74-year-old female body builder defies time

Published : May 31, 2011 - 11:19 Updated : May 31, 2011 - 15:09

Ernestine Shepherd, 74, was recognized as the oldest female bodybuilder by the Guinness Book of World Records. (YouTube)

A 74-year-old woman living in Baltimore was recognized as the oldest female bodybuilder by the Guinness Book of World Records, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.

Ernestine Shepherd has “six-pack” abs which look unbelievable at her age and tries to motivate other people to lead healthy lives as she teaches at a Baltimore fitness center.

“If you are going to try to motivate people, you have to live that part,” said Shepherds, who has kept a strict workout schedule and diet for 18 years.

She wakes up at 3 a.m. every morning to meditate and runs 16 km in a local park before lunch. She shuns sweets and keeps a rather strict diet of brown rice, chicken breasts, vegetables and a glass of raw egg whites three times a day.

She lives with her husband of 54 years and has a son, 53, and grandson, 14.

She said in the interview with the Washington Post that she was a “couch potato” until she was 56. Since then, she has run nine marathons and won two bodybuilding contests.

“Age is nothing but a number,” she said.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)
Edited by Rob York

<한글 요약>

74세 몸짱 할머니, 복근 공개

미국 볼티모어에 사는 74세의 할머니가 기네스북에 의해 세계 최고령 여성 보디빌더로 이름을 올렸다.

볼티모어 휘트니스센터에서 강사로 일하고 있는 할머니는 매일 새벽 3시에 일어나 점심을 먹기 전까지 약 16 킬로미터에 해당하는 거리를 달린다. 또 흰 계란 한 컵, 현미밥, 닭 가슴살과 야채 등으로 구성된 식단을 매일 3끼 꼬박꼬박 챙겨 먹으며 건강을 유지한다.

56살 때까지는 운동과는 거리가 먼 ‘카우치 포테이토’ 였다는 이 할머니는 이후 18년간 마라톤 대회에 총 9번 참가하고, 보디빌더 경연대회에 2번 참가했다. “나이는 숫자에 불과하다”는 할머니는 “누군가에게 동기를 부여하고 싶다면 그렇게 사는 모습을 보여주는 것이 가장 좋다”고 말했다.

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