Jack LaLanne

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Francois Henri LaLanne (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011), the "Godfather of Fitness",<ref>Time Magazine. Jack LaLanne, Fitness Guru, Dies at 96. By Nick Carbone Jan. 23, 2011.</ref><ref>ABC News. Fitness Legend Jack LaLanne Dies. By Amanda Vanallen. January 24, 2011.</ref><ref>Hollywood Reporters. Godfather of Fitness Jack LaLanne Is Laid to Rest. Bill Higgins. February 1, 2011.</ref> was an American fitness and nutrition guru and motivational speaker. He described himself as being a "sugarholic" and a "junk food junkie" until he was 15 years old. He also had behavioral problems but "turned his life around" after listening to a public lecture about the benefits of good nutrition by health food pioneer Paul Bragg. During his career, he came to believe that the country's overall health depended on the health of its population, and he referred to physical culture and nutrition as "the salvation of America".<ref name="clutherlat" />

LaLanne hosted the first<ref name="Publisher 2022">”Pride & Discipline: The Legacy of Jack LaLanne” Elaine LaLanne and Greg Justice. Template:ISBN. Publisher: Greg Justice, March 16, 2022.</ref> and longest-running<ref>LoBrutto, Vincent (2018). TV in the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 69. Template:ISBN. Retrieved 14 December 2017</ref> nationally syndicated fitness television program, The Jack LaLanne Show, from 1951 to 1985. He published numerous books on fitness and was widely recognized for publicly preaching the health benefits of regular exercise and a good diet.<ref name=sivlltt>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He started working out with weights when they were an oddity.<ref name="ReferenceA">NY Times. Jack LaLanne, Founder of Modern Fitness Movement, Dies at 96. By Richard Goldstein. Jan. 23, 2011</ref> As early as 1936, at the age of 21, he opened the nation's first modern health club in Oakland, California,<ref name="clutherlat" /><ref name="Publisher 2022"/> which became a prototype for dozens of similar gyms bearing his name,<ref name="newsweek-strong">Template:Cite news</ref> later licensing them to Bally.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

One of LaLanne's 1950s television exercise programs was aimed toward women, whom he also encouraged to join his health clubs.<ref name="clutherlat" /><ref name="NYT-obit" /> He invented a number of exercise machines, including the pulley and leg extension devices and the Smith machine, as well as protein supplement drinks,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> resistance bands, and protein bars. He also popularized juicing<ref name="Publisher 2022"/> and the jumping jack.<ref>Erik Hayden. "Remembering Fitness Legend Jack LaLanne"</ref> He produced his own series of videos so viewers could be coached virtually.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He pioneered coaching the elderly and disabled to exercise in order to enhance their strength and health.<ref name="clutherlat" /><ref name="NYT-obit" />

LaLanne also gained recognition for his success as a bodybuilder and for his prodigious feats of strength. At the age of 70, handcuffed and shackled, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor.<ref name="NYT-obit" /> Steve Reeves credited LaLanne as his inspiration to build his muscular physique while keeping a slim waist. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as governor of California, placed him on his Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, and on the occasion of LaLanne's death he credited LaLanne for being "an apostle for fitness" by inspiring "billions all over the world to live healthier lives".<ref name="KSBY">"Schwarzenegger calls LaLanne 'most energetic man in the roomTemplate:'" Template:Webarchive, KSBY.com, 24 January 2011</ref>

