What Made Jack Lalanne Different
In some ways, LaLanne’s accomplishments are so out of the ordinary that it’s hard to translate them into our own lives.
Thankfully, there is a lesson you can learn from Jack LaLanne that applies to nearly everything in your life. You won’t discover it by looking at his accomplishments, but rather, by examining his daily habits.
Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne 96
LOS ANGELES — Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday. He was 96.
LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, his longtime agent Rick Hersh said.
Lalanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end, Hersh said.
“I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for,” Elaine LaLanne, Lalanne’s wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.
Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Jack Lalanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, his publicist Ariel Hankin said at the time.
LaLanne credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly over the next eight decades to transform others’ lives, too.
“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it,” LaLanne said. “Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never too late.”
His workout show was a television staple from the 1950s to the ’70s. LaLanne and his dog Happy encouraged kids to wake their mothers and drag them in front of the television set. He developed exercises that used no special equipment, just a chair and a towel.
If Something Is Important To You Schedule It
How did Jack LaLanne stick to his daily habits with such consistency?
Do you think he just waited until he felt motivated to workout each day? No way. His consistency has very little to do with willpower or motivation. Nobody is motivated every day for 60 years.
LaLanne knew what was important to him and so he scheduled it into his life. He started every day with strength training. Then he did his swimming and walking. Then he has his breakfast. Same order. Same time. Every time.
If you look at LaLanne’s daily habits, everything had a time and place when it was going to happen. Can you say the same about your goals?
So often we tell ourselves things like, I’m going to eat healthier or I’m going to workout more or I’m going to start writing more but we never say when and where these things are actually going to happen.
Carve out some time. Pick a date. Choose a place. Give your actions a time and a space to live.
LaLanne didn’t rely on his willpower or motivation. He just stuck to his daily schedule. That’s how all professionals approach their work.
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Jack Lalanne Recovering After Surgery
Fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne is recovering from heart valve surgery at his home in Morro Bay.
LaLanne’s publicist, Ariel Hankin, said Tuesday that the 95-year-old underwent the procedure at a Los Angeles hospital on Dec. 8.
Hankin says that before the surgery LaLanne told his family, “I can’t die, it would wreck my image.”
The weightlifting guru is doing fine and expected to make a full recovery.
He became famous for his physique and for outrageous stunts like as towing boats while swimming across Long Beach Harbor handcuffed. He became a household name by hosting an exercise show on television from 1951-85.
Lalanne appeared on “The Early Show” in September to mark his 95th birthday.
Learning From Jack Lalanne
Jack LaLanne lived an incredible life, and he mastered something that we can all benefit from: the daily routine.
Is there a skill that is more valuable than the ability to consistently work towards goals that are important to you while maintaining a sense of perspective and happiness?
It’s not the incredible achievements, but rather your daily habits that determine who you are and what you accomplish. Get your habits handled, and the rest will fall into place. If we can take this small lesson and apply it to our lives, there is no doubt we will all be better off for it.
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James Clear writes about habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. The book has sold over 9 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 languages.
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Most Read Local Stories
People thought I was a charlatan and a nut, he remembered. The doctors were against me they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive. But Mr. LaLanne persevered, and he found a national pulpit on television.
Billy Graham was for the hereafter. Im for the here and now, he told the Los Angeles Times when he was almost 92.
The Jack LaLanne Show made its debut in 1951 as a local program in the San Francisco area, then went nationwide on daytime television in 1959. His short-sleeved jumpsuit showing off his impressive biceps, his props often limited to a broomstick, a chair and a rubber cord, Mr. LaLanne pranced through his exercise routines, most notably his fingertip push-ups.
He first was sponsored by the creator of a longevity pill, a 90-year-old man, but it sold poorly and he obtained Yami Yogurt as his new sponsor. It tasted terrible, so I mixed it with prune juice and fruits, he told The New York Times in 2004. Nobody thought about it until then. We made the guy a millionaire.
