Sixty-nine-year-old Julie Ford lives in East Sussex, England, and is out to show people that you can rock a crop top in your 70s just as you did in your 20s. A lover of sports and fit living, Ford works as a part-time P.E. teacher.
Aside from her job as a P.E. teacher, Ford also taught Jane Fonda exercise classes for octogenarians and took up preferred sporting activities like hockey, netball, running, cycling, and walking. It’s not every day you find someone of Ford’s age staying as active as she is, and she wants to let the world know that fitness and appeal at 70 are achievable.
Julie Ford’s Passion
Ford was certain about her career choice since age 11, and as Leicestershire Live reported, the fit granny would rather do some “running around outside” instead of sitting in the classroom to learn as a young girl. Her fitness band brand, Instepp, which she launched in 2018, was created with the goal of helping others remain fit as they age, just like she has.
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Exercise and physical activity come naturally to Ford as it’s a part of her that has helped shape her personal life, career, and health. As a mother from age 30, Ford made sure to put her children on track with her passion by having them present at the netball and hockey matches. Despite being a mom, she also kept the momentum, taking dance and weight-training classes.
“Life Is Too Short” — Surviving Breast Cancer
At age 63, Ford was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, but, thankfully, she was able to overcome it. This experience heightened her passion for fitness, and she decided to take things up a notch after realizing that “life is too short.” She swapped her gym sessions with long countryside walks, after which she added weights during her walks to achieve a more toned body– this initiated the idea to create Instepp almost five years ago.
“By the end of the walk I would look like an orangutan, because my arms would be so tired from carrying the weights. So I dug around the garage and found some rubber resistance tubes and an old wetsuit,” Ford recalled. “I started trying to attach them to my shoes so I could hold them and create strain. I went through about 30 different designs over the year until I found the finished product.”
The super grandma is very much looking forward to her 70s, prioritizing fitness as the highlight of the new era. “I’ve done the ‘fabulous 50s’ and the ‘sexy 60s,’ and now I am planning on doing the ‘super-fit 70s,'” she shared. “I tend to cover up my arms and legs now, because it’s more sophisticated for my age, but I always make sure I still look sexy wearing things like frilly crop tops. I have spent my whole life showing off my body. Not because I am vain, but because I feel good.”