Ernestine Shepherd is the oldest female bodybuilder ever. She is now 84 years old

Ernestine Shepherd is the oldest female bodybuilder ever. She is now 84 years old

The physical form of an elderly athlete can only be admired.

How often do we find excuses to skip another training session? A knee ache, or a headache, or even something more important came up. However, the willpower of some athletes clearly does not allow them to indulge themselves. This applies to Ernestine Shepherd, the oldest female bodybuilder in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Ernestine Shepherd – who is she?

Ernestine was born on June 16, 1936. In the first half of her life, she did not think that her fate will be connected with sports. Everything changed at the age of 56, when she and her sister Mildred were invited to a pool party. The sisters went to choose swimsuits and noticed that their bodies had changed – they no longer looked as slim as they used to.

This fact upset the sisters very much, and each of them decided to change their bodies. First, the ladies enrolled in an aerobics class, and when the load was not enough, they switched to strength training in the gym.

As a result, sports became an inseparable part of the sisters’ lives, they even began to take part in bodybuilding competitions. Mildred had a dream that the two of them got into the Guinness Book of Records as the first bodybuilder sisters. But it was not destined to come true. In 1992, the woman died, which drove Ernestine into a long depression. Shepherd didn’t come out of it for about five years. But at the age of 71, she realized that it is necessary to return to life and fulfill the desire of her sister. It happened after Mildred appeared to her in a dream and asked her sister to keep her word. She decided to start running every day, and after that she returned to training in the gym.

Bodybuilder workout program

Every day Ernestine runs at least 10 kilometers. And she does it more to maintain her psychological state. The athlete goes for a run at 4 am, and wakes up two hours earlier to eat a breakfast of 10 egg whites and nuts. At 8 a.m. begins the training process with a mentor named Yonny Shamburger, who in the past won the title of “Mr. Universe”.

Now at 169 centimeters tall, Ernestine weighs 59 kilograms. Her body fat percentage is between 9 and 10. The basis of the athlete’s diet is boiled proteins, protein shake, rice, chicken breasts and vegetables. Shepard consumes about 1700 calories every day.

It’s worth noting that due to the pandemic, Ernestine lost a little bit of her shape as all the gyms closed. But you can be sure that as soon as they open, the woman will very quickly return to the results achieved. And this is at the age of 84.

Such transformations are not only surprising, but also motivating. It shows that it is never too late to get up from the couch and take care of yourself!