Mr. LaLannes show continued into the mid-1980s. It had a second life in reruns on ESPN Classic. We have over 3,000 shows, he said in 2004. I own everything.
Nobody could, Schwarzenegger said. No one even wanted to try.
Information from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.
Raising The Bar / At 88 Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne Can Run Circles Around Those Half His Age
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2003-01-19 04:00:00 PDT Morro Bay — This figures to be the last place you would find Jack LaLanne, fitness icon to countless Americans of a certain age, on a gloriously sunny afternoon along the Central Coast. But there he is, supine on a sofa. His shoes are kicked off, his nose buried in a newspaper. The man is, for maybe the first time in his 88 years, completely at rest. In fact, he is not moving.
Elaine, LaLanne’s wife of 45 years, calls from the entryway.
“Jack, you’ve got a visitor.”
No response.
He knows what you are thinking, too. Reporters periodically come to this fishing village to see how the “Godfather of Fitness,” who opened the country’s first health club in Oakland in 1936 and who was a staple of morning television for 30 years with the syndicated “Jack LaLanne Show,” is getting along. After all, it’s been a decade or two since he pulled one of his fitness stunts, such as swimming underwater from Alcatraz to the Golden Gate Bridge, towing 60 boats behind him.
LaLanne cackles in his mock gruff manner, then spits out the line he’s being telling folks for decades.
“I can’t die, young man. It would ruin my image.”
To them, he is just someone his parents or grandparents watched on the tube.
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Jack Lalanne 96 Longtime Fitness Guru
LOS ANGELES – Jack LaLanne, 96, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well, and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became fashionable, died Sunday.
LOS ANGELES – Jack LaLanne, 96, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well, and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became fashionable, died Sunday.
Mr. LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, his longtime agent Rick Hersh said.
Mr. LaLanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end, Hersh said.
“I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for,” Elaine LaLanne, Mr. LaLanne’s wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.
Just before he had heart-valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Mr. LaLanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, his publicist Ariel Hankin said at the time.
Mr. LaLanne credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly over the next eight decades to transform others’ lives, too.
“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it,” Mr. LaLanne said. “Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never too late.”
The son of poor French immigrants, he was born in 1914 and grew up to become a sugar addict, he said.
Television Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne Dies At 96
LOS ANGELES | Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, to eat well and to pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday. He was 96.
LaLanne died of respiratory failure because of pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, said his longtime agent, Rick Hersh.
Lalanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end, Hersh said.
“I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for,” Elaine LaLanne, Lalanne’s wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.
Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Jack Lalanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, his publicist Ariel Hankin said at the time.
LaLanne credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly during the next eight decades to transform others’ lives, too.
“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it,” LaLanne said. “Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never too late.”
Fellow bodybuilder and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger credited LaLanne with taking exercise out of the gymnasium and into living rooms.
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Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne 96 Dies At Morro Bay Home
LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sundayafternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast,his longtime agent Rick Hersh said.
Lalanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up untilthe end, Hersh said.
“I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, butthe best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hopefor,” Elaine LaLanne, Lalanne’s wife of 51 years and a frequentpartner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.
Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, JackLalanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, hispublicist Ariel Hankin said at the time.
“He was amazing,” said 87-year-old former “Price is Right”host Bob Barker, who credited LaLanne’s encouragement with helpinghim to start exercising often.
“He never lost enthusiasm for life and physical fitness,”Barker told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I saw him in about2007 and he still looked remarkably good. He still looked like thesame enthusiastic guy that he always was.”
LaLanne credited a sudden interest infitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he workedtirelessly over the next eight decades to transform others’ lives,too.
“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it,” LaLannesaid. “Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never toolate.”
He maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006 that “Ican’t afford to die. It would wreck my image.”
Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne Dies At 96
LOS ANGELES — Jack LaLanne was prodding Americans to get off their couches and into the gym decades before it was cool. And he was still pumping iron and pushing fruits and vegetables decades past most Americans’ retirement age.
