ernestine shepherdWhen I picture myself at 75 years old ... well, honestly, I try to avoid picturing myself at 75 years old. No offense to the average septuagenarian, but I'm just not all that jazzed about a future of wrinkles and saggy old lady arms and boobs that hover around my waistline. Or perhaps I should say I wasn't all that jazzed about the golden years, because now that I've seen 75-year-old bodybuilder Ernestine Shepherd in action? Um, WOW. Apparently that whole "age is just a number" thing isn't merely something nice you write in a birthday card to your grandma -- it's true! 

Declared the oldest competitive female bodybuilder in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010, Ernestine Shepherd will literally redefine your personal definition of what a 75-year-old human being's body should look like. Shepherd is in better shape than the average 25-year-old!

Perfectly toned and sculpted, lean and mean, with absolutely gorgeous skin and bright eyes -- did this woman make a deal with the devil?

Nope. Her secret is simple.

"If ever there were an anti-aging pill, I would call it exercise," she says.

And exercise she does! You know, if you consider running 80 miles every week exercise. (Plus all the bodybuilding stuff, of course.) Naturally Shepherd eats healthy, too, sticking to a diet of mostly lean protein and vegetables.

My favorite thing about Ernestine Shepherd, though, is that she wasn't remotely athletic until she was in her late 50s, when she went to try on swimsuits with her sister and ... well, we all know how motivational THAT experience can be. She started with aerobics classes, then got into bodybuilding at around the age of 60. And would you look at her now?!

Just watch this powerhouse at the gym:

Has Ernestine Shepherd completely redefined the way you think about aging?

 

Image via healthyloverclub/YouTube