These days most of us associated Jack Lalanne with his infomercials that promoted his line of juicers
Jack Lalanne has been called the godfather of modern fitness. He began working out with weights before it was popular and most doctors were even opposed to weight-lifting. He opened one of the first gyms in 1936 and encouraged women and older adults to participate in exercise. He later proved that older adults can maintain their strength by performing several impressive feats of strength in his 60s and 70s. At age 70 he swam a mile and half towing 70 boats carrying 70 people while handcuffed and shackled! In his 80s and 90s he still worked out for 2 hours a day using a combination of weights and swimming.
He hosted a television show for 34 years, wrote exercise books, invented exercise machines and was a motivational speaker. He wrote a book called Live Young Forever: 12 Steps to Optimum Health, Fitness and Longevity
While Jack Lalanne liked to joke that he couldn’t die because it would ruin his image, his amazing legacy and contributions to fitness lives on.
When did you first hear about Jack Lalanne? Do you remember what the attitude was towards fitness when you were younger?
