Lalanne Quotes & Sayings

The brain's preferred source of fuel is glucose/carbohydrates. And when you go on a low-carb/high-protein diet, your brain is using low-octane fuel. You'll be a little groggy, a little grumpy. — Jack LaLanne

You should do it against the clock. Say you are going to do 30 laps in 15 minutes. Then you try to do it each day a little faster. That is putting demands on the body, and that is how you build up. You keep up your energy instead of going downhill. — Jack LaLanne

Any stupid ass can die- you have to work at living! — Jack LaLanne

On one of my birthdays I did 1,000 chin-ups and 1,000 push-ups. For my 70th birthday I towed 70 boats with 70 people in it, my feet and hands tied-my hands were in handcuffs, my feet were tied together-and I towed these boats a mile-and-a-half in Long Beach Harbor. For my 93rd birthday I'm going to tow my wife across the bathtub. — Jack LaLanne

People will set a New Year's resolution: "I'm gonna get in shape this year." But they don't set a parameter for how they're gonna measure it. Or if they do measure it, they wait until the first day of the next year. You'd never run a business that way. Document your progress. — Jack LaLanne

Ten seconds on the lips and a lifetime on the hips. — Jack LaLanne

One of the reasons so many people fail is they get on this treadmill for an hour or an hour and a half. That's totally unnecessary. If it's cardiovascular, you don't need more than 15 to 17 or 18 minutes if it's vigorous. — Jack LaLanne

I'm always asking people to do something in their mind [first]. So if they're gonna do one exercise, it would be to ask themselves what they want to change about themselves in the next 12 weeks. Once they solve that, the body will follow. — Jack LaLanne

Probably millions of Americans got up this morning with a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a donut. No wonder they are sick and fouled up. — Jack LaLanne

I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image. — Jack LaLanne

Life is great when your in shape! — Jack LaLanne

Exercise is your king, and nutrition is your queen. Together they create your fitness kingdom. — Jack LaLanne

You can't separate the mind and body. It's impossible. — Jack LaLanne

The first thing I did when I was forty years old, I put handcuffs on and I jumped off Alcatraz prison and swam to San Francisco handcuffed. That made national publicity. Then, there were three or four years where I would do more difficult feats. Another birthday I towed a thousand pound boat across the Golden Gate. On my 65th Birthday I towed 65 boats a mile and a half in Tokyo. On my 70th Birthday I towed 70 boats with 70 people in it with my feet and hands tied a mile and a half in Long Beach ... My next Birthday I will be 93. I'm gonna tow my wife across the bathtub. — Jack LaLanne

Do you know how many calories are in butter and cheese and ice cream? Would you get your dog up in the morning for a cup of coffee and a donut? — Jack LaLanne

The spine is the lifeline. A lot of people should go to a chiropractor but they don't know it. — Jack LaLanne

As it's often been said, the rest of your life is the best of your life. I'm reaching for your hand now to help you reassess your attitude on living and jump into the happiest, healthiest, most productive years you will ever have. — Jack LaLanne

If there are any limits to what can be done. The limit is right here (in your head). You've got to get physically fit between your ears. Muscles don't know anything. They have to be thought. — Noah Hawley

Many so-called spiritual people, they overeat, drink too much, they smoke and don't exercise. But they do go to church every week and pray 'Please help my arthritis. Please help me bring up my strength, make me young again.' — Jack LaLanne

Sometimes people - especially people over 40 - underestimate what they really are capable of. They believe they're not capable of doing something great. I tell people who are over 40, "I don't want your best. I want better than that. I want better than what you perceive your best is." — Jack LaLanne

Figure out what's good for you, then create a liking for it. You've got to work at living. — Jack LaLanne

Physical fitness takes commitment to exercise just as it requires good nutrition. But it doesn't have to be painful. Just the opposite: Vigorous exercise actually is stimulating. It boosts your energy levels, invigorates your mind, and just feels good afterward. The hardest part, of course, is getting started. — Jack LaLanne

Everything you do in life, I don't care, good or bad - don't blame God, don't blame the devil, don't blame me, blame you. You control everything! The thoughts you think, the words you utter, the foods you eat, the exercise you do. Everything is controlled by you. — Jack LaLanne

