Jack LaLanne Quotes

You can take them in a wheelchair and put them in a pool, so they can move their arms and legs. In a pool disabled people can do things that they can't normally do otherwise.

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.

You don't have to call it God or Jesus. That's religious humbug to a lot of people, but you've gotta believe that nature and spiritual things surround us. That is what put us here! I thank the universe for that every day of my life.

They thought that athletes that worked out with my system wouldn't be able to throw a ball because they'd be too muscle bound. Those are the misconceptions I had to go through for about 40 years.

Better to wear out than rust out.

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.

Your age is the sum total of your physical condition, the condition of your mind, and how you feel.

Those who begin to exercise regularly and replace white flour, sugar and devitalized foods with live, organic natural foods begin to feel better immediately. Exercise is king, nutrition is queen -- put them together and you've got a kingdom.

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

Develop a positive attitude. Think and picture how amazing you are going to be. Visualize it!

Focus on your problem zones, your strength, your energy, your flexibility and all the rest. Maybe your chest is flabby or your hips or waist need toning. Also, you should change your program every thirty days. That's the key.

I say stick with Mother Nature as much as possible.

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.

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.

I eat 6 or 7 raw vegetables every day, 4 or 5 pieces of fresh fruit. I eat egg whites each day. If I eat bread, it has to be whole wheat. I eat brown rice. I don't eat between meals. I eat at 11 o'clock in the morning and 7 o'clock at night.

My Dad was overweight and unhealthy, and he died young. I wasn't going to let that happen to me.

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?

The secret to a long and healthy marriage is to work at it and don't try and change each other.

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.

Exercise to live. Never live to exercise.

Please help my arthritis. Please help me bring up my strength, make me young again.

If you don't like Corvettes, you don't like sex and money.

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

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.

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.

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

Muscle cells strengthen in response to intense exercise - whether you're 18 or 88. But the intensity is what's lacking in most people's workouts. And there are doctors who'll give you the advice, "Well, don't push it."

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

I train like I'm training for the Olympics or for a Mr. America contest, the way I've always trained my whole life. You see, life is a battlefield. Life is survival of the fittest... How many healthy people do you know? How many happy people do you know? Think about it. People work at dying, they don't work at living. My workout is my obligation to life. It's my tranquilizer. It's part of the way I tell the truth--and telling the truth is what's kept me going all these years.

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.

There is no fountain of youth, What you put into your body is what you get out of it. You would not feed your dog a coffee and doughnut for breakfast followed by a cigarette. You will kill the damn dog.

It's survival of the fittest. You can't have everything perfect, that's impossible, but the fit survive. The fit can handle the impurities in the air and in the water, but the poor people who are sick, it really affects them more.

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.

I believe so strongly in what I do and I practice what I preach! My Dad died at fifty - do I have to die at fifty? My Dad ate all the junk food, he wouldn't exercise - how can you tell your Dad anything? We know 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!

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

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.

When I first started out, I was considered a crackpot. The doctors used to say, "Don't go to that Jack LaLanne, you'll get hemorrhoids, you won't get an erection, you women will look like men, you athletes will get muscle-bound -- this is what I had to go through.

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?

The only way you can hurt the body is not use it.

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.

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.

I've always liked fast cars and slow women.

That's what I wanted! I wanted to be an athlete, I wanted the girls to like me, and I wanted to be able to get good grades in school, and this man said I could do all that.

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.

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.

If you want to change somebody, don't preach to him. Set an example and shut up.

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.

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.