This Lady Proves You Can Retain Fitness At Any Age

Who is this lady? A clue is the photo in the background. The man in the picture is Jack Lalanne, a fitness guru who died several years ago at 96. I used to see Lalanne on our black-and-white TV in the late 1950s. He was a fixture of that era.

The lady is Elaine Lalanne, his wife, who is now 97 and continues to exercise 20 minutes every day. She is an inspiration to many, as described in this article.

Jack Lalanne went on to carry out amazing physical feats:

1954 Age 40: Swam the length of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge underwater with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks… an undisputed world record.

1955 Age 41: Swam, handcuffed, from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf in

San Francisco, CA.

1956 Age 42: Set a world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on “You Asked for It, a TV Show with Art Baker.

1957 Age 43: Swam the treacherous Golden Gate Channel, towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser. This involved fighting the cold, swift ocean currents that made the 1 mile swim a 6 ½ mile test of strength and endurance.

1958 Age 44: Maneuvered a paddleboard 30 miles, 9-½ hours non-stop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore.

1959 Age 45: Completed 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour and 22 minutes. 

1974 Age 60: Swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

But…he wasn’t done.