Sadly, Jack LaLane died in 2011, however, he left a legacy that changed the face of fitness. The younger eras know him as the “Juice Man,” while the more older generations know him for his gyms, his TV show, and his courageous acts of strength.
Before Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons, Jack was the first person to have a fitness based TV show. While TV executives scoffed at his idea to base a show around exercise, his vision for the future was so clear that he literally bought air time. No one thought it would last longer then 6 weeks. It turned out to be a lasting sensation that changed televised fitness.
Here’s Episode 1 of The Jack Lalanne Show
Sugar is the Devil
As a kid, Jack was a sugar junkie. It altered his mood and his body.
“As a kid,” he flatly states, “I was a sugarholic and a junk food junkie! It made me weak and it made me mean. It made me so sick I had boils, pimples and suffered from nearsightedness. Little girls used to beat me up. My mom prayed… the Church prayed.”
His sugar turned into anger. This anger led to him attacking his brother with an axe and setting the families house on fire.
At 15, Jack’s mom took him to see the famous nutritionist, Paul Bragg. This seminar changed his life, his eating, and his perspective on fitness.
Women Should Lift Weights
Jack was before his time on this one! He encouraged women to lift weights in the 1930’s. Yet, still today we struggle to convince the community that lifting weights isn’t just for men! The best bodies are lean bodies stacked with condensed muscle fiber. This is the same fiber that released the youthful, beauty hormone, HGH. If you want to look young and feel young, then lifting weights is your own personal fountain of youth.
Switching Up Your Routine is a MUST.
Jack was one of the first advocates of changing up your routine. He had 2 rooms in his house dedicated to lifting. One was filled with weight lifting machines (such as leg extensions and shoulder press machines), while the other was full or free weight equipment such as barbells and dumbbells. Every 30 days, Jack would change both his cardio routine AND his weight lifting routine. This is what we call “muscle confusion” today, but he was doing it way back in the 1930’s. Brilliant man!
Alternate Lifting Days – to get more intense training
Jack knew that switching lifting routines was important. He also knew that alternating muscles groups was a way to work the muscle harder. One day he would do upper body, while the next he would do lower body. This allowed him to work out back to back days without needing to take days off. He worked out every day of the week with no breaks. Sundays he performed exercises for all the major muscle groups.
Jack LaLanne in his 40’s
Fitness Fact: Did you know that Jack LaLanne actually hated working out!? How’s that for a shocker! The King of Fitness actually is quoted as saying….
“It’s a pain in the gluties,” he said. “But you gotta do it. Dying is easy, living is tough. I hate working out. Hate it. But I like the results.” (source).
Importance of Sleep and Timing
Jack recommended between 7 -8 hours of sleep and going to bed between 9 and 10 at night. We now know that going to bed by roughly 9 – 10 helps with leptin levels (the hormone that controls fat). Getting enough sleep is also responsible for lowering cortisol levels. This hormone is also a key player in belly fat.
No Red Meat
I once saw read that red meat takes up to 4 days to digest and make it’s way through the intestinal tract. WHOA. That’s a horribly long time! Jack was known for only eating egg whites (no yolks), fish, and turkey. These lean meats made up the bulk of his protein consumption.
“Four egg whites have the same amount of protein as one pound of steak but only 60 calories compared to 1,000 calories.”
My favorite quote from this video is “GO JACK GO! His friends yell between their sips of beer and drags on cigarettes.”
Dairy is For Baby Cows
I have been preaching this for YEARS! So when I read this, I was amazed that he felt the same way. Lalanne was against dairy and is quoted as saying ..
“Milk is for a suckling calf. How many creatures still use milk after they’re weaned? Man.”
Great quotes known as “Lalanneisms”. Here are a few:
“Exercise is king, nutrition is queen, put them together and you have a kingdom!”
“Better to wear out than rust out.”
“If man makes it, don’t eat it.”
“Ten seconds on the lips and a lifetime on the hips.”
“It’s not what you do some of the time that counts, it’s what you do all of the time that counts.”
If they didn’t agree with Jack back then, they do now! It seems as though fitness has actually gone full circle with many of Lalannes biggest fitness tips. If you know someone who would love these fitness tips, pass them along and let the memory and the knowledge of Jack live on.
Adria
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