Sex is the greatest driving force on this planet. Christ, why are we living if we can't have a little fun? Sex is giving, and the more you give, the better lover you are. — Jack LaLanne

Invest in yourself now and reap the dividends day after day after month after year. — Jack LaLanne

Stay in shape. And remember, daily exercise is a must. Plan for it, and do it. The rewards will be well worth it. — Jack LaLanne

Who puts the food in your mouth? Who goes to the bathroom for ya? You do. You came on this earth alone and you are going to leave alone. Think about it. If anything happens to Jack La Lanne good or bad, I made it happen. If anything happens to you good or bad, you made it happen
right? — Jack LaLanne

I don't care how old I live! I just want to be living while I am living! — Jack LaLanne

What you need to do is get that tape measure out, and start measuring that gut. Then you start working out and you start eating properly till that gut gets down close to it was when you were in your 20's. Then you'll find out what your weight should be. — Jack LaLanne

My goal has always been to help people help themselves. Your body is your most priceless possession; you've go to take care of it! — Jack LaLanne

You only live once, why be miserable? Fat people are miserable
you are carrying 50 lbs on your shoulders all day, you get a disease called "pooped-out itis". Don't tell me that they are happy with the way they look and feel. I have to be honest, that is all I have. — Jack LaLanne

I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline. — Jack LaLanne

It's a bunch of bull! If God, or nature, or whatever you want to call it didn't want you to mix carbohydrates, starches and fats, you'd never have a grain, you'd never have a vegetable or a fruit, would you? What's in a grain? It's got carbohydrates, starches, fats, sugar. It's got everything in it. Why does nature do that? One guy says don't mix carbohydrates, and the other guy says don't mix protein with it; it's all a bunch of lard, something to sell a book. And the poor public is so confused, they don't know what to do. — Jack LaLanne

The most important person on this earth is you. What are you doing to help the most important person in this world: you? To live right, you have to exercise, have goals and challenges. — Jack LaLanne

You can exercise vigorously and eat junk and get by. But you can't eat perfectly and not exercise. Look at many athletes today; they are human garbage cans. They eat anything, but they exercise so hard they burn it up. But why not exercise and put the right fuel in too? — Jack LaLanne

Everything in life that's meaningful takes effort - takes vitality. You have to work at it. And God helps them who help themselves ... help you. — Jack LaLanne

I can't die. It would ruin my image. — Jack LaLanne

Scales lie! You lose thirty pounds of muscle and you gain thirty pounds of fat and you weigh the same, right?
Take that tape measure out. That won't lie. Your waistline is your lifeline.
It should be the same as it was when you were a young person. — Jack LaLanne

You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out. — Jack LaLanne

Virtually everything we do in life is a matter of habit. Habits make us who we are. Why not change your habits to better your life? — Jack LaLanne

I was going to be a singer. If I hadn't been in my profession, I was going to be an Opera singer. That's from a young kid. I had all these records from all those famous Opera singers. I wanted to be an Opera singer
that was my whole thing and physical fitness got in the way, thank God. — Jack LaLanne

Twelve to seventeen minutes is plenty on the treadmill
if it's done fast. That's all you need for cardiovascular benefit. You don't need to spend that extra time unless you are over weight and you need to burn off extra calories. Do it vigorously, like somebody is chasing you. You've got to do it hard. Otherwise, if you just take it easy and do it longer, you are spending all that time when you don't need it. Use that extra time with your weights instead. — Jack LaLanne

Another intruder that plagues our good health is sleeplessness. Insomnia is much like constipation in that stress or nervous tension can bring it on or aggravate it until there's almost no coping with it. That's why you find sleeping pills in so many medicine cabinets next to the laxatives. — Jack LaLanne

How do you build up your bank account? By putting something in it everyday.Your health account is no different. What I do today, I am wearing tomorrow. If I put inferior foods in my body today, I'm going to be inferior tomorrow, it's that simple. — Jack LaLanne

Forget about what you used to do. Don't make those same mistakes again. Everybody says, "Oh the good old days" - the good old days are right this second! This moment controls the next moment. — Jack LaLanne

