ATLANTA >> There’s no doubt that Ellen Ector is a force. The fiercely fit 70-year-old’s ability to inspire spans beyond her 177,000 followers on Instagram and the reach of the viral hashtag she launched, #blackgirlsworkouttoo, that has since garnered 500,000 posts. An atypical fitness guru in many ways, her interest in fitness 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 the former social worker, who was living in Cleveland at the time. The image, paired with the passing of her 62-year-old mother, gave her the motivation to become healthier.

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,” she said. 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 daughter, Lana, then 23, who had joined her on her fitness journey. The duo had a goal of opening a gym run by women. They chose Atlanta for its weather and the 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,” she said.

That thought later informed the #blackgirlsworkouttoo hashtag and three successful exercise videos.

“It’s still a rarity,” she added. “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. Her business is 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. There are live workouts and videos on demand for people of all fitness levels. Ector herself teaches Aging Blackwards, which focuses on fitness fundamentals for women over 40.

Ector said the greatest lesson she’s learned since opening Gymnetics is that women who walk through the door want to do something about their bodies 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.”

Over the past few decades, Ector said, there’s been more variety in fitness than ever, and social media has had a big influence. She started on Myspace, where she would post fitness photos shot by her son, 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 social media fame, 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 also has trained 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 Ector became a vegan four years ago and wrote the cookbook “Black Girls Gone Vegan” — a project she undertook with her 13-year-old granddaughter, Larc, daughter Lana — Nash wrote the foreword.

Ector was convinced to go vegan after watching several movies about meat that turned her stomach. She 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,” she said. “You can get protein from plants without harming any animals.”

When she isn’t teaching classes 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.’”