Nominator

Shosha

Essay

Ernestine Shepherd began working out at the age of 56. She now runs 80 miles per week and can bench press 150 pounds. She was named in the Guinness World Records as the oldest female bodybuilder At 73, Ernestine Shepherd is in better shape than most people decades her junior. Up at 3 a.m. every morning, she spends her days running, lifting weights and working out other senior citizens at the Union Memorial United Methodist Church in Baltimore. She also works as a certified personal trainer at her gym.

"I feel better than I did at 40," she said. "I am very, very happy."       

In less than 20 years, Shepherd has morphed from a "prissy" woman who never exercised to the Guinness Book of World Records' oldest female bodybuilder. In 2007, she began running. She now runs in the park for two to three hours a day and has a 5K time of 28 minutes.

She has also completed eight marathons and has her sights set on the New York and Boston races, warning competitors that "the old lady's coming'." 

Standing nearly 5' 5" and weighing between 118 and 120 pounds, Shepherd is adamant that she doesn't use any performance enhancing drugs or even supplements other than vitamin