LaLanne was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life

LaLanne was born in San Francisco, California,<ref name=sivlltt/><ref name="clutherlat">Template:Cite news</ref> the son of Jennie (née Garaig) and Jean/John LaLanne, French immigrants from Oloron-Sainte-Marie. Both entered the US in the 1880s as young children at the Port of New Orleans. LaLanne had two older brothers, Ervil, who died in childhood (1906–1911), and Norman (1908–2005), who nicknamed him "Jack".<ref name="clutherlat" /> He grew up in Bakersfield, California, and later moved with his family to Berkeley, California, circa 1928. In 1939, his father died at the age of 58 in a San Francisco hospital,<ref name=frobbdgz>Template:Cite news</ref> which LaLanne attributed to "coronary thrombosis and cirrhosis of the liver". In his book The Jack LaLanne Way to Vibrant Health, LaLanne wrote that as a boy he was addicted to sugar and junk food.<ref>The Jack LaLanne Way to Vibrant Health (page 21, 1960 edition)</ref> He had violent episodes directed against himself and others, describing himself as "a miserable kid ... it was like hell".<ref name="SFChron-obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Besides having a bad temper, LaLanne also suffered from headaches and bulimia, and temporarily dropped out of high school at the age of 14. The following year, aged 15, he heard health food pioneer Paul Bragg give a talk on health and nutrition, focusing on the "evils of meat and sugar".<ref name=Encyc>St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture vol. 3, St. James Press (2000) pp. 81-83</ref> Bragg's message had a powerful influence on LaLanne, who then changed his life and started focusing on his diet and exercise.<ref name="bragg">Template:Cite web</ref> In his own words, he was "born again". and besides his new focus on nutrition, he began working out daily (although while serving during World War II as a Pharmacist Mate First Class at the Sun Valley Naval Convalescent Hospital, LaLanne stated that he started in bodybuilding at "age 13").<ref>"On The Sports Front," Twin Falls (Idaho) Times News, 25 February 1944, George F. Redmond, sportswriter.</ref> Describing his change of diet, LaLanne stated, "I had to take my lunch alone to the football field to eat so no one would see me eat my raw veggies, whole bread, raisins and nuts. You don't know the crap I went through".<ref name=Planet>"Jack La LanneTemplate:SndsA Berkeley (not Oakland) Original", Berkeley Daily Planet, 25 January 2011</ref>

Writer Hal Reynolds, who interviewed LaLanne in 2008, notes that he became an avid swimmer and trained with weights; he described his introduction to weight lifting thus:

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LaLanne went back to school, where he made the high school football team, and later went on to college in San Francisco where he earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He studied Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body and concentrated on bodybuilding and weightlifting.<ref name=Encyc/>

Fitness career

Early wrestling career

LaLanne won the American Athletic Foundation Wrestling Championship in 1930, the American Athletic Union medal for wrestling in 1936, and was put on the 1936 Olympic wrestling team but was taken off the team because he was “charging money for exercise” by opening a gym and thus “considered a professional”.<ref name="Publisher 2022"/>

Health clubs

Arnold Schwarzenegger said of Lalanne, “It doesn’t matter where you go, there’s a health club, and it all started with Jack LaLanne.”<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/02/01/jack.lalanne.memorial/index.html CNN. “Arnold Schwarzenegger eulogizes Jack LaLanne.” By Alan Duke. February 3, 2011.</ref>

In 1936, he opened the nation's first health and fitness club in Oakland, California,<ref name=Encyc/> where he offered supervised weight and exercise training and gave nutritional advice. His primary goal was to encourage and motivate his clients to improve their overall health. Doctors, however, advised their patients to stay away from his health club, a business totally unheard of at the time, and warned their patients that "LaLanne was an exercise 'nut', whose programs would make them 'muscle-bound' and cause severe medical problems".<ref name=Encyc/> LaLanne recalls the initial reaction of doctors to his promotion of weight lifting:

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LaLanne designed the first leg extension machines, pulley machines using cables, weight selectors, and many other inventions, none of which he patented, that are now standard in the fitness industry.<ref name="Publisher 2022"/> He invented the original model of what became the Smith machine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He invented resistance bands, which he marketed as the Glamour Stretcher for women and the Easy Way for men with different tensions.<ref name="Publisher 2022"/> LaLanne encouraged women to lift weights (though at the time it was thought this would make women look masculine and unattractive), and he was the first to have a coed health club.<ref name="Publisher 2022"/> By the 1980s, Jack LaLanne's European Health Spas numbered more than 200. He eventually licensed all his health clubs to the Bally company, now known as Bally Total Fitness. Though not associated with any gym, LaLanne continued to lift weights until his death.Template:Citation needed

Books, television and other media

File:Jack LaLanne 1961.JPG
Jack LaLanne in 1961

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 (sandwiched between the morning news and a cooking show) on San Francisco's ABC 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.Template:Citation needed

