74-Year-Old Bodybuilder: Inspiration Or Genetic Freak?

Ernestine Shepherd is basically a walking, talking, muscular representation of the idea “it’s never too late.”

Shepherd is the Guinness World Records’ oldest female bodybuilder, but she used to hate working out.

“I was too prissy to exercise,” she tells ABC. “I just didn’t want to have my hair messed up. Didn’t want my fingernails broken.” She was pudgy, but started slowly — lifting weights — and now she is freaking ripped and runs marathons. “Age is nothing but a number,” she says.

Of course, some ABC commenter calling himself flashover166 has decided to splash some cold water of reality on the situation, writing:

This woman is an inspiration. However don’t expect to get the same results. After years of being in different gyms knowing many people who work out the three things that are the most important for building muscle is GENETICS, GENETICS, GENETICS.

Thanks for the reminder, dude. it’s true that lifting builds muscle, but it’s also true that with the exact same workout, some people are going to look completely transformed while others will look merely toned. And while Shepherd’s physique is absolutely amazing, it’s not like she’s indestructible: “I have old things in my body,” she says.