In celebration of Jack LaLanne's 93rd birthday on September 26, 2007, we are posting some text from his classic book, Revitalize Your Life — in which he reveals his secrets for good health and fitness.
Now in its second edition, Jack LaLanne's essential book on healthy living shows you how to improve your looks, your health, and your sex life.
"Jack LaLanne was thirty years ahead of his time. He is truly the terminator of unhealthy living. He possesses the secret formula for the fountain of youth which he details in this book." — Arnold Schwarzenegger
"Jack LaLanne is the man we most admire and love. He inspires and lives his teachings." — Debbie Reynolds
"Jack knew the value of exercise and nutrition before it became fashionable." — Clint Eastwood
"Thanks Jack. It may have taken a while but it looks like the country finally got the message — including me! There's not a single person in the world of fitness that does not owe you a salute. Jack is living proof that before 50 or after 50 it's never too late to get in shape." — Richard Simmons
FORWARD
Get a calendar and circle the date. This is the first day of the rest of your life. This is a book for you and the people around you!
Haven't you wished at times that you could be born again with a new body and vibrant health? I know this longing because I had it once myself. I wanted to take my body and mold it like you would mold modeling clay. Well after delving into kinesiology, Gray's Anatomy, and the knowledge I have acquired from Chiropractic College, I was able to mold my body the way I wanted it through nutrition and exercise. This is why I am writing this book, to give you some of the knowledge that I received over the years.
I was asked to write the first edition of this book to target people over 50, but in my heart I wanted to write it for everyone. I don't think people should be pigeonholed into a category. You see, I believe that age really dosen't matter whether you're 10 or 110. If you want to feel good, look good, and live longer you have to work at it. As I've said many times, exercise is king and nutrition is queen; put them together and you have a kingdom. In my heart there are no special exercises for young and old. It's how much effort you put into them. You have 640 muscles in your body and they all need their share of work. You need strength and flexibility exercises along with at least 12 to 17 minutes of cardiovascular three times a week. Muscles are like little puppies, they have to be trained, fed and exercised. Your muscles are made of protein and exercise builds and breaks down muscle tissue. To maintain your energy and vitality you need starches, carbohydrates and fats, but they all need to be in the right proportions (which will be discussed later in this book).
What good is a Rolls Royce if you don't drive it, and what good is this book if you don't read it. Your health account and your bank account are synonymous, the more you put in the more you can take out. As my mother used to say, "God helps those who help themselves." I hope and pray that you will make an effort to help yourself to a new life. Remember my motto, "anything in life is possible." YOU can make it happen!
Healthfully and enthusiastically,
Jack LaLanne
Here's a sample chapter:
CHAPTER 3
Fiftysomething: You're Halfway There!
I once heard a memorable comment in a play. The question was asked, "How old do you have to be to reach old age?" The answer was, "Old age is someone twenty years older than yourself."
So whether you're 50, 60, or 70 — old age is always 20 years away. It's a healthy attitude to have. I feel that you have three ages: your chronological age (your actual age), your physical age (how you feel today), and your psychological age (how you feel mentally). The old saying, "You're only as old as you feel," is absolutely true. I know I'm eightysomething and I feel the same as when I was thirtysomething. So what have I been doing the last fifty years? The same thing I've been doing all my life, looking after myself, and that's my advice to you.
But how about those of you who haven't been looking after yourselves? You're constantly tired, suffer from hundreds of little aches and pains, don't enjoy a happy love life, and have generally become a couch potato. In other words, "Your get up and go has got up and went." Your self-esteem has dwindled, you hate the way you look, your house has become your tomb, you feel sick but you enjoy being sick, and you don't feel like cooking anymore. You're in a panic, the give-up stage of life. You think your youth has gone and you're "over the hill," even though the rat race has been won, the kids are grown, the mortgage paid up, and your house is just the way you want it. Well, it's time to break down the aging process and recharge your battery. Let's see how we can start revitalizing your life to improve your looks, your health, and even your sex life.
The fifties, sixties, and seventies are simply stages of life. It wasn't a crisis when you made the change from infant to adolescent to teenager, then to adult. Why then should it be a crisis to become 50, 60, 70, or even 80. I believe that age is just a series of numbers. When I turned 80, I realized that I was just half of 160 and when I make that, I'll be half of 320. I want you to stick around and find out!
Like wine, you should be able to improve with age. Nothing in medical science says the body falls apart after 50. With the new national interest in healthy nutrition, the latest advances in medicine, and the campaign to cut down on smoking, the external forces are at work trying to help you. There are some things you must do for yourself, however. The truth is, too many individuals have been brainwashed to accept the over-the-hill blues. They think it's time to "pig out," stop exercising, and take it easy.
If you think about it, Winston Churchill was 65 at the start of World War II when he became Britain's Prime Minister, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was 59 when Pearl Harbor was attacked and he led America to victory. Grandma Moses didn't start painting until age 76 and she lived to be 101. Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex, one of the greatest plays of literature, at age 90.
In more current times, the Senior Olympics and the Senior Golf Tour are becoming more and more popular. Ronald Reagan was president well into his 70's. Colonel Sanders began his career at 65, Dr. Spangler was running marathons in his nineties. Then there's the vivacious "Dancing Grannies" who are in their fifties, sixties, and seventies. How about the man who bungee jumped at age 100? I could go on and on. Why are you any different?
There is no distinct dividing line between the young and the old. Some folks die at 40 and they bury them at 60. Have you been busy dying instead of living? Why surrender to a myth that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, i.e., if you think you're old, you are old? The corollary is, if you think you're young, then you are young. I staunchly believe that thoughts are things.
By surrendering, we let ourselves go. We let the sags and bulges appear on our bodies as well as in our minds. Sags and bulges make women and men look older than they are. Thus, we feel older.
Try this little test: Place a 10-pound rock or 10 pounds of flour in a tote bag. Better yet, go to the market and get 10 pounds of fat and carry it around with you for a few minutes. Heavy, isn't it? Now, if that was 10 or 20 pounds of extra body weight you were carrying around, aren't you helping to speed up the aging process? Obesity can lead to many complications, including diabetes, heart problems, and strokes. One of the worst diseases for some is "mirror-itis": When you look in the mirror and you get sick.
I enjoy my life more every day. The French have a wonderful expression, "Joie de vivre!" which means "The joy of life." A bundle of joy popped into my life when I was almost 50. I became a father again! Most of the good things in my life have borne fruit in my mature years. I took up golf at 50 and at age 72 I shot my age and eventually got down to a 4 handicap.
If you have fallen into the age trap of no exercise and exceeding the feed limit, start fighting the problem with a positive approach. Learn to know yourself, to love yourself. Look in the mirror, make a mental image of how you want to look, and then see yourself that way. Be cognizant of this mental image constantly. When you feel like indulging in that extra dessert, call up that mental image. Think of carrying that tote bag of fat around with you. Make short-term goals for yourself. A fitness program without goals is like a ship without a rudder. Set a course and follow it through. See the end result in your mind's eye.
Remember, you are only halfway there. The feeling of being "over the hill" can affect you current life only if you let it, or it can be a happy time during your prime years for building happier years to come. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "The only thing constant in life is change." So if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, make yourself happy and make a change. Start to control your destiny by getting rid of old concepts. Remember, age is only a number. Science has shown us that more and more people are living to be over 100. This is not a time of great deterioration if you invest a little effort in energizing your vigor and vitality. Along with proper nutrition, better medical and personal body care, you will be revitalizing your life.
Text copyright © 2003 by Jack LaLanne
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