I’m a bodybuilder at 73 – Doctors told me I’d never compete again after horror diagnosis but I’m more ripped than ever | The Sun
THIS bodybuilding champion has proved doctors wrong as she continues to lift over 40 years after a devastating diagnosis.
Rebecca Woody, from Missouri, was told she should stop lifting weights after it was revealed she had a debilitating immune disorder.
In 1982, Rebecca was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but has since become a bodybuilding champ and is still going strong at 73.
At only four feet nine inches, she's still a size zero and her athletic background inspired her to keep going.
She told The Mail: "I grew up with a father who was a coach at local community centre.
"He coached both boys and girls; young men boxing, football, baseball and basketball and girls' volleyball and basketball.
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"My community was a close-knit one and in the early sixties there wasn't the opportunity for female athletes as there is now.
"My brother was a Golden Gloves boxer, and he came to live with me in the early eighties for a short time. He had a few weights that he would lift and when he wasn't home, I would lift them."
Despite her doctor pleading with her not to lift weights, Rebecca has continued to defy the odds and prove doubters wrong.
She continued: "Basically, I have never stopped lifting weights. I competed in the late eighties and early nineties in power-lifting, which in turned bulked me up.
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"I realized pound by pound that I was strong. In one of the power-lifting contests, I weighed in at 107 pounds and I could squat lift at 111kg. I was always the oldest on stage and I still am."
The best part is her weight lifting has helped Rebecca's arthritis symptoms – and spiced up her marriage with husband Steve, who is 14 years younger.
Rebecca said: "I've been doing this for so long, it's become a habit to eat well and get to the gym, just like washing my face and brushing my teeth.
"Don't get me wrong, I eat pizza and Mexican food and enjoy a margarita and love good wine but it's all in moderation."
Thanks to her balanced lifestyle, Rebecca has won multiple bodybuilding competitions and is able to mentor others.
Another older bodybuilder didn't begin her journey in the sport until she was 56 – now she's 86 and a resounding success.
Ernestine Shepherd began to work out and eat healthily daily which led her to become confident enough to begin competing.
She said: "I have done eleven marathons and three weeks ago I did a half marathon. I don’t feel like I’m 85. Age is absolutely just a number.”
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