Fitness Pro: Wise Words from a Fitness Legend

By Joe Mascia

As an overall fan of fitness and the fitness industry, I was saddened to hear of the passing of one of the industry’s real giants, Mr. Jack LaLanne, who passed away at the ripe old age of 96 on January 23. Known for his more than 70 years in the business as a guru and pioneer in the field, LaLanne was a pro’s pro in every sense of the word and was a real trailblazer for all of us who make a living in the fitness industry.

I think it’s safe to say that without him and his contributions, many of us would not be in the positions we are today.

Now my own memories of LaLanne are of him in his later years, slinging everything from vitamins to juicers in those late-night infomercials with his wife, Elaine, by his side. Over the past week or so I’ve read many of the memorials and obit pieces written in his honor; it’s been a real treat learning more about his life’s work and the impact he had on so many people throughout his career.

Many of those articles written online include links to shorter clips of LaLanne during his run on The Jack LaLanne Show, which ran from 1951 until 1985 on ABC’s family of networks throughout the country. LaLanne would host the program, which included a variety of different exercises for his viewers to follow along with, but which also featured educational segments that focused on diet and other components of a healthy lifestyle. LaLanne would pull up a chair and speak directly into the camera each week, and if you take some time to view these segments you can come away with a lot of inspiring stuff.

One such segment I watched on Youtube focused on happiness in general, and how so many of the people LaLanne interacted with on a daily basis seemed so unhappy with their lives, even with all the material items (or “modern conveniences,” as he put it) they had in their possession. To LaLanne, a person could have all of the material goods in the world, but if they were unhappy with themselves and their bodies on a fundamental level then ultimately they were destined to spend their lives worrying and dissatisfied.

“That’s the important thing about life, students, is to be happy,” LaLanne says in the clip. “What’s the good of living, what’s the good of having a lot of money or having fine clothes or driving a fancy automobile if you’re miserable all of the time?” He makes a good point, and even though that clip is more than 50 years old, his words ring true today.

I reference that short segment because I hear the stories people tell me every day when they come to sign up for a membership to the club or come to me for training advice.

Many people tell me that their own physical well being has taken a back seat to their careers or their families, and that one of the reasons they’ve decided to take part in an exercise regimen is to improve not only their appearance, but their self-esteem and confidence. In the everyday hustle and bustle of life we oftentimes get away from what truly makes us feel good about ourselves, which is so much of the reason why we decide to make the commitment to improve our own physical and mental health through exercising and eating better.

In my opinion, there’s really nothing better than the feeling you have after a good workout, leaving the gym knowing that you pushed yourself and spent some quality time focusing on you. I want you to pay attention to how you feel after your next time at the gym, or after your next workout at home. Sure we’re tired, sure we might be sore the next day or two, but doesn’t it feel good to break a real sweat and focus on ourselves for once?

Usually we’re so busy caring about others, whether it’s our family or our friends or our jobs, it’s nice to finally take a few minutes to focus on us. And that’s exactly what exercise is: time for us to focus on us.

According to LaLanne, regular diet, exercise, and staying healthy is paramount to living a happy life, and without those things included in our daily routines, we are destined to be unhealthy and ultimately unhappy.

“I’m convinced, if you will spend just a little more time trying to eat better – eat the foods in their natural state because we’ve gotten so far away from our natural eating habits it’s pathetic,” he says in that old clip.

“And another thing is to get more physical activity,” he says, adding, “We know that this wonderful body of ours cannot be functioning right; it can’t be happy and it can’t repair itself properly if you don’t give it the right amount of exercise … it affects your mind and you have these tensions and frustrations that people have too much, and you’re just kind of down in the dumps and you’re body is hanging and saggy, your face is hanging and saggy, everything is down, and it’s not conducive to smiling and being happy.”

So go ahead, guys. Take Mr. LaLanne’s advice this week.

Have a few great workouts and see how you feel afterwards. You might just look in the mirror and crack a smile.

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