In 1936 in Oakland, Calif., Jack LaLanne, an avid proponent of weight training, opened the first modern health studio in the United States. However, doctors believed that working out with weights would cause heart attacks and the loss of one’s sex drive – and women would look like men. Athletes were forbidden from weight training for fear their performances would be compromised by overdeveloped muscles.LaLanne, a graduate of chiropractic school, maintained that he knew more about the workings of his muscles than the doctors. According to his Web site, he handed out keys to his studio to many athletes so they could sneak in at night and train with weights.In time, LaLanne proved the medical community wrong, and today he is an authority on exercise and healthy living, often referred to as the “godfather of fitness.”He’s also the “godfather of juicing.” LaLanne is a familiar face on the shopping network, where he promotes his juicing machine. He touts natural foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and decries refined sugar, caffeine and boxed or canned foods. “If man made it, don’t eat it” is among his many one-liners on living healthy.In a January phone interview, LaLanne, age 93, said he works out 90 minutes every day, juices four times a week, eats two meals a day and never eats in between meals. “My wife and I eat out every night, and the restaurants always have the Jack LaLanne salad on hand,” he said. “Sometimes, I bring my own soup. I have a piece of fish, and we always have a glass of wine with dinner.” The French have wine for lunch and dinner and they live longer than Americans, he said. “And they eat smaller portions,” LaLanne added.”The food you eat today is walking and talking tomorrow” – another “Lalaneism.”LaLanne’s been walking his own talk since he was 15 years old.As an adolescent growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, LaLanne wore glasses, had severe acne and experienced painful headaches. He was skinny, shy, angry and a poor student. And he was a “junk food junkie” and a “sugarholic,” he said. But he wanted something better.One day, a neighbor lady suggested to LaLanne’s mother that they attend a lecture on nutrition sponsored by the Oakland City Women’s Club. Paul Bragg, a nutritionist and trailblazer for natural foods, was the guest speaker. LaLanne and his mom went to the lecture, and that was the beginning of the Jack LaLanne transformation. He was, as he said, “born again.”LaLanne quit sugar and processed foods and started juicing with a press-type machine. He became a vegetarian and started exercising and weight training.He began blazing his own trail.Although doctors and others often called him a “charlatan” and a “nut,” he persevered. “I can’t believe what I went through,” LaLanne said. “They knocked me down, but I got up again. When I went on TV all the papers in the Bay area said ‘we’ll give him six weeks and he’ll be off the air.’ Now, everything I’ve been saying is 1 million percent truth.”To prove his truths throughout the years, LaLanne drew attention to his message by taking on unprecedented physical challenges. In 1954, at age 40, he swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks. He broke a world record and continued breaking more over four decades. In 1984, at age 70, he towed 70 passenger-filled boats from the Queen’s Way Bridge in Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary – 1.5 miles – and he was handcuffed and shackled the entire time.”I wanted to prove that anything in life is possible,” LaLanne said. “I wanted to inspire people to take care of themselves and have goals and challenges.”LaLanne continues to inspire people through speaking engagements nationwide.”I’ve been a keynote speaker for groups of executives; many of them take my advice, and I hear from them in a month and they’ve lost 30 pounds and feel a lot better,” he said.The obesity issue in this country is a hot button for LaLanne. The blame for America’s burgeoning weight problem is multi-faceted, he said.Fast food, drug companies and corporate advertising campaigns are contributing to the demise of healthy lifestyles, LaLanne said. “Athletes sell their soul for a buck – why would they promote something like Coca Cola,” he said. “A McDonald’s hamburger has 1,500 calories in it … read the labels on some of these canned soups and tell me why you would put that in your body. If I bought a new Corvette sports car, would I put water in its tank? Drug companies are a big racket – snake oil sales people – the average person shouldn’t be taking any pills.”In the end, however, LaLanne said it’s the individual who makes the decision. “Everybody wants a quick fix – something for nothing,” he said. “Who puts the food in your mouth – you do. People are exceeding their food limit. And the fad diets are a racket, too. Eat foods in their natural state in the right proportions, and you can’t go wrong.”LaLanne also believes many people have forgotten what they began learning in kindergarten.”We were taught pride and discipline – to look your best and feel your best,” he said. “It should still be taught in schools.” Schools should not be eliminating physical education from their curriculums as well, LaLanne said. He cited the efforts of his good friend, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who pledged a sizeable chunk of the state’s budget toward strengthening physical education programs in schools.As for the adult population, there are few people who can latch on to excuses for living unhealthy lifestyles. Never mind the cries of “no time” or “it costs too much to eat healthy,” LaLanne said. “People don’t have to exercise three hours a day,” he said. “They could start with 15 or 20 minutes (a day) – do it while you’re watching TV. And if you start eating correctly, the food you eat will cost less than the junk.”Don’t blame parents or bad genes, either. LaLanne said his Italian family overate. “My dad died at age 50,” he said. “He wouldn’t listen. Heredity is nothing – it’s what you do.”The link between disease and processed foods is in the early stages, LaLanne said. “It’s coming – they are just now correlating the relationship between food and disease. If you feed your cells with dead, processed foods, they are not going to be properly nourished.”More than 60 years ago, the doctors didn’t believe a word he said. The proof, however, is in the pudding.In September, LaLanne will be 94 years old – and he’s still going strong. Another of his one liners: “I can’t die. It will ruin my image.”Just a few of Jack LaLanne’s incredible feats1956 Age 42: Set a world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on “You Asked for It, a TV Show with Art Baker1957 Age 43: Swam the treacherous Golden Gate Channel, towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser1959 Age 45: Completed 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour and 22 minutes1974 Age 60: Swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat1975 Age 61: Swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat1979 Age 65: Towed 65 boats filled with 6,500-pounds of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp while handcuffed and shackled in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan1980 Age 66: Towed 10 boats over a mile in North Miami, Florida. The boats were filled with 77 people and LaLanne accomplished this in less than 1 hour1992 Age 78: Received the Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award1994 Age 80: Received the state of California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award1996 Age 82: Received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award1999 Age 85: Received the Spirit of Muscle Beach Award2002 Age 88: Jack received his own star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame2005 Age 91: Received the Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Historical Society, the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Interglobal’s International Infomercial Award, the Freddie, Medical Media Public Service Award, and he was a Free Spirit honoree at Al Neuharth’s Freedom Fourm.Source: JackLaLanne.com
