Jack LaLanne: Dead at 96

"Prove it."  Jack LaLanne was one of those few health pioneers that practiced and proved what he preached. He lived an incredibly long and productive life, travelling the globe and lecturing throughout his early 90's. Jack LaLanne was a force of nature and it is hard to imagine that anything could stop him.

One of the most astonishing pictures that I have ever seen were Jack's biceps in his mid 80's.  His arms were impressive for a guy one quarter his age!  When most guys have trouble making it up a flight of stairs, Jack was towing a small fleet of boats while shackled. Jack set the bar for all of us and showed that there is almost nothing keeping us from muscle mass, health and mental acuity into our senior years.

Only in the last couple of years did Jack LaLanne finally experience major health issues. Last year it was reported that he had open heart surgery on one of his valves. [1]  All seemed to be well, but succumbed to respiratory complications and died of pneumonia yesterday on January 23, 2011. However, he lived what all of us desire:  an active and vital life into his early 90's with almost no deadly or degenerative diseases.  Here are some nice clips of Jack LaLanne at 90 and Jack LaLanne at 95 showing just how well he was doing even at the end.

I have already documented how Jack LaLanne was a Fitness and Health Genius decades ahead of his time in many key areas.  He had an uncanny sense of practicing something thirty or more years ahead of the research.  Here are just a few of his remarkable prophetic insights: