Some of my friends call me “Granny”.
Perhaps it’s because I like to go to bed at 8:30PM, wake up at 5:30AM. Or maybe it’s bc I prefer to sit at home and read rather than go out to a club. Or maybe they are all just sluts and I’m a lil “conservative”. lol
Well, nonetheless, after hearing about 74 year old Grandma, Earnestine Shepard, I will wear my Granny moniker with pride!
Just days ago, the Guinness World Records named Ernestine, the Oldest Competitive Female Bodybuilder. She will appear in the 2012 Guinness World Records book coming out this September.
I am so inspired by her. Sometimes I make so many excuses to not work out. And after you have kids, it’s really easy to lose focus on staying healthy and in shape.
And here is a 74 year old who wakes up at 3 a.m. every morning, and runs 10 miles a day, before hitting the gym for pushups, pull-ups and a regimen of free weights. Earnestine runs about 80 miles per week and bench presses 150 pounds.
After hearing about her healthy eating regimine of a 1,700-calorie daily diet of egg whites in the morning, vegetables, chicken and brown rice, boiled egg whites, and a liquid egg white drink I vowed to be a better eater.
I polished off my 2nd Krispy Kreme donut and decided to skip my nightly bedtime snack of Skittles and Gelatto (Yum!).
One of the keys to working out is finding your inspiration. Earnestine’s came from fulfulling a promise to her late sister, who died in 1992 of a brain anuerysm just over a year into the training that she believed would drive them to become the oldest living fitness competitors in the world.
“I kept up everything she said we were going to do,” Shepherd said. “That’s kept me so close to her.”
In addition to working out, she volunteers at Baltimore’s Union Memorial United Methodist Church, works as a personal trainer, and appears as a motivational speaker all over the country.
I am sure her son, 13 year old grandson, and husband of 53 years are super proud of her.
Come on mommies…we gotta stop making excuses and stay fit!!!
I am 56 years of age and have thoght about getting back into competition. I started lifting weights when I was 21 and competed. I still workout everyday with weights and eat right most of the time. I have a body of a teenager and look very good for 56. Just a thought and maybe make it a reality……….