Jack LaLanne The Godfather of Fitness

Yesterday was a very sad day. Unfortunately Jack LaLanne passed away due to respiratory failure, a complication from pneumonia on Sunday January 23, 2011. He sure was a fighter but, passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends at his home in California. I regret I will never get to meet him in person. He truly was an inspiration to me and so many other people. He will be greatly missed.

Jack LaLanne is a true inspiration. You may know him from his infomercials about his juicer a few years back and from his motivational speaking gigs. But, Jack is so much more than that. Jack is 94 years old but, his love of life and his health make him seem more like a teenager than a senior citizen. Jack LaLanne was inspired and educated by the late Paul Bragg. Jack started out like the rest of us not knowing much about health and physical fitness. But, today he is in better shape than most much younger people.

Jack was born on September 26, 1914 in San Francisco, California. As a child he was addicted to sugar. He was tired all of the time and in horrible shape. Supposedly he used to eat lots of donuts and pastries. At the age of 15 he attended a lecture by Paul Bragg with his mother. Paul was a famous nutritionist at the time. Paul convinced Jack to completely change his ways. Jack studied human anatomy and both diet and exercise became his mission in life. After Jack had gotten himself in perfect shape he decided to help others do the same. He wanted to prevent people from getting sick and and to help them live long healthy lives. At the time many people thought he was nuts. But, he knew if a healthy diet and daily  exercise could completely change his life around it could help others as well.

Jack opened the first health club when he was only 21. He knew that exercise was good for everyone. He encouraged the elderly to exercise and he ignored his doctors telling him that lifting weights could cause a heart attack. He also encouraged women to exercise instead of depending on girdles and other ridiculous things to look in shape. Jack developed exercise routines and created his own exercise machines that are still popular today. He invented the weight selectors, the Smith Machine, the pulley style machines and leg extension machines. He eventually had over 200 health clubs all across the country. He sold his clubs to Bally who still run them today.

In 1951 Jack started a TV show on ABC that was just aired in the San Francisco area. The Jack LaLanne Show  became very popular and ABC decided to air it across the country. His exercise and nutrition show was on the air for 34 years. Jack kept the show exciting with his optimistic attitude and love of life. Jack often had his dog Happy on the show to do tricks while he demonstrated exercises. Jack inspired millions of Americans to get up off the couch and be active. He taught people how to easily exercise at home during his morning half hour show. Eventually his show's audience declined when numerous fitness shows started popping up all over the TV. 

Jack introduced everyone to the great health benefits from juicing. He began juicing in his teens after attending the lecture that changed his life. It was very difficult to make fresh juice at the time. He had to cut up the vegetables and fruit. Then he had to puree them and then he finally pressed them to get the juice out. Jack always recommended making your own juice so that it is fresh with all of the great nutrients in it. And so there are no harmful preservatives or added sugar like the bottled juices form the store. He later invented the Juice Tiger to make it easier for everyone to get fresh juice. He then spent many years doing infomercials to promote his juicer and the benefits of juicing. Today he has a new juicer called the Power Juicer.

After Jack's fitness show ended he was still in the public eye. For a long time every year Jack would set an unbelievable goal to test his strength and endurance. He would then perform the stunt on his birthday. Later in life he was recognized for all of the great things he had accomplished. Still to this day Jack exercises for 2 hours a day every morning. He lifts weight and then either swims or walks.

      Year:   Age:   Accomplishment

• 1954:  40: Swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater.
  
• 1954:  40: Jack placed 2nd in the Mr. America bodybuilding competition
• 1955:  41: Swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf while                                    handcuffed.
• 1956:  42: Set a world record doing 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes.
• 1957:  43: Swam the Golden Gate Channel while towing a 2,500 pound cabin                  cruiser.
• 1958:  44: Paddled on a paddleboard (Similar to a surfboard) from                                  Farallon Islands to San Francisco. (A 30 mile trip)
• 1959:  45: Accomplished doing 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in                            1 hour and 22 minutes.
• 1974:  60: Swam from Alcastraz to Fisherman's Wharf again but, this time                        handcuffed and shackled towing a 1,000 pound boat.
• 1975:  61: Swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater  again.                      But, this time  he was hand cuffed and shackled and towing a                          1,000 pound boat.
• 1976:  62: To celebrate the United States Bicentennial he swam one mile in                    Long Beach harbor. Jack was handcuffed and shackled and towed                  13 boats to represent  the first 13 colonies. Oh and their were 76                    people in the boats.
• 1979:  65: Towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, in Japan for 1 mile.  And as                        usual he was handcuffed and shackled.
• 1980:   66: Towed 10 boats with 77 people on them in North Miami, Florida.                     Jack swam over a mile in less than an hour.
• 1984:   70: Swam 1 and a half miles handcuffed and shackled against strong                   currents and the wind in Long Beach Harbor.
• 1992:   78: Received the Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award
• 1994:   80: Received the State of CA. Governor's Council on Physical Fitness                    Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 1996:   82: Received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award.
• 1999:   85: Received the Spirit of Muscle Beach Award.
• 2002:   88: Received a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.