The fitness fanatic ate well and exercised — and made it his mission to make sure everyone did the same — right up to the end at age 96, friends and family said.
LaLanne died Sunday at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, longtime agent Rick Hersh said. The cause was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.
“I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for,” Elaine LaLanne, LaLanne’s wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.
Lalanne, who had heart valve surgery two years ago, maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006 that “I can’t afford to die. It would wreck my image.”
“He was amazing,” said 87-year-old former “Price is Right” host Bob Barker, who credited LaLanne’s encouragement with helping him to start exercising often.
“He never lost enthusiasm for life and physical fitness,” Barker told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I saw him in about 2007 and he still looked remarkably good. He still looked like the same enthusiastic guy that he always was.”
“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it,” LaLanne said. “Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never too late.”
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Views On Food Additives And Drugs
LaLanne often stressed that artificial food additives, drugs, and processed foods contributed to making people mentally and physically ill. As a result, he writes, many people turn to alcohol and drugs to deal with symptoms of ailments, noting that “a stream of aches and pains seems to encompass us as we get older.”:114 He refers to the human bloodstream as a “River of Life,” which is “polluted” by “junk foods” loaded with “preservatives, salt, sugar, and artificial flavorings.”:167
Relying on evidence from The President’s Council on Physical Fitness, he also agreed that “many of our aches and pains come from lack of physical activity.” As an immediate remedy for symptoms such as constipation, insomnia, tiredness, anxiety, shortness of breath, or high blood pressure, LaLanne states that people will resort to various drugs: “We look for crutches such as sleeping pills, pep pills, alcohol, cigarettes, and so on.”
Books Television And Other Media
LaLanne presented fitness and exercise advice on television for 34 years. The Jack LaLanne Show was the longest-running television exercise program. According to the SF Chronicle TV program archives, it first began on 28 September 1953 as a 15-minute local morning program on San Francisco’sABC television station, KGO-TV, with LaLanne paying for the airtime himself as a way to promote his gym and related health products. LaLanne also met his wife Elaine while she was working for the local station. In 1959, the show was picked up for nationwide syndication, and continued until 1985.
LaLanne published several books and videos on fitness and nutrition, appeared in movies, and recorded a song with Connie Haines. He marketed exercise equipment, a range of vitamin supplements, and two models of electric juicers. These include the “Juice Tiger,” as seen on Amazing Discoveries with Mike Levey, and “Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer.” It was on the show that LaLanne introduced the phrase “That’s the power of the juice!” However, in March 1996, 70,000 Juice Tiger juicers, 9% of its models, were recalled after 14 injury incidents were reported. The Power Juicer is still sold in five models.
LaLanne celebrated his 95th birthday with the release of a new book titled, Live Young Forever.In the book, he discussed how he maintained his health and activeness well into his advanced age.
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The Daily Routine Of Jack Lalanne
The only way you can hurt the body is not use it.Jack LaLanne
LaLanne was a big believer in rituals and routines. He realized the power that consistent daily actions could have on his life.
Here are a few of the habits that Jack LaLanne did every day for decades
- Lift weights and do strength training for 90 minutes.
- Swim or run for 30 minutes .
- Eat 10 raw vegetables.
- Eat two meals: a late breakfast and an early dinner .
- Wake up at 4am .
Look at that list. It’s not overly long, but imagine doing those things not just for one day or one week, but for 60 years like Jack LaLanne did.
Even at age 94, LaLanne was still exercising for two hours every day. 90 minutes of strength training. 30 minutes of swimming or walking. 10 raw vegetables. Every. Single. Day. For 60 years.
When we see someone who accomplishes something incredible, the easy way out is to discount it, chalk it up to natural talent or genetics, and claim that they were born with something you could never have. It takes the responsibility off of you. But the truth is that most incredible people even the ones who accomplish superhuman feats are simply more consistent than everyone else.
It was his incredible consistency that made Jack LaLanne superhuman.
Success is any field is about lifestyle choices, not lifechanging transformations. It’s your daily routine that will carry you to wherever it is you want to go.