Lessons from the Real Deal

Jack LaLanne, fitness guru and one of my personal heroes, died this week, leaving a legacy that should serve as an inspiration for anyone who wants to live a healthy life.  He lived a life of headlines, achieving feats of strength that make P90X look like Jazzercize. But he also left behind some lessons for the rest of us chumps. I've narrowed them down to four keys that anyone can apply for a healthier life.


1. Even the greats start somewhere. Until the age of 15, Jack LaLanne described himself as a sugarholic, addicted to junk food and headed down a path to obesity.  A lecture on nutrition and exercise served as a turning point in his life; he decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits, studied bodybuilding and weightlifting, and changed that path. It's a reminder to me that everyone starts somewhere and builds up.  You can start today.

2. Expect the impossible to happen. At the age of 61, Jack LaLanne swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge 20 feet underwater handcuffed, shackled, and towing a 2,000 pound boat. He swam, handcuffed, from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA. Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida filled with 77 people for over a mile in less than 1 hour.  Seriously people, that's crazy!  But he did them, and he did it because he believed he could and he trained himself to be able to.  You can do crazy stuff too.

3. Keep your wits about you. I love catchy little sayings, and Jack LaLanne was full of them.  Some of the quips we say and hear every day are attributed to him, and show the positive, no-nonsense approach he took to being healthy. Some of my favorites:

• Anything in life is possible and you can make it happen.
• Your waistline is your lifeline.
• Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen, put them together and you’ve got a kingdom.
• People don’t die of old age, they die of inactivity.
• First we inspire them, then we perspire them.
• If man makes it, don’t eat it.
• It’s not what you do some of the time that counts, it’s what you do all of the time that counts.
• Eat right and you can’t go wrong.

4. Eat clean. Just eat clean!  I like to say that you can't out-train a bad diet, and I think that Jack would totally high-five me on that one. I can't say it enough: stop eating junk. Please, seriously, it is by far the most important thing you can do TODAY for your health.

Take a lesson from the original - pick your favorite and apply it to your life today. Like, now. :)

RIP Jack LaLanne

I still remember the first time I saw Jack LaLanne on TV. This compact, pompadour-wearing muscle man dressed all in black, teaching housewives of America how to exercise at home had me staring at the screen in dumbfounded awe.  I didn't know whether to laugh or take notes. His earnest, optimistic, positive, and can-do attitude mesmerized me and endeared me to him for years after. Over the years I have grown to respect Jack LaLanne as a champion of health, pioneer of clean eating, mastermind of brute strength, and example of just clean healthy wellness without pity.


To say that he was an inspiration to me is an understatement. Jack LaLanne performed feats of strength and endurance that boggled my mind. He swam underwater for the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, loaded with 140 pounds of equipment, for pete's sake! He completing over a thousand pushups in a little over 20 minutes, and towed 65 boats filled with thousands of pounds of wood through the water.  He even had a workout for your face!

He also made juicers.


Jack LaLanne died yesterday at the ripe old age of 96. He often said that dying would ruin his image, but I think he showed us all how to live - clean, healthy, and embracing the benefits of health and fitness until the very end.


I hope you'll read up on Jack today and watch some of his old videos.  He was an inspiration then and still is today.  Run an extra lap for Jack!  Or, exercise your face!


Get inspired. :)