Your age is just a number!

I go to a strength training class at our local community fitness facility in our small rural town of 5,000 people. The regular instructor (not into body building but still knows her weights) was out-of-town and I was asked to be a sub for her. Most of the ladies that show up for this class are middle aged or older, about 50 to almost 80 in age. I tried to come up with a series of exercises that they could do and that they would be different than our "usual" routines. We have one hour to do our class. I challenged them to at least try these exercises, even without weights, as being stronger is important when you are older. Two gals have trouble standing so they sit in chairs for most of the class and I was able to show them improvised ways to work with the class. I like the challenge of motivating this group to work themselves just a little harder so they can see results!
Here are the exercises I used in my class today:

WARM UP

LEGS: Lunges w/barbell; Frog squats

SHOULDERS: Military press w/barbell; Bent over dumbbell rear delt raise

BACK: Single arm bent-over dumbbell row ; bent over barbell row
ARMS: Bicep curls w/barbell; Hammer curls w/dumbbell; Biceps curls w/ dumbbells; Triceps single arm extension w/dumbbell; Triceps bent over one-arm dumbbell extension; Triceps double arm extension w/dumbbell
ABS: Oblique crunches; Bent knee hip raise; Leg tuck combined with Jack knife

COOL DOWN

They thought the most challenging were the frog squats and the ab exercises. 90% of these gals have a hard time getting up from the floor so we worked on body core strength for abs. They said the frog squats would be helpful for them to have stronger legs to push themselves away from the toilet without having to hold on to anything. I hope they do these at home so they do indeed get stronger!

Jack Lalanne is 94 today (Sept. 26, 2008). I am old enough to remember watching his show as a kid on our old B/W TV broadcast from the Los Angeles area during the early 1960s. I enjoyed his show and loved to exercise along with him. He has been my life-long hero… I am lucky enough to have a personally signed autographed photo of him that I keep down in my weight room. His positive outlook on proper nutrition and exercise was way ahead of his time but he is the greatest living testiment to his teachings. The following text is from his website (www.jacklalanne.com). Be sure to check out his website for his radio and video shows available online.

Jack LaLanne is America’s Number 1 Physical Fitness Expert and Guru, and is often called the “Godfather of Fitness”. Jack admits it was not always this way. “As a kid,” he flatly states, “I was a sugarholic and a junk food junkie! It made me weak and it made me mean. It made me so sick I had boils, pimples and suffered from nearsightedness. Little girls used to beat me up. My mom prayed… the Church prayed.” It was at the age of 15, when he heard pioneer nutritionist Paul Bragg speak at the Oakland City Women’s Club in San Francisco Bay Area, Jack finally realized that he was addicted to sugar. Bragg promised Jack if he would exercise and eat a proper diet he could regain good health. Jack listened attentively and was fiercely determined to walk away from that lecture ready to build a totally new Jack LaLanne.

He discovered that the Berkeley YMCA had a set of weights and began experimenting with them and before long, Jack was able to attain the muscular, healthy body of his dreams. “I became a voracious reader and I absorbed everything that would help me to improve myself.  Gray’s Anatomy was my bible. During college, I studied pre-med to become a medical doctor and I also went to Chiropractic College and graduated; however, I was more interested in helping people by convincing them to take preventative measures, before they became ill.”  Resolving to help others find the secrets to health and fitness, LaLanne opened the nation’s first modern health studio in 1936 on the third floor of an old office building in Oakland, California, paying $45 per month for rent. Jack was a mere 21 years old. “I was 40 years ahead of my time,” he said, “but by then I knew more about the workings of the muscles in my body than most doctors. People thought I was a charlatan and a nut,” Jack says, “The doctors were against me – they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.  Women would look like men and even varsity coaches predicted that their athletes would get muscle bound and banned them from lifting weights. I had to give these athletes keys so they could come in at night and work out in my gym.  Time has proven that what I was doing was scientifically correct; starting with a healthy diet followed by systematic exercise and today everyone knows it. All world class athletes now work out with weights, as do many members of the general public, both male and female.”

Over time, Jack began to formulate a basic approach to physical fitness and nutrition. His methods would be scientifically sound as he developed the first prototypes of exercise equipment presently available in contemporary health spas.  His inventions include:  the first leg extension machine and the first pulley machines using cables and the first weight selectors. He was the first to have women work out with weights and he also encouraged the disabled and elderly to exercise for health. “There are 640 muscles in the human body,” Jack explains, “and I take every one of them into account as I plan each exercise routine.”

  –Jack at age 71.

