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Close With Jack LaLanne
By
Robert Ferguson and Krista Clarke
Each
week we share with you the weekly word: stories of inspiration,
motivational strategies and life principles. However, this
week we decided to share with you the man, the legend, the
Godfather of fitness and health--Jack LaLanne.
He's
not quite as fast as a speeding locomotive. And there's no
proof that he can leap tall buildings in a single bound. But
to mere mortals, 88-year-old Jack LaLanne is as close as we
come to Superman.
Jack
LaLanne is the Godfather of Health and Fitness. He opened
the country's first health club in Oakland in 1930 and established
himself as a staple of morning television for 30 years with
the syndicated "Jack LaLanne Show." Also known for
his fitness feats, at 60 Jack swam from Alcatraz to the Golden
Gate Bridge, towing 60 boats behind him. As of recent, Jack
was honored by the entertainment industry as he received a
Hollywood star in September 2002. He has been featured on
Larry King Live, the Tonight Show and you can catch him selling
his juicer on his current infomercials. But, it hasn't always
been this way.
Today
we are aware that resistance training (weight lifting, strength
training) is beneficial and recommended for just about everyone,
however, when Jack debuted with the "Jack LaLanne Show"
he got incredible criticism. LaLanne was labeled as a "zealot
and crack pot." LaLanne shared with us that if he hadn't
have been beaten down so much he'd be 6'4"! (He's 5'4").
Specifically, LaLanne was criticized because he got women
and people with disabilities to do strength work-what nerve!
We now know he was 30 years ahead of his time.
Jack
La Lanne has been exercising for well over 70 years. He has
touted the value of exercise and nutrition long before it
became fashionable, and we were honored and excited to visit
and interview one of America's true pioneers of modern health
and fitness. His message was clear-Get Moving!
Favorite
quotes taken from our interview with Jack:
"It's
never too late to take care of your body."
"Anyone can die. You have to work at living."
"Your bloodstream is the river of life."
"Exercise is king; nutrition is queen."
"Bottom Line: Get Moving!"
Robert:
What's your opinion on the balance of healthy eating and exercise?
Jack:
You have to take care of your 640 muscles, and the number
one thing is exercise. You can eat perfectly but if you don't
exercise, you cannot get by. There are so many health food
nuts out there that eat nothing but natural foods but they
don't exercise and they look terrible. Then there are other
people who exercise like a son-of-a-gun but eat a lot of junk.
They look pretty good because the exercise is king. Nutrition
is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom!
Krista:
In your opinion do you feel exercise is most important?
Jack:
Exercise IS number one! Think about it: the human body, how
do you hurt it?
Krista:
By not using it.
Jack: Right! So many older people, they just sit around
all day long and they don't get any exercise. Their muscles
atrophy, and they lose their strength, their energy and vitality
by inactivity.
Robert:
Many people are looking for the fountain of youth. What are
your thoughts on reversing the aging process?
Jack: Take a guy that's 60 years old and hasn't exercised.
Say you exercise him for 6 to 8 weeks-you can double his strength
and double his endurance. Test after test has been done all
over the world to prove this. They have even taken people
in their 90's and put them on a weight training program and
doubled their strength and endurance. Just think what the
younger people at 50, 60, 70 and 80 can do if they can do
that with 90 year olds.
Robert:
So you're saying exercise is a way to counteract aging?
Jack: Absolutely. You can ward it off; you can prolong
your life. I've outlived the age of maturity. I have showed
my system works.
Krista:
By the time most people become a senior citizen they may have
arthritis and exercising is too painful. What then?
Jack: Many people have arthritis and rheumatism; they
get bum knees, a bum back. A lot of guys get a little pain
in the toe or knee and then they won't exercise. Well gee,
you have 640 muscles in your body. There may be a few exercises
you can't do, but there are hundreds you can do! Too many
people make excuses like I am too old, or I don't have the
time, or it costs money. Then when they get sick they go to
the doctor and want a shot in the backside to make them healthy.
Many
so-called spiritual people, they overeat, drink too much,
they smoke and don't exercise. But they do go to church every
week and pray "Please help my arthritis. Please help
me bring up my strength, make me young again." But tell
me, can God go to the gym to work out for you? God helps those
that help themselves. You have to do it! God or some omnipotent
power or whatever you want to believe in gives you the energy,
the will to do it, but you have to do it yourself.
If you
haven't exercised for a long time, just start out for a couple
of minutes a day. Then work it up a little bit. You'd be surprised
at the end of thirty days, how many things you are doing.
How do you build up your bank account? By putting something
in it everyday. Your health account is no different. What
I do today, I am wearing tomorrow. If I put inferior foods
in my body today, I'm going to be inferior tomorrow ... it's
that simple. What does age mean? Not being able to do the
things you used to do. If I can get you doing things you haven't
done for ten or fifteen years, isn't that exciting?
The
main thing is to start a weight-training program. It's not
about seeing how much you can lift. I'm talking about specific
exercises for your arms, shoulders, chest and back. With weight
training you can control things, work around your infirmities,
if you have an injury or pain in a certain area. That is the
beautiful part about weights: even if you are 100 year old,
you can lift something. Maybe it's only a half a pound or
a pound or two pounds. It will still do something.
Conclusion
Jack LaLanne is known for speaking his mind, and you can take
our word for it ... he did just that and we have over two
hours of tape to prove it. Nonetheless, Jack is a living testament
that eating healthy and exercising regularly (vigorously)
is how you arrive in y our golden years full of energy and
very active in body and mind. We hope you enjoyed these excerpts
of Jack LaLanne and we look forward to sharing with you more
on this modern-day warrior!
Send
inquiries to: [email protected]
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