Meet 78 Year Old Bodybuilder Ernestine Shepherd
Every morning at 3AM, Ernestine Shepherd is wide awake running, lifting weights and working out before she heads to her job at her gym, where she’s a certified personal trainer. Now 78 years old, Shepherd is the world’s oldest performing female bodybuilder.
Photo Credit | @ lorna-harvey.com
But she wasn’t always as fit as she is now. Just under 20 years ago, Shepherd said she was overweight, but was too high maintenanceto work out.
“I was too prissy to exercise,” she told ABC. “I just didn’t want to have my hair messed up. Didn’t want my fingernails broken.”
It wasn’t until age 56 that Shepherd decided to hit the gym – and eventually, she hit it hard. But she didn’t start off strong. Rather, Shepherd said she started with a simple aerobics class and gradually increased her workout.
In time, she found that workout out was a good way for her to deal with her health problems. She doesn’t take high blood pressure medications, nor medicine for panic attacks or acid reflux. The only supplement she takes is vitamin D. Shepherd said that by running, lifting weights and working out, she is able to clear all signs of depression or anxiety.
Her good health also comes with a good diet.
Shepherd said that in addition to waking up extra early and working out, she eats ten scrambled egg whites, a handful of walnuts and 16 ounces of water. She’ll eat several small meals after that – lots of chicken and veggies — for a total of 1,700 calories. It’s not all about bodybuilding for Shepherd – it’s about staying in shape.
“Not everybody wants to be a bodybuilder. Not everybody wants to be a runner,” she told Huffington Post. “But find what you like to do. I say to my senior ladies — and the men — ‘Don’t forget: Age is nothing but a number and you can get fit.'”
As far as inspiration goes? Shepherd said her biggest motivation was Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movies.
“I was inspired by the Rocky Balboa character and I found it was not about how hard you can get hit, but how you keep moving forward. That is how winning is done,” she told TIME. “The Rocky movies make me ready to take on the world.”