Jack LaLanne

Jack LaLanne exemplifies the health benefits of diet and exercise.

Jack was born Francois Henri LaLanne on Sept. 26, 1914, to French immigrants John and Jennie, back when the average American male was expected to live to about 52. Jack was the second of three sons. John LaLanne, his overweight father, died 50 years old in 1928 of a heart attack.

Jack LaLanne's transformation, made possible by Paul Bragg at the age of 15, lay first and foremost in nutrition. But, after becoming a strict natural foods vegetarian, Jack realized he would not be completely healthy unless he was also fit. He joined the Berkeley YMCA. Swimming and wrestling were about the only organized exercise activity the YMCA offered in those days, so Jack LaLanne became very good at both.

Jack eventually built his own backyard body building gym which he rented out to police and fireman. He attended a chiropractic college on the weekends. At 22 in 1936, Jack opened a gym called Jack LaLanne's Physical Culture Studio on the third floor of a building on 15th and Broadway, Oakland, California.

Soon LaLanne was stressing the value of weight training exercise for athletes at a time when few did. He also encouraged women to join men in gyms and work with weights. Jack LaLanne did the same for children, older people and those with physical challenges.

For over 30 years, Jack was on television promoting exercise. On television, he would lure, prod, encourage and exhort viewers to take responsibility for their health and fitness. Jack LaLanne's breadth of lifetime experiences included roles as a personal fitness trainer; nutrition consultant; author; and manufacturer, supplier and retailer of whole grain breads, cereals, bars, shakes, vitamins, supplements and all kinds of exercise equipment.

Jack is most famous for a series of well-publicized feats of strength that always took place on his birthday to remind people that they could maintain fitness and health while growing older. "I wanted to show I wasn't just a muscle man. I was an athlete," Jack LaLanne said. "Later, I did it to show that getting older doesn't mean you can't be strong and healthy."

Much of Jack's commonsense health advice sounds like a broken record playing over and over again, since it has never changed in over 50 years. He exercises each day for 2 hours from 6 to 8 o'clock in the morning. His workout consists of one hour of bodybuilding followed by one hour of swimming.

Breakfast, for Jack, is a power drink with 50 grams of soy protein and soy milk, plus a whole-grain cereal, and between 40 and 50 nutritional supplements. Lunch consists of four egg whites, five servings of fresh fruit, and five raw vegetables.

For dinner, Jack has 10 raw vegetables, a salad, soup, whole-wheat bread, 3 to 4 ounces of fish: Served always at a restaurant. While Jack often says: "If man makes it, don't eat it," he definitely believes in drinking a high protein shake first thing in the morning in order to keep his blood sugar stable.

In recognition of Jack's achievements, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The picture of Jack LaLanne at the top of this page documents forever how Jack looked at 88 years of age on Thursday, September 26, 2002.

"I'm going to live to be 150 years old," Jack LaLanne told an audience on Hollywood Boulevard for the Walk of Fame ceremony. "Stick around and find out."

Official Website: JackLaLanne.com