Jack’s reputation began to spread and by the early 1950’s, he was given the opportunity to utilize the new medium of television to reach even more people. Ever the innovator, Jack used television to reach out to millions of Americans everywhere with his gospel message of get out of your chair, work out and feel better. He was magnetic and the public responded! His motivational message spread across the country like wildfire and his show was an instant nationwide hit! Jack LaLanne believes in daily, vigorous, systematic exercise and proper diet. “My top priority in life is my workout each day.” Jack LaLanne lives by what he says to others, and he has been doing it for over 75 years.  Much of what Jack LaLanne has advocated through his teaching and beliefs has become common knowledge today. Today’s doctors and fitness experts all acknowledge daily systematic and proper diet as the principle keys to a longer healthier life.

  — Jack at age 88

When asked about the difference between then and now, Jack laughs and replies with a gleam in his eye, “It is most gratifying for me to see that everything that I was preaching and advocating for over 75 years has come to fruition. Then I was a crackpot and a charlatan, today I am an authority… and believe me I can’t die, it would ruin my image.”

  –handcuffed & pulling boats on one of his many birthday feats!

JACK LA LANNE 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 hours and 22 minutes. “Happy” is born and The Jack LaLanne Show goes nationwide

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

1975 Age 61: Swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

1976 Age 62: Commemorating the “Spirit of ‘76”, swam 1 mile in Long Beach Harbor, handcuffed, shackled and towing 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.

1979 Age 65: Towed 65 boats filled with 6,500-pounds of Lousiana Pacific wood pulp while handcuffed and shackled in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan.

1980 Age 66: Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida filled with 77 people for over a mile in less than 1 hour.

1984 Age 70: Handcuffed, shackled and fighting strong winds and currents, towed 70 boats with 70 people from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 ½ miles.

1992 Age 78: Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award

1994 Age 80: State of California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award

1996 Age 82: Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award

1999 Age 85: Spirit of Muscle Beach Award

2002 Age 88: Jack receives his very own star on the Hollywood Blvd. Walk of Fame

2004 Age 90: Jack celebrates his birthday with a major media blitz in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  ESPN Classic runs a 24 Hour marathon of the original Jack LaLanne Shows

2005 Age 91: Received the Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Historical Society, the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Interglobal’s International Infomercial Award, the Freddie, Medical Media Public Service Award, and he was a Free Spirit honoree at Al Neuharth’s Freedom Fourm.

Jack LaLanne’s Birthdate is September 26, 1914

   –Jack and his lovely wife, Elaine.
“Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen, put them together and you’ve got a kingdom.” –Jack Lalanne
Happy Birthday and God Bless You, Jack!

I kept reading Kris Gethin’s articles here on this site on how you can dramatically change your physique in just 12 weeks. I decided that today is the day to start. I took photos of myself (no pumped muscles) this morning so I can compare them in 3 months. I am really looking forward to this opportunity to better myself! The hardest part is sticking to a diet to lose body fat. I’ve lost 30 pounds on my own but need to lose more so my muscles are visible.
I am also challenging my group on PeerTrainer.com to complete this challenge with me. We are all a "go" so all four of us "older" ladies are on the wagon to a better physique. Wish us luck!

I had to do some clothes shopping yesterday. All my size 8 jeans are too big in the waist & seat and they fall off without a belt to hold them up. I bought a pair of jeans in size 6… I haven’t worn this size for about 18 years! I didn’t even have to suck in my tummy to zip them up Can’t believe I was wearing size 14 just nine months ago!
This was the first time in almost 20 years that I didn’t hate myself looking in the mirror in the dressing room. You know how harsh the lighting is in there… every physical flaw is screaming at you, causing heavy sighs and low self-esteem to run through your head. Well, I happened to glance at the mirror when I was only wearing my underwear and I actually thought that I looked OK. I could see all the gains I’ve made with my 30 lb weight loss and the muscles are starting to really show. I am very encouraged to keep up the bodybuilding routine that I started six weeks ago! I have a long way to go on my goals but I’m making progress every day.

I have spent the past two weekends (counting travel time = 7 days) golfing in two Iowa Women’s Golf Assoc. state tournaments. I only go to a couple of them every year and they are always in September. I have not been able to hit the weights as much as I have wanted these past 2 weeks because I was not home but still feel good about the gains I have made.You don’t have to be strong to play golf but it really helps when you play 18 holes 3 days in a row! I had lots of stamina and was able to play day after day without being too tired so my exercise routine has done my golf game a lot of great things. I was hitting a lot of long shots out of thick, wet rough that could twist the club right out of your hands. BTW, I’m not a super golfer by any means, just an average high handicapper having fun playing an outside game with other like-minded folks.
I’ve changed my body shape a lot with weight loss & exercise and had to dig deep in my closet to find dress slacks for the evening banquet that would fit the new skinnier me. I found a pair in size 6 that fit perfectly… makes me feel good knowing I was squeezing into a size 14 just nine months ago in January 2008!

The ladies noticed my larger arms on the course but didn’t say much about them, only stared. I would rather look like a bodybuilder than a lumpy middle-aged lady anyday if I have a choice!