Source: Hollywood To You/Star Max / Getty
Nicole Murphy, former model and entrepreneur, recently took part in BET’s web series Body of Work, where she talked about her fitness regimen, and the work required to look as good as she does at 52.
The 5’10” beauty admitted that genetics are a big part of how her body has reacted to a lot of the changes it has gone through over the years, including five pregnancies. Nevertheless, she’s still had to work to keep it together.
“I did it five times. I could have done it 10 times easily, no problem,” she said. “That’s just me. Personally, that’s just my genetics. I was blessed in that way. But it still takes a toll on your body…with each child, it seemed like my body got different. It wasn’t going back as fast as the first one. It was more challenging.”
So she started putting in work in the gym as she she had more children. It fostered a love for working out, which she also sees as a major stress reliever that she has maintained to this day. It has helped her to be in her best shape in her fifties. She works out at least four times a week, three of those times with a trainer, and thanks to that commitment, she says she’s 149 pounds of muscle.
“I think that’s pretty cool that I don’t look like the average grandma [laughs].,” she said. “I do. That’s why I think fitness is so important. I want to stay healthy. I want to be able to run with my grandbaby now.”
To complement her work ethic in the gym, Murphy also realized, not long ago actually, that she would need to eat a lot cleaner.
“I had to really come to terms with that. ‘Nicole, you’ve got to change your eating,'” she said. “You’ve got to pay attention now. Eat lots of berries, drink lots of water, eat lots of vegetables, have your protein, but cut all the other stuff out for a while.”
Aside from equipping herself with the ability to rip and run with her new granddaughter, Evie (from son Miles), she also said it’s about looking good for herself and as an added bonus, the next man in her life.
“The motivation comes from, I don’t want to get comfortable,” she said. “Even when I was married, I would see couples that would be together a long time and they’d just let themselves go. I still wanted to look good for my man. Even though now I’m single, I still want to look good. I don’t want to be all out of shape and just let myself go.”
She sends the message that just because you get older doesn’t mean you have to hide your age and let caring for your vessel fall by the wayside.
“If you look good, it is what it is,” she said. “I’m 52, I’m proud of it. I can’t go backwards. I’ve just got to move forward and feel good about myself, and hopefully I’ll look this good at 62.”