The show was noted for its minimalist set, where LaLanne inspired his viewers to use basic home objects, such as a chair, to perform their exercises along with him. Wearing his standard jumpsuit, he urged his audience "with the enthusiasm of an evangelist," to get off their couch and copy his basic movements, a manner considered the forerunner of today's fitness videos.<ref name=Encyc/><ref>Jack LaLanne Show video Template:Webarchive</ref>Template:Rp In 1959, LaLanne recorded Glamour Stretcher Time, a workout album that provided phonograph-based instruction for exercising with an elastic cord called the Glamour Stretcher.<ref>Jack LaLanne's Glamour Stretcher, NYTimes Exercise Product History</ref> As a daytime show, much of LaLanne's audience were stay-at-home mothers. LaLanne's wife Elaine LaLanne was part of the show to demonstrate the exercises and to show that doing them would not ruin the figures or musculature of women. LaLanne also included his dog Happy as a way to attract children to the show. Later in the run, another dog named Walter was used, with LaLanne claiming "Walter" stood for "We All Love To Exercise Regularly".Template:Citation needed

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.<ref>Jack LaLanne, Media Fitness Guru, Dies at 96 – Wall Street Journal Published 24 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.</ref> These include the "Juice Tiger", as seen on Amazing Discoveries with Mike Levey, and "Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer".<ref name=cpsc86/> 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 all its models, were recalled after 14 injury incidents were reported.<ref name="cpsc86">U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC, National Media Corporation Announced Juice Tiger Recall Program Template:Webarchive</ref> The Power Juicer is still sold in five models.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

LaLanne played the role of "Hercules" in the Christmas television movie, "The Year Without a Santa Claus" starring John Goodman, in 2006, his last acting role.

LaLanne celebrated his 95th birthday with the release of a new book titled Live Young Forever.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal health routine

Diet

One of LaLanne's sayings was "If man made it, don't eat it."<ref>Live Young Forever: 12 Steps to Optimum Health, Fitness and Longevity. By Jack Lalanne. Publisher: UNKNO. September 16, 2009. Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.</ref>

LaLanne blamed ultra-processed foods for many health problems. For most of his life, he eschewed sugar and white flour while eating many fruits and vegetables,<ref>Reuters. Jack LaLanne, 93, still spreads gospel of exercise. March 19, 2007.</ref> and he ate a mostly dairy-free<ref>http://www.shareguide.com/LaLanne.html Shareguide: Holistic Health Magazine & Resource Directory. Interview with Jack LaLanne Legendary Fitness Expert, Health Pioneer, Diet and Nutrition Innovator (1914-2011). Interview by Janice Hughes and Dennis Hughes, Share Guide Publishers.</ref> and meatless diet that included lots of egg whites and fish.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also took vitamin supplements<ref>Jack LaLanne's 10 Health Habits. The Daily Beast. Published 24 January 2011. Accessed 31 January 2011.</ref><ref>Jack Lalanne: 81 Going On 60 Template:Webarchive. The Sun Sentinel. Published 14 March 1996. Accessed 31 January 2011.</ref><ref>CNN Transcript – Larry King Live: Jack La Lanne Discusses a Life of Health and Fitness Template:Webarchive. Aired 17 July 2000, 9:00 p.m. ET. Accessed 31 January 2011.</ref> and protein supplements.<ref name="Life Lessons from Jack LaLanne">Template:Cite web</ref>

The NY Times reported in his obituary that he avoided snacks and ate two meals a day,<ref name=NYT-obit /> although he once said that he ate three meals a day.<ref name="web.archive.org">Template:Cite web</ref> His breakfast, after working out for two hours, consisted of hard-boiled egg whites, a cup of broth, oatmeal with soy milk, and seasonal fruit.<ref name=NYT-obit /> Other sources say that breakfasts were homemade protein shakes: one was protein powder shake with wheat germ, brewer's yeast, bone meal, juice, and handfuls of vitamins and minerals<ref name="Life Lessons from Jack LaLanne"/> consisting of “100 liver-yeast tablets, 15,000 milligrams of vitamin C, 2000 units of B, some boron and some zinc, also 75 alfalfa and kelp tablets”.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Another shake LaLanne consumed consisted of egg whites and soybean with carrot juice, celery juice, and some fruit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One source reported that his lunch was four boiled egg whites, five servings of fresh fruit, plus five raw vegetables.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For dinner, he and his wife typically ate a high-protein salad with egg whites along with fish (often salmon) and some wine.<ref name="NYT-obit" /> He did not drink coffee.<ref name="NYT-obit" />

