BE INSPIRED BODYBUILDER ERNESTINE!
Ernestine Shepherd was 56 when she decided she needed to get fit. She tells Closer about her incredible transformation
With her rippling muscles and W toned abs, pensioner Ernestine Shepherd is in better shape than many women less than half her age. And she has no intention of slowing down any time soon.
Incredibly, the 82-year-old granny bounds out of bed every morning at 2.30am, and starts her day by meditating, followed by a breakfast of liquid egg whites. Energised, she will then go for a 10-mile run before heading home for a second breakfast, in time to hit the gym at 7.30am. Once there, she’ll do her training and weight lifting before teaching a bodybuilding class.
Afterwards, Ernestine returns home to help care for her husband of 62 years, Colin, 86, who is virtually bedridden as he suffers from gout.
COUCH POTATO
It’s a routine she has pretty much stuck with for the past 26 years and has no intention of deviating from – despite her advancing years. Yet Ernestine, who has a 61-year-old son and one grandchild, considers herself a relatively late convert to fitness. She says, “I haven’t always enjoyed exercise, but I love it now. And I want to inspire other women that it’s never too late to start.”
It was only when she was in her mid-fifties that the once-sedentary school secretary started training, admitting that she was a bit of a couch potato before then and loved nothing more than chocolate cake and ice cream.
She adds, “I’d even get out of PE at school because I’d injured my ankle in a car accident. In fact, I didn’t step foot in a gym at all until I was 56.
JEALOUS
“My sister, Velvet, and I had been invited to a picnic and were told to bring our swimming costumes. We went shopping to buy one and both of us were disappointed by how out of shape we looked. We vowed to change our ways, so we joined our local gym.”
The pair started going regularly, doing aerobics before moving on to weights and eventually bodybuilding. Ernestine, who’s 5ft 4 and weighs just over 8st, recalls, “Velvet changed shape much quicker than me and I have to admit I was jealous as she was getting all of the attention! It spurred me on to try harder and within just months, I started to notice a dramatic change in my shape. We had dreams of appearing in the Guinness World Records book as being the oldest bodybuilding sisters.”
Tragically, just 18 months after they started their fitness regime, Velvet suffered a brain aneurysm and died shortly afterwards. Ernestine, who lives in Maryland, USA, remembers, “Before she died, Velvet told me that I had to carry on without her and keep up with the bodybuilding. But I was devastated after her death and gave up – I ended up having to take pills for depression and anxiety. I was in a dark place. It took a few years before I could carry on, but I started again when I turned 60. Five years later I met a new trainer, Yohnnie Shambourger, and told him that I wanted to get into the Guinness World Records book. We worked out a programme together, which involved training with him for nearly two hours, two days a week. Then on other days I would follow his programme for a further hour, as well as running every day. When I started training second time around, I weighed nearly 10st. I had a small waist, but big hips and a lot of cellulite.”
FIRST PLACE
Ernestine entered her first bodybuilding competition aged 71. She was a lot older than the other contestants, but amazingly won first place. She’s gone on to compete in several more shows and has also run an impressive nine marathons. And in 2010, she reached her goal of holding the record
for being the oldest female competitive bodybuilder, which she kept for the next two years. She says, “It was like I’d fulfilled Velvet’s dream. We had a mantra that we always said – ‘The Three Ds: Determined, Dedicated and Disciplined’ – and I have stuck by that.”
Indeed Ernestine’s discipline, especially around food, is extraordinary. She never eats processed foods – her one occasional treat is some unsweetened jelly. Breakfast is liquid egg whites and a handful of nuts, followed by a bowl of porridge. She has more egg whites when she comes back from her first run, then three other meals spaced throughout the day – either chicken, turkey, or tuna with a baked potato or brown rice with vegetables.
MOTIVATIONAL
The gran will also have a last glass of liquid egg whites before heading to bed at 10pm. Ernestine says, “I feel great – this works for me. I have so much energy and I love my life. I’ve got arthritis in my back – but as long as I stretch and keep moving, I can cope. I worry that if I sat still for too long I’d end up crippled. I tell all the people I train to ‘keep that body in motion’. “I have never had any negative comments and my friends and family are all really supportive. Colin even used to prepare all my meals for me before he got sick. I do motivational speeches and have appeared on TV to explain that anyone could achieve what I have if they put their mind to it. Though I would suggest they get medically checked out first and start gradually with both the diet and exercise. I get annual checks with my doctor and so far all is good. I love the way I look and feel. Age is just a number and I am certainly proof of that.”
❛I WANT TO INSPIRE OTHER WOMEN THAT IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO START❜