Jack LaLanne was a pioneer of healthier living.
A man of many world records, he inspired people to take fitness seriously, so it's no wonder even nowadays people come in asking for his fitness regimen.
He was one of the people that inspired me to start my fitness journey a decade ago, and I've been studying Jack LaLanne's life and work ever since.
Here's everything you need to know about this fitness pioneer.
Jack LaLanne Workout Routine
LaLanne claimed he never missed a workout in his life. He exercised every day for 2 hours before breakfast.
“You’ve got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they’re the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out.”
- Jack LaLanne, Fitness Pioneer
This is what his exercise routine looked like:
- Stretching - He would wake up at 4 am, or 5 and 6 in his later years, and start exercising in bed by doing a series of stretches.
- Weightlifting - LaLanne would then go to one of the two weight rooms in his home.
One had barbells and dumbbells, and the other weightlifting machines. He would lift weights for 90 minutes. - Cardio - Lastly, he’d do pool exercises for 30 minutes. He’s a huge advocate of swimming and thought this is the best cardio activity because, according to Swimming World, it improves flexibility, posture, strength, and endurance and works all major muscle groups [1].
LaLanne believed in working to failure, which for him was 10 to 15 reps of an exercise.
According to the National Insitute of Health, regular daily exercise, similar to Jack LaLanne's routine of daily workouts, can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by up to 35% and 30% respectively, aligning with LaLanne's emphasis on daily physical activity [2].
7 Workout Tips
I’ve established that LaLanne was a fitness guru. Here is some advice he had for the best workout routine:
- Stick to the workout routine — Workout every day, right after waking up
- Workout to failure — Select a weight that’s heavy enough so that you struggle to complete the last rep
- Never skip cardio exercises
- No snacks
- Eat at least ten raw vegetables every day
- Don’t consume dairy, coffee, sugar
- No smoking
His Approach To Getting Fit
1. Workout variety
The godfather of fitness was one of the first people who recognized the importance of switching up routines to keep his muscles challenged and prevent muscle adaptation from happening. He changed his strength and cardio routines every 30 days.
This is also what I like to do.
The human body has muscle memory — it will adapt to the everyday stress we put it through. Changing your workout will keep your body growing.
Jack LaLanne recognized this, and it’s why he could have one of the world’s best physiques in his time.
He also alternated days on which he did upper and lower body exercises, while on Sundays, he worked every muscle group.
2. Enough rest
LaLanne knew that 7 or 8 hours of sleep is the ideal sleeping time, and he made sure to get this amount of sleep every night. He usually went to bed between 9 and 10 pm.
3. Consistency
Even when he traveled, he never skipped a workout. If there wasn’t a gym he could go to, he used a towel for resistance training, a chair to perform exercises, or he did jumping jacks and sit-ups.
Jack LaLanne Diet Plan
LaLanne's protein-rich diet, comprising egg whites, fish, raw vegetables, and fruit, inspired me to experiment with my diet. I've found that incorporating similar elements into my meals significantly improved my energy levels and workout recovery times.
He always favored raw to cooked food because of its health benefits. The only other meat he indulged in apart from fish was turkey.
LaLanne was also a health food pioneer — he invented the first modern juicer. Juicing was a regular part of his nutritional routine, but he found old-fashioned press juicers to be time-consuming, and it left a lot of pulp behind.
So, he created his own countertop juicer — The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer, which wasn’t bulky and could be used daily. You can still buy his juicer nowadays.
Diet Rules
Jack LaLanne had two nutrition rules:
“If man made it, don’t eat it,” and “If it tastes good, spit it out.”
- Jack LaLanne, Fitness Pioneer
He claimed that exercising is king and nutrition is queen. Together, they create a kingdom.
His diet plan consisted of two meals a day:
- 11 am — After exercising
- 7 pm — At a restaurant with his wife
His first meal consisted of:
- 3-4 hard-boiled egg whites
- A cup of broth soup
- Soy milk oatmeal
- Raisins and seasonal fruit
His second meal consisted of:
- Egg whites and fish
- Jack LaLanne salad — ten raw vegetables and four egg whites
LaLanne's diet, rich in raw vegetables, aligns with the Harvard School of Public Health's findings that a diet high in vegetables can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect upon blood sugar [3].
Supplements
To keep his health in prime condition, LaLanne used dozens of supplements, such as:
- Magnesium — To keep him strong and boost exercise performance. According to Healthline, magnesium also lowers blood pressure and is anti-inflammatory [4].
- Calcium — To keep the bones strong and help regulate blood pressure.
- Vitamins B — For energy production.
- Vitamin A — For regulating cholesterol levels.
- Biotin — To regulate blood sugar levels.