He once described his diet by saying, “ At least eight to 10 raw vegetables and three to four pieces of fresh fruit a day. I have natural grains, beans, brown rice, lentils, wheat. And I get most of my protein from fish and egg whites. I eat no meat of any kind. I drink my breakfast. Half carrot juice, half celery juice and then I put an apple and a banana in it and 50 grams of protein made out of egg whites and soybean. For lunch I’ll have three pieces of fresh fruit, three to six egg whites and whole wheat toast. And Elaine makes soup for me with vegetables but no cream or butter. Elaine and I eat out practically every night, but we have the restaurants trained. We call them that we’re coming in, and they’ll have a raw vegetable salad and I’ll have oil dressing loaded up with chopped garlic. I take my own pita bread made out of whole wheat with no salt or oils. And I’ll have a baked potato and fish.”<ref name="web.archive.org"/>

Exercise

When exercising, LaLanne worked out repetitively with weights until he experienced "muscle fatigue" in whatever muscle groups he was exercising, or when it became impossible for him to go on with a particular routine; this is most often referred to as "training to failure". LaLanne moved from exercise to exercise without stopping. To contradict critics who thought this would leave him tightly musclebound and uncoordinated, LaLanne liked to demonstrate one-handed balancing. His home contained two gyms and a pool that he used daily.<ref name=NYT-obit/>

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He continued with his two-hour workouts into his 90s, which also included walking.<ref name="CNN-at89">Template:Cite news</ref> He stated, "If I died, people would say 'Oh look, Jack LaLanne died. He didn't practice what he preached.'"<ref name=NYT-obit/>

LaLanne summed up his philosophy about good nutrition and exercise:

"Dying is easy. Living is a pain in the butt. It's like an athletic event. You've got to train for it. You've got to eat right. You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out. Exercise is king and nutrition is queen: together, you have a kingdom."<ref>Siegel M.D., Andrew. Finding Your Own Fountain of Youth: The Essential Guide to Maximizing Health, Paul Mould Publ. (2008) p. 191</ref>

He said that since the average person doesn't have the time to exercise two hours per day, he recommended 30-minute workouts, 3-4 times a week, and changing one's routine every 2–3 weeks.<ref name="CNN-at89"/>

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".<ref name=LaLanne-book>LaLanne, Jack. Revitalize Your Life: Improve Your Looks, Your Health & Your Sex Life, Hastings House (2003)</ref>Template:Rp 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".<ref name=LaLanne-book/>Template:Rp

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."<ref name=LaLanne-book/>

Family

LaLanne was married to his second wife, Elaine Doyle LaLanne, for more than five decades. They had three children: Yvonne LaLanne, a daughter from his first marriage, Dan Doyle, a son from Elaine's first marriage, and Jon LaLanne, a son they had together. Yvonne is a chiropractor in California; Dan and Jon are involved in the family business, BeFit Enterprises, which they and their mother and sister plan to continue.<ref name="clutherlat" /><ref name="SFChron-obit" /><ref name="USAToday-obit">Template:Cite web</ref> Another daughter from Elaine's first marriage, Janet Doyle, died in a car accident at age 21 in 1974.<ref name="clubindustry">Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

LaLanne often said, "I can never die; that would ruin my image!" He died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia at his home on January 23, 2011. He was 96. According to his family, he had been sick for a week but refused to see a doctor. They added that he had been performing his daily workout routine the day before his death.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.<ref>Resting Places</ref>

LaLanne's feats

(As reported on Jack LaLanne's website)

Awards and honors

Template:More citations needed section On June 10, 2005, then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. In his address, Schwarzenegger paid special tribute to LaLanne, who he credited with demonstrating the benefits of fitness and a healthy lifestyle for 75 years.<ref name="CA-Council">"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Announces California Council on Physical Fitness and Sports"Lauphing Place, 14 June 2005</ref> In 2008, he inducted LaLanne into the California Hall of Fame and personally gave him an inscribed plaque at a special ceremony.

In 2007, LaLanne was awarded The President's Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is given to "individuals whose careers have greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, or sports nationwide". Winners are chosen based on the "individual's career, the estimated number of lives the individual has touched through his or her work, the legacy of the individual's work, and additional awards or honors received over the course of his or her career".<ref>Press Release President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 3 May 2007 Template:Cite web</ref>

Other honors

Filmography

LaLanne appeared as himself in the following films and television shows:

References

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Official

Media and publications

Interviews

Miscellaneous

Memorials and retrospectives

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