As a pimply 13 year old, I remember stumbling along a book at the public library. It was entitled, "For Men Only" by Jack Lalanne. On the front jacket was a pic of a man almost 60 years old, coming out of a swimming pool, with coconut deltoids, horseshoe triceps, a barrel chest and a waistline you could wrap your one hand around. Talk about inspiration! I thought, "you really can turn back the biological clock".
I had known of Mr. Lalanne from his syndicated TV show, thinking of him as a gymnast,with that incredible V-shape from obliques-to-lats, making him appear taller than his 5'6" frame, unaware of the super-human feats he had performed--1,023 push-ups in twenty minutes, swimming Alcatraz island while shackled. Joe Weider wrote of the massive amount of reps in his workouts. Arnold Schwarzenegger described how Jack would out-chin everyone at Muscle Beach in Venice.
Despite being decades his junior, I really thought he would outlive me.
Last point--what is more impressive than living 96 years, is that he was active up until the end. To quote an article from a doctor that appeared in the New York Times, "living to an old age isnt an attribute, livng healthfully is".
Jack Lalanne-- a true pioneer--chiropractor, exercise inventor and physiologist, and one of the few celebrities who had congruity in his life. He set the example, so therefore he did not have to set the rules. He was 96 and left us too soon.
post-script---Jack was also one the first personal trainers, decades before it became a profession for the masses. Check out his attempt to personally train Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan) on a hiarious episode of "The Adams Family"!
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