Did you know Jack could do the teaser too?
All kidding aside, that’s about it. I only wish I could say there was more.
I couldn’t let this week pass without paying homage to a truly fabulous man, an inspirational leader and fitness icon. Jack Lallane passed away today, at the age of 96. Mr. LaLanne showcased his legendary stamina in outrageous stunts well into his senior years. Such feats involved towing boatloads of people in frigid, choppy sea water, often while handcuffed and shackled. To Mr. LaLanne, his reputation for superhuman strength was everything. “I can’t die,” he said. “It would ruin my image.”
While some people only know Jack from his juicer infomercial, his career dates back to the 1930’s when he not only earned his Doctor of Chiropractic but opened the first health club in the world. Jack was the first fitness expert who lauded the benefits of resistance or specifically weight training for women. In the 1940’s this was considered totally crazy and insane, but has become, as we know today, the mainstream. In fact, in an interview several years ago, Jack said he hadn’t changed his message since the 1930’s when he was considered a total whack job!
LaLanne was also a pioneer in television and home exercise products where he was the first fitness trainer on television in 1951. He also pioneered home fitness by producing exercise LP records that were sold with exercise bands in the 50’s as well.
Timeline: Jack’s Amazing Physical Feats!
* 1954 (age 40): swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, underwater, with 140 pounds (64 kg; 10 st) of equipment, including two air tanks. A world record.
* 1955 (age 41): swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed. When interviewed afterwards he was quoted as saying that the worst thing about the ordeal was being handcuffed, which reduced his chance to Star Jump significantly.
* 1956 (age 42): set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on You Asked For It,[28]a television program with Art Baker.
* 1957 (age 43): swam the Golden Gate channel while towing a 2,500-pound (1,100 kg; 180 st) cabin cruiser. The swift ocean currents turned this one-mile (1.6 km) swim into a swimming distance of 6.5 miles (10.5 km).
* 1958 (age 44):maneuvered a paddleboard nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The 30-mile (48 km) trip took 9.5 hours.
* 1959 (age 45): did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes and The Jack LaLanne Show went nationwide.
* 1974 (age 60): For the second time, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf. Again, he was handcuffed, but this time he was also shackled and towed a 1,000-pound (450 kg; 71 st) boat.
* 1975 (age 61): Repeating his performance of 21 years earlier, he again swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater and handcuffed, but this time he was shackled and towed a 1,000-pound (450 kg; 71 st) boat.
* 1976 (age 62): To commemorate the “Spirit of ’76”, United States Bicentennial, he swam one mile (1.6 km) in Long Beach Harbor. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he towed 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.[29]
* 1979 (age 65): towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with 6,500 pounds (2,900 kg; 460 st) of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp.[19]
* 1980 (age 66): towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for over one mile (1.6 km) in less than one hour.
* 1984 (age 70): Handcuffed, shackled and fighting strong winds and currents, towed 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 mile.[30]
WOW! That is truly inspirational!
For ordinary folks like you and me, it might even be overwhelming!
But don’t despair. Remember what Jack once said, “Exercise is king, nutrition is queen — put them together and you’ve got a kingdom.”
And that’s just what we’re doing one day, one workout, one choice at a time at Pilates1901.
Thanks for being a part of our kingdom everyone!
Don’t forget our NUTRITION 101 WORKSHOP tonight at 7pm. You’ll be glad you came!
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