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 will be in Los Angeles on July 12th at 1 pm PST at the IDEA World Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall. She is hosting a Jack LaLanne jumping jack challenge to go for the record of getting the most people to do jumping jacks simultaneously. The current record of 2051 jumping jacks done simultaneously was achieved in Poland.
Sign up at JackLaLanne.com and IDEAfit.com. (in person)
It only costs $5 to attend and it’s a donation to the National Fitness Foundation. Bring a group with you or online and send in your videos.
If you are not in Los Angeles, you can join ONLINE. Even one jumping jack will help. She will be joined by Kathy Smith, Gilad (Bodies in Motion – who will receive an award), Denise Austin, and many other fitness personalities.
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.
Just sent this to my 89-year-old mom. I know she’ll enjoy it and be inspired.