There’s no doubt that Ellen Ector is a force. The fiercely fit 70-year-old inspires more than 177K followers on Instagram and launched the viral hashtag #blackgirlsworkouttoo that has since garnered 500K posts. Not the typical fitness guru in many ways, her interest in fitness only began when she was 40.
A photo taken of Ector in a nightclub in the early ‘90s changed her life. “When I saw the picture, I said, ‘oh no!’ All I had was butt and gut,” said Ector, who was a social worker and living in Cleveland, Ohio, at the time. The image paired with the passing of her 62-year-old mother gave her the motivation to become healthier.
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
At a friend’s urging, Ector joined a gym. “I didn’t know anything about working out. Back then, there were nothing but men lifting weights at the gym,” said Ector. One of those men advised her that to lose weight, she needed to weight train, do some cardio and, most importantly, eat healthy.
“I got addicted to working out. Then I got invited to join a running team — the only African American running team in Cleveland,” she said. “Within nine months, I had the body of a body builder at age 40.”
Nine years later, Ector moved to Atlanta with her then 23-year-old daughter, Lana, who had joined her on her fitness journey. The duo had a goal of opening a gym run by women. They chose the city for its weather and opportunity to inspire the Black community.
“Four out of five African American women are considered overweight or obese. I hate that word obese, but that’s what it is. It’s the first thing I read in my mom’s medical report. I want Black women to work out, too,” said Ector, a thought that later informed the #blackgirlsworkouttoo hashtag and three successful exercise videos.
Credit: Robert Ector
Credit: Robert Ector
She adds, “It’s still a rarity. There’s not a lot of Black women out there running outside. It is not part of the culture or how you’re brought up. If you don’t see other people running in your neighborhood, you’re not going to run.”
In 2009, the mother-daughter team’s dream came true. “Gymnetics Fitness was built on the idea that fitness should be a part of everyone’s DNA,” said Ector of her business, believed to be the first Black-women owned gym in Atlanta
.
Today, the gym offers in-studio group training, from barre and Pilates to cardio kickboxing and hip hop step classes, as well as live workouts and videos on demand for women and men of all fitness levels.
Ector says the greatest lesson she’s learned since opening her gym is that women who walk through the door want to do something about their body and health but need motivation and baby steps. “You have to tell them to work hard toward their goal. Don’t give up. Let go of negative thoughts. Push past your limits.”
Credit: Robert Ector
Credit: Robert Ector
Of fitness’ evolution over the last few decades, Ector says there’s more variety than ever and social media has been a big influence. She started on Myspace where she would post fitness photos from her son, photographer Robert Ector. “It’s not just going into the gym to lift weights. There’s yoga, barre, Pilates... You can put it on your Instagram or do a TikTok segment and show the fun of it to others who might think it’s cool and try it.”
In addition to her fame on social media, Ector has been featured on talk shows such as “The Steve Harvey Show” and “Rachael Ray.”
“My dad always told me that I was a winner. If he had told me something different, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.
Ector has also trained several celebrities including Niecy Nash, with whom she moved in for a couple of months in 2013 as part of an immersive program to get her in shape. When the fitness trainer became a vegan four years ago and wrote a vegan cookbook with her 13-year-old granddaughter Larc and daughter Lana, “Black Girls Gone Vegan,” Nash wrote the foreword.
Inspired to go vegan after watching several movies that turned her stomach about meat, Ector notes that veganism has had positive effects on her skin, energy, blood pressure and more. “People think it’s hard to go vegan, but it’s not. You can get protein from plants without harming any animals,” she said.
When she isn’t teaching classes, such as Aging Blackwards that focuses on fitness fundamentals for women over 40, at her gym, Ector is still on the move. You might find her on roller skates, running in a 5K or creating a fun TikTok video. She admits that she “bleeds fitness.”
“I tell my kids, ‘when I croak, you better bury me in my running shoes.’”
About the Author
