Ellen Ector is 63-year-old fitness enthusiast and entrepreneur who hails from Georgia. After working for 20 years as a social worker, Ector, a mom of five and grandmother of four, decided to make a major career change.

In 2009 she decided to become a certified fitness trainer. She now co-owns Gymnetics Fitness and GymJuice in Atlanta.

After her mother died of uterine cancer at the age of 63, Ellen saw the need to tailor her workouts to black women. She released the Black Girls Workout Too! fitness DVD series alongside her daughter Lana.

The exercises highlighted in the series can be done without machines, making them more accessible to women of all backgrounds, go to this website. “Your body is a machine,” Ector says.

Ector also offers words of encouragement for beginners who might be struggling.

“Be patient. You have to take baby steps.”