By Betsy Brewer Brantner
Contributing Writer

For Celeste Zanfrisco, age is just a number—and she isn’t going to let her age get in the way of anything that she wants to do.

At 90 years of age, she still exercises 7 days a week at the Jennersville YMCA. And by exercise, I mean working out in the weight room, in the cardio room and even 5K runs. If you exercise there, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can follow her on a weight machine without making changes—you might hurt yourself. And don’t let her tiny size fool you. At 4 feet and 9 inches, she is a powerhouse who shows no sign of stopping. 

Celeste came to this country from Italy in 1966. She was 33 at the time. She and her husband worked as tailors and, together, they made beautiful clothing during their careers. In retirement, he started working at the Y before her, but eventually he talked her into joining him for regular visits to the YMCA. They came together every day, which was a huge part of their life at the time. 

He passed away nine years ago, but she has continued exercising regularly.

“It was hard coming in by myself,” she said. “I miss him, but I continue to exercise.”

Her husband was much taller than her. At 4 feet 10 inches and weighing 103 pounds, she is small but mighty, and nothing stops her from doing push-ups on a bench, lifting free weights and even winning medals in local 5K runs.

Watching her lift weights, squat, and do the treadmill can be inspiring to those around her. She energizes everyone who watches her. Everyone is in awe of her and she is a celebrity and everyone knows who Celeste is at the YMCA. She constantly urges others to keep exercising if she sees them struggling during a workout.

She will say, “I have been exercising for 30 years. Just keep coming and doing what you can. Don’t stop.”

For her, exercising is like a job.

“You have to show up every day,” she explained. “I have been doing it for 30 years and I tell people that, so they know I didn’t do this overnight. It is important to do as much as you can.”

She really means that. Even when she does a 5K run, she doesn’t necessarily stop at the finish line.

“Ah, the finish line doesn’t stop me. I might want to keep on running,” she explained.

One thing she doesn’t want to do is sit on a chair every day. That is very boring to her.

“I like to keep moving. I enjoy it,” she said.

When she is not exercising, she helps her daughter at her consignment shop, Inviting Wellness Center, which is located at 650 Baltimore Pike in West Grove.

“I work the hours I am needed,” she explained.

She has some encouraging advice that she likes to share, and wanted to share it with anyone who is reading this: “If you don’t try, you don’t know what you can do.”