I had the privilege of interviewing 98-year-old Elaine LaLanne. If you are a Baby Boomer, you will remember watching her and her husband Jack LaLanne on television for 34 years. He was one of America’s first fitness exercise gurus, and he always started his show doing jumping jacks.
Elaine is still going strong at almost 100. Watch our delightful and super-inspiring interview.
Of course, I had to ask her what has kept her so healthy and active for 9 decades and counting. Below are some of the nuggets she shared with me. However, I recommend watching our video as she is amazing to listen to.
Elaine says, “Life begins at 60.”
As Baby Boomers, we start to get aches and pains and may want to give up getting exercise. Elaine emphasizes that you should never give up. Even if you have challenges, there is always a way to overcome them. She has macular degeneration, and bone-on-bone pain but still finds a way to exercise and go forward in life.
She mentioned that when her husband Jack was swimming and towing boats from San Francisco to Alcatraz he got caught up in the pilings but didn’t let anyone help. He figured out how to get out of the pilings and didn’t give up.
Jack said, “Your mind is like a mine that is full of diamonds. All you have to do is dig them up.”
Elaine does 20 jack knives every day and knees to chest to strengthen her core. She also does a lot of stretching. She says you need to stretch when you get older because as you age everything gets tighter.
In the video, she demonstrates facial exercises that she does each day. “Our faces have 55 muscles and when you exercise them, they will get toned.
She’s seen many friends who do not exercise and sit by the TV all day, roll up into a little ball.
Work on your posture. Bring your shoulders to your ears, roll them back, and then down. Repeat several times. This releases tension in the neck.
I mentioned that her facial exercises have paid off because she doesn’t look anywhere near her age. She added that she moisturizes her face twice daily and doesn’t use soap to cleanse it. She uses a cream cleanser instead.
Her biggest tips for longevity are to be positive and think young
When you put something in your mouth ask yourself, “What is this going to do for me? Will it make me look better, feel better, and live longer? Or am I just putting junk in my mouth and making myself go downhill?”
“Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen. Put them together and you’ve got a Kingdom.” ~ Jack LaLanne
She wrote a book about Jack called “Pride and Discipline: The Legacy of Jack LaLanne” It is a collection of stories about how they met, their family, and more. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Wahlberg, and other stars contributed. It is about Jack’s writings and how he disciplined his mind.
Another book she wrote with Jaime Brenkus called “If You Want to Live, Move! Putting the Boom Back into Boomers.”
Attitude is key
Elaine has an ARCH. A = Attitude, R = Resistance (resisting what undermines your health and resistance for muscle tone), C = consistency (about what you eat and when you exercise), H = Harmony (When you do all those things you have Harmony)
Other nuggets to live a long and healthy life
When Jack met Elaine, she was eating donuts and smoking. Jack told her, “If you do everything in moderation, you can’t go wrong.”
Nothing in life is perfect. We always have to work on things. That’s what life is about.
Living your best life means you have something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.
The Jumping Jack Challenge
I arrived at the IDEAfit Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center and saw every type of fitness vendor imaginable and people of all ages desiring to stay fit. A stage was set up and Elaine was holding court with a slew of well-known fitness gurus including Denise Austin and Gilad from Bodies in Motion.
Mark Wahlberg chimed in from Australia to wish everyone well during the Jumping Jack Challenge. He was there making a movie about Jack LaLanne playing the starring role of Jack LaLanne.
Watch my short video below.
Our challenge was to do 98 jumping jacks in honor of Elaine’s 98th birthday! The crowd and others streaming in did over 3,000 jumping jacks to break the record of the most done simultaneously by a group of people.
Visit Elaine’s website and Jack LaLanne’s official website.
