The " King of Fitness" has passed away

I was totally surprised to hear that fitness guru Jack Lalanne had died on January 23th, 2011 from complications with pneumonia at his California home. He was 96 but his agent said he exercised right up until the end. I must admit that I don't recall ever seeing an episode of his long running (53-85) TV series but thanks to You Tube and his website I was able to learn about this extraordinary person. He knew and preached the right way for anyone to treat their body and was great at getting his point across. He wasn't just showing you some good exercises, he was rationally explaining why exercise and eating healthy foods was the key to health and vitality. The lessons he taught are still perfectly relevant today. He seemed like he was ahead of his time but it wasn't rocket science, it was very basic stuff. Eat right and exercise. The same things any healthy person or a doctor would tell you today. It's not magical, it's just logical.
Considering many others including Bob Hope and George Burns lived longer, I wonder if genetics plays a major role as I thought Jack would live way past 100. Most of us won't even make it to 96 but we should all try to stay as healthy as we possibly can so we can enjoy every day (as he did) until the very last day of our lives. That's just my middle aged opinion.
Thanks for the inspiration Jack. I won't forget you or your philosophies for living.............Farewell.

Simple advice from an exceptional man

I recently heard that fitness guru Jack Lalanne turned 95 years old. That's right 95 years old. Is he being pushed around in a wheelchair? No. Is he using a cane or walker? No. Is he laying in bed all day waiting for death? No. He is actually so fit that he still works out at least 2 hours per day. He says about an hour of weights and an hour of aerobics. I must admit that I don't recall ever seeing an episode of his long running TV series but thanks to You Tube and his website I can see him now and I find this man to be an extraordinary person. He knew and preached the right way for anyone to treat their body and was great at getting his point across. He wasn't just showing you some good exercises, he was rationally explaining why exercise and eating healthy foods was the key to health and vitality. Another thing about his shows is that they are perfectly relevant today even though they're now many decades old. He almost seems like he was ahead of his time but it wasn't rocket science, it was very basic stuff. Eat right and exercise. The same things any healthy person or a doctor would tell you today. It's not magical, it's just logical. I urge anyone of any age to take a closer look at this man and his philosophies for living. After all, he has proven himself to be right. Okay, at 95, he does look pretty old but compared to most of that age he not only looks better but obviously feels better. Most of us won't be that fortunate but we should all try to stay as healthy as we possibly can so we can enjoy every day until the very last day of our lives.
NOTE: The videos below are amazing in that he was telling "us" these things some fifty plus years ago. They are short so check them out and if you want to see complete episodes go to www.jacklalanne.com

Do you have to drive to the gym?

Most of us realize as we get older how important exercise really is. Also, you probably have a preference of either using a public fitness center or your own fitness equipment at home. The obvious advantage to a fitness center is that the equipment they have is often superior to what one would buy for home use unless you have lots of money. In my opinion, that's the only advantage. The only reason I'm able to make a comparison here is because my wife and I live in such a small house there is literally no extra space for a workout room or even a workout area.......yet. We have a large detached garage that could be split to accommodate our own little fitness center, which is what I planning on building as soon as possible. I definitely prefer a home gym for many reasons. First, there's privacy. It's just you in a quiet room maybe listening to some music or watching a TV. Secondly, only you and/or your spouse are handling the equipment. So, you don't necessarily have to wipe down everything after each use. Third, no waiting for equipment to be available. Fourth, no pressure to show off by lifting more than you should. I'm 46, so weight lifting is getting harder and harder. Fifth is temperature. When I'm working out, I prefer the room temperature to be between 65 and 70 degrees. This prevents me from overheating when I'm really pushing myself. Finally, it's so much more convenient to walk into another room or your garage to work out rather than having to make a whole trip to a gym somewhere. That has been the most serious problem for the two of us. The only fitness center in our small town is about a 10 minute drive. No big deal right? What if the temperature outside is only 20 degrees? We live in Vermont, where it is usually very cold for about 6 months each year. So when we get home from work on a cold winters day, start a fire in our wood stove, then have a nice dinner, do you really think we want to get all bundled up to go outside again just to get to the gym, then have to take off layers of clothing, do our workout, then put the layers of clothes back on so we can get home without freezing? We've missed many workouts because of that situation. Am I just making up an excuse? I guess so, but I think it's a pretty good one. Can't wait to have a home gym. That's just my middle aged opinion.