The term "legend" gets thrown around a lot these days, but in at least one case, it's an apt description. In a career spanning over 70 years, Jack LaLanne, the founder of the modern fitness movement, made his mark as a bodybuilder, nutrition expert, author, motivational speaker, inventor, and TV host. LaLanne opened the nation's first health and fitness club in California in 1936, at the young age of 21. With his TV programs, books, and exercise machines, he continued to extoll the virtues of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle for people of all ages and abilities until his death at age 96 in 2011.
Listing all of the achievements of the "Godfather of Fitness" would be impossible, but some of them remain particularly impressive. In addition to his professional success, LaLanne excelled at performing feats of strength and stamina, proving that it's possible to be strong, fit, and healthy at any age. One of his most memorable feats occurred in 1976, to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial. The 62-year-old LaLanne swam a mile (1.6 km) along Long Beach Harbor, handcuffed and shackled, towing 13 aluminum skiffs (representing the thirteen colonies) filled with 76 young people.
The Godfather of Fitness:
- The Jack LaLanne Show was the longest-running exercise program in TV history, airing from 1951 to 1985.
- LaLanne's other impressive feats included swimming the length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater with 140 lbs (64 kg) of equipment strapped to his body. He accomplished this in 1954, aged 40, and in 1975, aged 61.
- LaLanne exercised for two hours every day into his 90s, lifting weights, walking, and swimming. He typically ate two meals a day, sticking to a mostly vegetarian diet (except fish) and avoiding processed foods.
