http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10753219/site/newsweek/
Still Going Strong
Jack LaLanne is a living testament to the enduring benefits of diet and
exercise.
By Peg Tyre
Newsweek
Jan. 16, 2006 issue - Decades before Jane Fonda felt the burn and
Suzanne Somers thinned her thighs, Jack LaLanne was teaching Americans
how to stay trim. At every stage of his 70-year career—first as a
competitive body-builder and gym owner, later as the host of a
long-running exercise show—LaLanne, now 91, says his goal was always the
same: to help people get strong and stay active. Compact and energetic,
LaLanne still displays his showman's sense of humor. (The secret of his
longevity? He responds without missing a beat: "Clean thoughts and dirty
girls.") But when it comes to good living, the godfather of fitness gets
serious. "There are no shortcuts. No magic," he says. "The truth is,
you've got to make smart food choices and exercise, not once in a while,
but every day."
Fitness buffs may yawn, but back in the 1930s, as LaLanne was getting
started, that kind of straight talk was positively revolutionary. In
1936, when meat and potatoes was a meal and physical fitness was a
subculture, LaLanne opened a combination gym, juice bar and health-food
store in Oakland, Calif. In the 1950s, on his TV show, LaLanne suggested
(gasp!) that daily calisthenics rather than girdles would keep
housewives trim. Experts berated him for using weights, fretting that
his fans would get unsightly muscles. "My whole career, doctors and
so-called experts called me a crackpot and charlatan," he says. "But I
was right."
Regular folks always liked him, though, because he practiced what he
preached. A sickly child, LaLanne transformed his life when he was a
teen by cutting out sugar and initiating a routine of rigorous exercise,
and was named Mr. America in 1955. He opened a chain of gyms (later
licensed to Bally) and, in 1951, launched his fitness show. From a spare
set, with a handful of props, LaLanne showed the folks at home how he
got—and stayed—strong. "Viewers could see I knew what I was talking
about," says LaLanne. "The Jack LaLanne Show" aired for 34 years.
What kept them tuning in? LaLanne says he tried to get fans to think
positively by peppering his fitness instruction with cheery aphorisms
("Train for life like an athletic event!"). He also made fitness
fun—even bringing pets on the show. Clad in his trademark jumpsuit,
LaLanne did crunches, then his dog, Happy, did tricks. "It kept the
ratings up," he recalls.
As fitness moved into the mainstream, LaLanne's star began to fade. In
the 1980s, a new generation of glitzy instructors promised dramatic
results fast, and La-Lanne's show, which focused on the fundamentals,
was canceled. He became an infomercial staple, hawking high-powered
juicers—so far, he's sold more than a million of the $150 machines.
LaLanne says he won't retire. He lectures regularly and dines out
nightly with his wife of 50 years, Elaine, in their hometown of Morro
Bay, Calif. (He favors lean protein, raw vegetables and fruit.) He works
out daily and wishes more people would do the same. "Even if you use a
walker," he says, "you can still do this." And just like the old days,
he executes a set of perfect leg lifts.
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc
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Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a cornucopia of splinters.
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