Think you’re too old to exercise? Check out this ripped bodybuilding gran… who’s just turned 80
Ernestine is motivated by her sister, who tragically died of a brain
AN 80-YEAR-OLD grandma is living proof that age is just a number.
The world’s oldest female bodybuilder, Ernestine Shepherd, perfectly sculpts her body by running 80 miles per week and waking up at 3am to go to the gym.
Fitness fanatic Ernestine, from Baltimore, USA, got into bodybuilding at the age of 56.
After going swimsuit shopping with her sister Velvet, 57, the pair agreed that they needed to get in better shape.
Encouraged by other people at their local Church, the duo hit the gym and began to notice huge differences in their bodies.
After getting into lifting weights, the sisters dreamed that one day they would make it into the Guinness Book of Records.
Shortly after the duo began hitting the gym, Velvet tragically died suddenly after suffering a brain aneurysm.
While she was mourning the death of her sister, Ernestine battled with depression and panic attacks.
She remembered: “I went to pieces; I didn’t want to do anything… It was an awful way to live.”
After Velvet came to her in a dream, Ernestine was determined to fulfil her sister’s goal of breaking a record.
Ernestine, who is a personal trainer and model, believes that her sister’s memory is what motivates her to keep going.
The world record holder for the oldest female bodybuilder remembers Velvet’s words: “We are going to try to inspire and motivate other seniors the importance of living a healthy, happy, positive lifestyle.”
As well as getting up at 3am every day for training, Ernestine lives on a strict diet of eggs, chicken and vegetables
Her exercise classes are so popular that she often struggles to get all gym-goers into her workout room.
One of her regular gym followers, Linda Hollis said: “I am so inspired by her, I am 66-years-old and I feel like I’m 21.”
It turns out that aspiring bodybuilders don't even have to attend one of Ernestine's classes to tone up.
In her motivational book, Determined, Dedicated, Disciplined To Be Fit, Ernestine takes readers through the journey of her body transformation.
Inspirational Ernestine, who has over 148,000 followers on Facebook, said: “Not everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, not everyone wants to be a runner. 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.’”