive accomplishment — and a reminder that exercise is worth pursuing at just about any age.

Meet your guide

Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…