21 February,2011 10:10 AM IST | | Aviva Dharmaraj
The man who laid the foundation for today's gyms and contemporary philosophy on fitness - Jack LaLanne - died at the age of 96 on January 23. Active! profiles the American who coaxed millions to look and feel better about themselves
Before Richard Simmons slipped into his trademark candy-striped shorts and called upon America to get off its couch or Jane Fonda got baby boomers to mimic her energetic moves in front of their TVs, there was Jack LaLanne. The champion of exercise and nutrition died of pneumonia on January 23, 2011, aged 96.u00a0
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Born Francois Henri LaLanne in 1914, he was nicknamed 'Jack' by older brother Norman. LaLanne was a passionate advocate of healthy living at a time when America was just starting to wake up to a breakfast of coffee, doughnuts and cigarettes.
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LaLanne's life was packed with firsts: He was the first to open a health and fitness club in 1936; the first to design leg extension machines and other fitness equipment now considered standard in the industry; the first to encourage men (and women) to lift weights at a time when doctors believed that using weights would cause heart attacks and a loss of sex drive. He also introduced the Power Juicer: a juicer for raw fruit and veggies that has a market even today.
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Such a long journey
LaLanne's journey from Francois to 'first fitness hero' (he beat a 21-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger at 54, at an informal contest) however, was not a free ride. Like most teenagers, his adolescence was riddled with anger and confusion. Looking back, LaLanne described himself as "a miserable goddamn kid", a "sugarholic" and a "junk food junkie".
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One year after dropping out of high school at the age of 14, he heard a talk by nutritionist Paul Bragg that proved to be life changing. As a result, LaLanne decided to focus on eating right and also started to work out daily. He would soon go back to school, and then on to college to earn his Doctor of Chiropractic degree.
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Key teachings
The literal advocate of the 'survival of the fittest', LaLanne considered exercise crucial to people's physical as well as mental well-being, and referred to working out as his "tranquilizer". He was exercising for two hours a day, well into his nineties.
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The presence of chemical food additives and drugs in foods were responsible for making people physically and mentally ill, according to LaLanne, who once famously said: 'If man makes it, don't eat it.'
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Sugar, coffee, alcohol and nicotine were strict no-nos for LaLanne, who followed a largely vegetarian diet, except for fish and eggs.
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Paradise found
Chances are the world record-holder for push-ups (1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes), who swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, handcuffed and shackled to a 450-kg boat at the age of 61, and the host of the longest running exercise show (from 1959 to 1985), is now encouraging the angels to get off their clouds and beat him to another fitness challenge.
