Jack Lalanne - The Godfather of Fitness

I was surprised this morning when I opened a news website, and saw that Jack Lalanne had died. At 96 years old, the man many call the Godfather of Fitness had succumbed to pneumonia-induced respiratory failure. It's hard to believe that he could fall from anything. In my mind he was almost like a super hero - stronger than most men, and seemingly invincible.  Sadly, he was just a mortal man, even if, super fit. May he finally rest.

When I think about the memories I have of Jack Lalanne, I see him on TV in one of his many PR stunts. Like swimming through the water and pulling a tugboat behind him. Or doing 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in an hour. When he was 45. (I'll be 45 in six years and will be lucky to do 10 of each)
The man swam the length of the Golden Gate bridge several times when he was hand-cuffed. He won countless body-building championships.

He was known for coining witty little sayings like:

• If man makes it, don’t eat it.
• First we inspire them, then we perspire them.
• Better to wear out than rust out.
• Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen, put them together and you’ve got a kingdom.
• Don’t exceed the feed limit. (I should put this one on my refrigerator!)

And of course, he inspired so many folks over the years to get in shape. My mom watched his TV show all of the time. I am sure in some way, he stirred my interest in fitness.

Jack Lalanne just had a gusto for life. A real way of making people "want" to move. In fact, I bet he's got a group of folks doing jumping-jacks in heaven right now!

We'll miss you Jack.