Maybe 50 or 60 percent of all divorces are predicated on someone's being physically unfit. Who wants to live with negativism? Love goes out the window. — Jack LaLanne

The only way you can hurt your body is if you don't use it — Jack LaLanne

You need to make good health a hobby. — Jack LaLanne

Living is like training for an athletic event. You have to have goals and challenges; you need to exercise and eat right. — Jack LaLanne

Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom. — Jack LaLanne

The only way you get that fat off is to eat less and exercise more. — Jack LaLanne

Thoughts are things. Negativity is what kills you ... It's tough to do, but you've got to work at living, you know? Most people work at dying, but anybody can die; the easiest thing on this earth is to die. But to live takes guts; it takes energy, vitality, it takes thought ... We have so many negative influences out there that are pulling us down ... You've got to be strong to overcome these adversities ... that's why I never stop. — Jack LaLanne

Most people, when they reach a certain age, let down and talk about what they used to do. Well, who gives a damn about what you used to do? It's what you're doing now. — Jack LaLanne

I only eat fish - no chicken, no turkey, just fish. I get all my protein from fish and egg whites. — Jack LaLanne

You've got to appeal to the pride in people. When a woman is flabby and soft, she's unattractive. When you married a beautiful girl and all of a sudden you start seeing her tits down and her breath stinks and she's not clean anymore and has no pride in herself, you can't love her. You may bullshit yourself, but you can't. Energy makes people beautiful. That's what charisma is. — Jack LaLanne

The only way you can hurt the body is not use it, — Jack LaLanne

Look at the average American diet: ice cream, butter, cheese, whole milk, all this fat. People don't realize how much of this stuff you get by the end of the day. High blood pressure is from all this high-fat eating. — Jack LaLanne

You've got to work at living-99 and 9/10 of Americans work at dying! — Jack LaLanne

You start out with an hour on the treadmill, then another hour of lifting - hell, in two weeks you're not doing anything anymore. You gotta be reasonable. — Jack LaLanne

If man makes it, I don't eat it! — Jack LaLanne

You should be proud of what you're doing, but not conceited. If you can't be proud of yourself, you're a failure. And discipline. To do anything in life you have to have discipline. To accomplish anything, you have a goal, challenge yourself, and work until you accomplish that goal. Practice what you preach. — Jack LaLanne

Yes, exercise is the catalyst. That's what makes everything happen: your digestion, your elimination, your sex life, your skin, hair, everything about you depends on circulation. And how do you increase circulation? — Jack LaLanne

By exercise. I'll tell you one thing, you don't always have to be on the go. I sit around a lot, I read a lot, and I do watch television. But I also work out for two hours every day of my life, even when I'm on the road. — Jack LaLanne

Be an example of what you teach. [As a personal trainer], delve into your student's life, know everything about him. Be interested. — Jack LaLanne

I think fat, out-of-shape people should be fined. — Jack LaLanne

My top priority in life is my workout. Regardless of what happens, I hit that gym. Even when I was in the hospital twice with serious knee operations: Right after I came out of anesthesia, there was a chin bar over my head and dumbbells. I worked out immediately. — Jack LaLanne

Your muscles know nothing. It's your brain. Exercise is something you've got to do the rest of your life. It's a lifestyle. Dying is easy. Living is a pain in the neck. You've got to work at it. — Jack LaLanne

So many older people, they just sit around all day long and they don't get any exercise. Their muscles atrophy, and they lose their strength, their energy and vitality by inactivity. — Jack LaLanne

It's not what you do some of the time that counts, it's what you do all of the time that counts. — Jack LaLanne

If you've got a big gut and you start doing sit-ups, you are going to get bigger because you build up the muscle. You've got to get rid of that fat! How do you get rid of fat? By changing your diet. — Jack LaLanne

How many cars out there look like Corvettes? You want something nobody else has. You don't want an old look-alike thing, and that's why Corvettes have the reputation of being one of the fastest cars. I've always had good cars, and a Corvette is one of the best cars I've had. I've had Lamborghinis, I've had Ferraris, I've had Stutz Blackhawks. You name it, I've had them. For the money, Corvette is tops. — Jack LaLanne

