24 Jan Paying tribute to fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne: 1914-2011

Everyone in the fitness industry owes a special thank you to Jack LaLanne. The American fitness pioneer died Sunday at his residence in Morro Bay, California at age 96.
It seemed like LaLanne would go on forever, but as we know all good things must come to an end — even the seemingly immortal LaLanne.
Born in 1914, LaLanne admittedly had a poor diet as a youngster, but changed his life around when he started lifting weights and bodybuilding as a teenager.
By the 1930s, he was spreading the word to as many people as possible about the benefits of healthy eating and strength training. He opened his own health spa in California in 1936, many decades before the fitness craze would sweep the nation.
LaLanne is actually credited with developing the leg extension machine, along with numerous other innovations in the fitness industry.
As the years went on, LaLanne became known far and wide for his feats of strength and endurance. He swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater in 1954. As if that wasn’t hard enough, he was also loaded up with 140 pounds of equipment for the swim.
LaLanne also became famous for his pushup feats, including performing over a thousand in a little over 20 minutes.
The nation learned about the fitness guru when “The Jack LaLanne Show” was aired on national TV beginning in 1959, and continued into the 1980s.
LaLanne stayed in the spotlight with infomercials and regular appearances on talk shows, such as the CNN’s “Larry King Live.”
“There was no one like Jack LaLanne,” King commented Sunday. “He would go on forever … a true guru. I guess Charles Atlas from the old comic books would be the predecessor for Jack LaLanne.”
Although LaLanne initially made an impact on younger generations, in his latter years he was a tremendous motivator for senior citizens who learned the benefits of exercise and clean living from him.
LaLanne’s total influence is immeasurable on the American fitness movement.
Instead of raising a champagne glass to toast LaLanne, the best way we can honor is to get an extra-good workout in this week.
Jump on the treadmill , grab some weights or do some other exercises and say: “Thanks Jack. This workout’s for you!”

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com