At school I was a pentathlete then as I grew older, in my early twenties I did fun runs and long distant road running, and with life getting in the way children, work etc. I could no longer exercise properly. However, at 51 middle age spread has got to grips and it is going! I had always been skinny, then in my thirties and forties I was slim but now things are different.

The children are up and getting on with their lives it is time for me to get back to fitness and find a sport that I can do and enjoy. Long distance running is not an option now with my knees plus I have no interest in it any more. So, I looked on the net for sports for the over fifties and I came across a lady called Ernestine Shepherd bodybuilder. Wow! This lady is 80 years old and started bodybuilding when she was in her fifties. She looked amazing and not the way I expected her to look. Fit with muscles not a women resembling a fireman on steroids!

I found bodybuilding was a sport which is something I did not know and I found a world of sport I did not know was there. I saw all these women over 50 that looked great and not on drugs, which I find very important and I was hooked. My diet I changed and I began to exercise properly in February this year and I have already lost five kilos.

A local gym near where I live gave me a fitness plan which I have been doing for six weeks now. Within a month I put on a pair of shorts I could not fit into this summer. I felt great. Getting older does not bother me. After surviving two aneurysms four years ago I see every day as a gift and I did not survive to get fat and lazy. One of the trainers has started me off on an exercise plan so I can gradually build up and not over do it.

When I told my doctor I was starting to bodybuild she asked me to come for a health check every six months instead of once a year which I think is a good idea.

Every other day I go to the gym. I look forward to going. The trainers are very supportive and the facilities and atmosphere is very good. I like to feel I am doing something positive with my day and seeing how I am progressing physically makes me feel healthier and fitter and feeling my clothes are getting looser for a woman, trust me, that is priceless!

The fact that I have lost weight already since February is a good incentive to keep going. I have put a kilo on since I have started but my doctor says it is muscle building up. I don't have a target weight but I have a target look and a goal to reach which is to build up my strength and my weight will sort itself out.

Enjoying my exercise is important because you have to love what you do.