The crusade is never off my mind
the exercise I do, the food I eat, the thought I think
all this and how I can help make my profession better-respected. To me, this one thing
physical culture and nutrition
is the salvation of America. — Jack LaLanne

The hell what you USED to do! It's what you're doing NOW and what you're GOING to do. — Jack LaLanne

The worlds of art and fashion have always been very intertwined at Dior. Francois-Xavier Lalanne and his wife, Claude, for instance, did windows for Monsieur Dior. Dior himself was a gallerist before becoming the revolutionary fashion designer we all know. — Delphine Arnault

Anything in life is possible, if you make it happen. — Jack LaLanne

If you lose a couple of inches off your stomach, your business down there will look a lot longer. — Jack LaLanne

You got to do what's happening today in the world. You got to keep up with time. Keep up to date, keep modern - keep up on your toes! — Jack LaLanne

People feel so guilty about not exercising. Especially people over 50, who feel like they've gone a lifetime without taking care of themselves. Instead of aiming for perfection, you should try to celebrate the progress you're making. — Jack LaLanne

If you can't afford a half hour three or four times a week taking care of the most priceless possession, your body, you've got to be sick. You're stupid. — Jack LaLanne

You see, you don't get old from age, you get old from inactivity, from not believing in something. — Jack LaLanne

If you're tired and pooped out all the time, do you have love and compassion in your heart for your fellow man? You don't even like yourself! — Jack LaLanne

I've never been satisfied with myself, ever. But I feel good about myself, because I'm truthful. I don't corrupt myself. I'm also a perfectionist. I'm very impatient. I've got energy and drive and I can't stand inefficiency in people. And I can't stand dumb people. Why surround yourself with people who are going to tie you down? I don't suffer fools. — Jack LaLanne

If it tastes good, spit it out. All those cakes and pies and candy and ice cream
all that terrible fast food stuff! I just bought a new corvette sports car ... would I put oil in the gas tank? Would I? — Jack LaLanne

Never, ever get satisfied; keep the carrot in front of the horse. — Jack LaLanne

Your waistline is your lifeline — Jack LaLanne

Have you seen some of the crap they're selling as exercise equipment now? How about that Suzanne Somers? She should have been thrown in jail for selling the piece-of-crap Thigh Master. It just develops a little muscle on the inner thigh. What good is that? — Jack LaLanne

Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it's never too late. — Jack LaLanne

Whatever you can handle, it's up to you. Pick something where you are going to do it to failure
in other words, where you can hardly do it. That's the key. So many people will just take five pound weights and do something 10 times. What are they getting out of it? Nothing! Say you are going to build up your bank account. If you put in a penny a day, it's going take a long while. It's the same with exercise
the more you put into it the more you take out. — Jack LaLanne

Exercise to live. Never live to exercise. — Jack LaLanne

If you take steroids, you have to pay the price. They can kill you; there are no shortcuts. It's like going to bed with a rattlesnake, it's got to get you. — Jack LaLanne

I was the worst, most sickly kid of all
30 pounds underweight. The girls used to beat me up. Actually I was a mean kid, early on because I had no self-esteem. — Jack LaLanne

The essence of decay is inactivity. — Jack LaLanne

I've always liked fast cars and slow women. — Jack LaLanne

Better to wear out than rust out. — Jack LaLanne

Puttin rhymes into shape just like Jack LaLanne. — Lord Finesse

We know today about nutrition and we know about exercise. There's no reason for anybody to be sick and tired, fat and out of shape
it's ridiculous! This has got to be taught in the schools. It's got to be taught in kindergarten. That's when kids should first get the idea that the most important thing in your life is your health and your body. — Jack LaLanne

I have spoken to a whole group of millionaires, head executives at Microsoft. Boy did I chew those guys out. — Jack LaLanne

There are so many health food nuts out there that eat nothing but natural foods but they don't exercise and they look terrible. — Jack LaLanne

Never get satisfied. The minute you stop trying, you go downhill. — Jack LaLanne

You put junk in, junk comes out. You put good in, good comes out. — Jack LaLanne