When 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
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Comments 33
Im getting HER to train ME! I'm so jealous!
To those on here who complain about organics, environmental groups, the push for being fit and a healthy weight...this is why! You really think this woman could look like this if she were even merely slightly overweight and ate pesticide-laced fruits?!?!? Hell to the fuck no!
BTW - she is on to something about exercise being anti-aging; there's some preliminary research suggesting routine weightlifting can make DNA repair itself. And it's the gradual breakdown of our DNA that's primary (but by far not the only) factor why we age.
Way to go Ernestine. This really inspires me. Thank you.
I was so very "put-off" by the author's description of getting old. You know, getting old is a lot better than the alternative. Also, for a young person to describe old people as though they are disgusting actually disgusts me. I truly think this young adult generation is the rudest, most unkind group of people I have seen, Oops, except for the children you are all raising.
This woman looks wonderful and I applaud her. When you work until it is time for you to go, perhaps the time is not available to run as much as she does and lift weights, etc. But, so great that she does this since she has the time and money to do it. Wonderful, good for her! My aunt who is also 75 is wrinkly and saggy and retired. But, I am proud of her because she gives lots of time to the Adoption Exchange and rocks babies in the intensive care unit at the hospital. Her wrinkles are beautiful!
The rest of you all can now work on how to not age and not get "wrinkly", etc. Perhaps you can have respect, however, for those who are "wrinkly" from years of hard work. A little respect for others goes a long way!
She looks great! I can't imagine running that much though.
Tammantha, if I'm elderly and had the body of a 40 year-old that is toned and tight, you're damn right I'd get some bolt-ons. Work it if you got it, I say.