By Kristin Holtz, Staff Writer

Meet Jeannette Stemmer.

She’s a 56-year-old grandma with two grown children and a wonderful husband.

Born and raised in Shakopee, Stemmer has worked at Rosemount Emerson in Chanhassen for 17 years, training employees how to use the company’s equipment. She loves sewing, quilting and traveling with her husband, Pete, to classic car shows.

And she’s a bodybuilder. Jeannette Stemmer of Shakopee

Stemmer might not be your prototypical bodybuilder lifting weights on the sand of some California beach with the setting sun gleaming off her sweating muscles, but Stemmer has already seen some success in her training exploits, recently earning impressive honors in a state competition.

“It’s just a goal I really wanted to do and I feel great,” she said.

Stemmer competed at the Mr. and Mrs. Natural Minnesota Body Building Competition May 16. The competition included posing and a 60-second choreographed form routine. At age 56, Stemmer, the oldest participant at the competition, earned third place in the over-45 division and second in novice, which included competitors of every age group.

“I just wanted to say I did it and I’m 56,” she said. “And I won two trophies.”

What might surprise you is that Stemmer never entered a gym until turning 50. Not a self-described athlete, Stemmer began working out casually in the hopes of getting fit. It wasn’t until she teamed with personal trainer Monique Weinandt in fall 2006 that she got serious about her fitness.

Read more about Stemmer's efforts to get into bodybuilding shape in the July 2 Shakopee Valley News print edition.

Kristin Holtz can be reached at (952) 345-6678 or kholtz@swpub.com.