Belated wishes of a happy birthday to Jack LaLanne!
Yes, he is still alive!
The model of fitness, Jack started out as a chiropractor. He opened the first health spa in Oakland, CA, which has since grown into a popular chain and been bought out, now operating as Bally Total Fitness.
He produced the first television fitness program, which ran from 1951 to 1985, a combination of exercise and healthy eating. And he encouraged women to lift weights; the common belief back then was that lifting weights would make women look too masculine.
Jack's favorite advice:1) If man made it, don't eat it.
2) If it tastes good, spit it out.
3) The only good part of a donut is the hole.
Which is why I mostly only eat donut holes now!
But a life of fitness has paid off. At 41, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Warf... handcuffed. He repeated this feat at age 60, also handcuffed... this time shackled and towing a boat weighing 1,000 lbs.
At age 70, he swam (handcuffed and shackled) from the Queen's Way Bridge to the Queen Mary (Long Beach Harbor), a distance 1.5 miles, while towing 70 boats containing 70 people.
Now at 95, he is still exercising and going strong. He has published a new book, "Live Young Forever". And he had hoped to swim from Santa Catalina Island to the California Coast. Stay tuned!
So, happy (belated) birthday and God bless you, Jack LaLanne!