It was 2019 when legendary actress Connie Ferguson's abs first broke the internet and formed a life of their own.
Since then, her abs have become the subject of many social media exchanges. At the start of our sit-down at the Kyalami Corner Virgin Active, minutes after a group leg workout session with her friends, I share with Connie how, earlier this year, a male acquaintance used her infamous abs to shame me for being unfit. "Suba weak (don't be weak)! If Connie Ferguson can have abs in her 50s, so can you!", commented this acquaintance to a picture of an out-ofbreath me sprawled on the gym floor halfway through a gruelling session. She laughs, disclosing that she too has heard of a few silly anecdotes about her abs.
If there's anyone who should let the ab narrative run straight to her head, it's definitely Connie. I mean, abs on a 53-year-old aren't a very common sight. Yet, she remains appreciative but totally unbothered by the aesthetics of it allchoosing instead to remind us that it takes longer to figure certain things out.
"I think people generally fold under pressure because we look at the next person and think for instance, 'they're 32 and seem to have it all figured out'. And you look at your own life and think you're failing. What we don't realise is that we all have our own stories and journeys - and that opportunities come to us in different ways. Just because you haven't had your chance, doesn't make you a failure." When your moment under the sun finally arrives, she continues, seize it with everything you have.
Preach! The lesson we're taking away from this: it's never too late to craft the life (and body) of your dreams, no matter your age. And no one embodies the above lesson better than Connie herself. Believe it or not, she only started exercising consistently in her late forties.
THE ROAD TO FITNESS...
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