Oldest competitive female bodybuilder: Ernestine Shepherd sets world record (Video)
BALTIMORE, MD, USA -- Ernestine Shepherd, 74, a retired Baltimore school administrator,
a regular on the Musclemania circuit, can bench press more than her own weight and compete with women half her age at muscle shows , setting the world record for the Oldest competitive female bodybuilder.
The Guinness world record for the oldest competitive male bodybuilder was set by Raymond "Ray" Moon (Australia, born 1929).
Guinness World Records also recognized the heaviest competitive male bodybuilder: Daniele Seccarecci (Italy, whose competition weight is 135 kg (297.62 lbs).
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 3.00am 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 said in an interview that she was a 'couch potato' until she was 56. Since then, she has run nine marathons and won two bodybuilding contests.
Her husband reportedly says he has trouble keeping other men away from her.
The Shepherds live in Baltimore with their son, 53, and grandson, 14.
