Ecris Williams does weightlifting and competitive running, and she routinely teaches water aerobics in Virginia
Credit: Aging Untold/YouTube
NEED TO KNOW
- An elderly woman was inspired to launch an active lifestyle by a German Olympian after she survived World War II
- Ecris Williams, 86 — originally from Berlin — now does weightlifting and competitive running, and she routinely teaches water aerobics in Virginia
- “I have to exercise. I have to keep the cardio up,” Williams said
An elderly woman is championing exercise at any age with her inspirational and active lifestyle.
Speaking with Aging Untold, Ecris Williams said she does weightlifting every Tuesday and Thursday and runs competitively on Wednesdays, and she teaches water aerobics at the World Gate Athletic Club in Virginia twice a week.
“Some days I take a longer run, maybe five or six miles,” Williams, 86, explained.
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According to Aging Untold, Williams was born in 1938 and grew up in Berlin, Germany. She survived World War II, but her parents didn't.
Williams later married and moved to the United States, where she raised her children. It was a German Olympian who eventually inspired her to pursue an active lifestyle.
The 86-year-old said that she hasn’t stopped exercising since the professional athlete encouraged her to “put one foot in front of the other.”
“I have to exercise. I have to keep the cardio up. I have a congenital heart defect,” Williams told Aging Untold. “I was a preemie."
Credit: Getty
When asked about her advice for others who have ailments that limit their ability to exercise, Williams said, “Mind over matter. It could be worse.”
“I have seen too much destruction,” she continued. “I have seen too much misery. Don’t say, 'Ugh, what’s going to happen?’ Get up and say, ‘Thank you, dear God.’ Every day, thank God for the day.”
Williams also implores others who are unhappy with their physique to “do something about it" through exercise.
The elderly woman joked to Aging Untold that she “looks like a prune,” despite her exercise routine keeping her body in a good place.
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