Other workout routines:
His Stats
- Born: September 26, 1914
- Height: 5’6”
- Weight: 150 lbs
Jack LaLanne, or as he’s also called, “the godfather of fitness,” revolutionized the fitness industry.
In numerous books he wrote about fitness, he claimed that he was addicted to sugar as a boy and a junk food junkie.
He had bulimia, which caused him to drop out of school at age 14.
At age 15, he heard a motivational speech by Paul Bragg on health and nutrition, which changed his life.
The speech had such an impact on him that he immediately decided to lead a healthier lifestyle.
He studied the anatomy of the human body and focused on bodybuilding and weight lifting.
Jack LaLanne's success in opening the first modern health studio, eventually leading to 200 fitness gyms with his name, reminds me of my own journey in fitness.
His pioneering spirit resonates with how I approached setting up my first fitness studio, focusing on holistic health and innovative training methods.
A lot of exercise machines used nowadays were inspired or created by LaLanne. He’s credited for inventing:
- Leg extension machines
- Calf machines
- Cable pulley machines
- Weight selectors for the machines
- Resistance bands
- The original model of the Smith Machine
His Fitness Records and Fitness Achievements
To show that age is just a number, Jack LaLanne completed some jaw-dropping fitness feats:
- 1954 (age 40) — LaLanne’s first world record. He swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He swam the Golden Gate Bridge underwater, with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks.
- 1955 (age 41) — LaLanne swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. He swam from the Alcatraz while handcuffed; when interviewed afterwards, he said that the worst part was being handcuffed, as he couldn’t do jumping jacks.
- 1956 (age 42) — He set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes
- 1957 (age 43) — Swam the Golden Gate Channel while towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser
- 1959 (age 45) — Completed 1,000 chin-ups and 1,000 start-ups, and his fitness television show — The Jack LaLanne Show — went nationwide.
- 1974 (age 60) — He swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed for the second time in his life.
- 1975 (age 61) — LaLanne swam the entire length of the Golden Gate, the same as he did 21 years earlier, while handcuffed and shackled, while he towed a 1,000-pound boat.
- 1976 (age 62) — He swam one mile in Long Beach Harbor while towing 13 boats representing the 13 colonies, containing 76 people.
- 1979 (age 65) — Handcuffed and shackled, he swam Lake Ashinoko in Tokyo, Japan, while towing 65 boats loaded with Louisiana Pacific wood pulp, which weighed 6,500 pounds.
- 1980 (age 66) — He towed 10 boats which carried 77 people for over 1 mile in less than an hour in Miami, Florida.
- 1984 (age 70) — He towed 70 rowboats, one with several people on it, from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Harbor to the Queen Mary. Once again, he was shackled and handcuffed, and because of powerful winds, the swim took him 6 miles to complete.
3 Great Accomplishments
1. TheJack LaLanne Show
To fight the criticism that followed him everywhere, LaLanne started writing books and then turned to television.
He got his television exercise program — The Jack LaLanne Show. It started as a local show, but as LaLanne gained popularity, his tv shows went nationwide.
It eventually became the longest-running fitness tv show — it aired from 1953 to 1985.
2. Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness
In 1968 LaLanne met 21-year-old Schwarzenegger, who just became Mr. Universe.
Schwarzenegger saw LaLanne doing chin-ups and push-ups and challenged him, but LaLanne beat him easily.
This was the start of a lifelong friendship.
When Schwarzenegger became the governor of California, he relied on Jack LaLanne’s fitness knowledge, and Jack was one of the founding members of the Governor’s Council.
3. Lifetime Achievement Award
Jack LaLanne was recognized for his work in the fitness industry and was awarded an award in 2007 in Muscle Beach, California.
He was also inducted into the California Fall of Hame, and he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
LaLanne claimed that dying is easy; living is difficult.
"I can't die; it would ruin my image."
-Jack LaLanne
He died aged 96 of respiratory failure due to pneumonia.
FAQs
How Much Sleep Did Jack Lalanne Get?
Jack LaLanne goes to bed between nine and ten p.m. and attempts to get between seven and eight hours of sleep every night.
Did Jack Lalanne Eat Sugar?
Jack LaLanne ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, avoided sugar and white flour, and primarily followed a plant-based, vegetarian diet that included of fish and egg whites.
How Many Meals a Day Did Jack Lalanne Eat?
LaLanne ate precisely two meals: supper and breakfast. After working out, he would often have "several hard-boiled egg whites, oatmeal woth soy milk, a cup of broth, and seasonal fruit" for breakfast. Fish, salad, and additional egg whites for dinner.
References:
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/a-look-at-swimmer-muscles-by-stroke/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6481017/
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-magnesium-benefits
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