Cottonwood musician also a push-up expert

Photo by Michael Woodward

Ronnie Brackett shows form for a perfect push-up.

When describing his feat of 2,140 push-ups in a half-hour, with a certificate from the Guiness Book of World Records to prove it, Ronnie Brackett boiled that and most of his other accomplishments down to setting goals.

In fact, both the ranch he now owns and his record push-up figure came out of an exercise in high school, according to the 55-year-old general contractor, now living in the Bowman Road area south of Cottonwood with his wife, Diane.

A teacher asked him to write down five things he wanted to accomplish in life. Then, part of his grade in that class came from working toward that goal.

He chose push-ups — 1,000 of them. Brackett said he charted on the wall how many push-ups he did each day. Watching the figure grow over the months provided him with great motivation.

Brackett noted that doing push-ups for speed differs from standard form. Rather than lowering the body slowly, Brackett said he let himself free-fall so he wouldn't tire and hit the mat with his chest each time.

Brackett eclipsed his initial goal in one semester, so he set it higher to achieve something greater rather than to rest on the success, he said.

"It's like pushing a car up a hill. Once you stop, it's hard to get (the car moving) again," Brackett said.

He performed the record-breaking feat in Long Beach in 1980, he said, adding he was later notified by Guiness World Records that they were eliminating the half-hour event that he competed in. He also performed 1,335 finger tip push-ups in another event the same day.

His life was never just about exercises, though. Brackett said that in high school he was the only football player who also sang in the school choir.

Brackett's love for music led him to write a variety of country music songs, with some success as well. One of his songs was picked up by Comstock Records and was rated ninth for one month by the European Country Music Association, he said.

Brackett sings locally on few occasions, most recently at a political fund raiser in Redding for Pete Stiglich. His songs are available on his Web site, www.ronniebrackett.com.

Brackett has four children and five grandchildren.