While initially thought of as an eccentric for advocating weight training he stifled critics with his amazing feats of fitness. At age 42 he set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on the television show You Asked For It. At age 60 he swam for the second time from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf while handcuffed and he upped the ante by towing a 1,000-pound boat across the distance. He is still going strong at age 95 and advocating the same fitness knowledge that he presented on his television show from the early fifties. Jack LaLanne is a living fitness legend. Don’t miss his incredible bodyweight mastery and priceless fitness wisdom in the videos below.

Eugen Sandow born in 1867. No heart rate monitors, protein powders, weight machines, or cardio equipment.

Modern Man Is Conditioned To Expect Instant Gratification But Any Success Or Triumph Realized Quickly, With Only Marginal Effort Is Necessarily Shallow. Meaningful Achievement Takes Time, Hard Work, Persistence, Patience, Proper Intent And Constant Self-Awareness … Hard, Intelligent Work Speeds Us Along The Path. Neurotic Obsession And Compulsion May Steepen The Trajectory But Usually Lead To Illness And Injury. In The End, The Process Takes As Long As It Takes — You Can’t Push The River. We Are In It For The Long Haul. – Mark Twight

This old school fitness chart is in Jeffery Gitomer’s Platinum Book. It was originally from The Primer, a sales training guide written over a century ago. It is simple, elegant, and brilliant. Arnold had an article a few years ago discussing his intense calf training. Forty Five minute workouts, four times a week. He would eventually be able to lift over half a ton in the standing calf raise. How long was Arnold’s journey to great calves? The average six to twelve week program you see in every magazine? He said it took him around six-hundred hours over the course of three years. That kind of crazy talk isn’t going to sell very many magazines. Deadlift four hundred pounds with a sprinkle of creatine, erase a decade of bad habits with a ten week program. That’s the stuff that sells some supplements.

The Truth Of The Matter Is That You Always Know The Right Thing To Do. The Hard Part is Doing It. -Norman Schwarzkopf

All the latest and greatest cutting edge programs break down to a few core principles. They trancend time and technology. It just takes some common sense and self-discipline to make it happen. Eat Right, Exercise, Sleep Tight, Repeat For Life.

Another huge dietary difference aside from quality was quantity. The portion sizes were way smaller than anything served here. Instead of two huge items you would see in America there were five or six things to eat. So as opposed to a Big Mac, Large Fry, and a Coke you would have two large shrimps, a tiny bowl of salad, a tiny bowl of miso soup, a small serving of rice, a few veggies, and water or tea. Even at the fast food burger joints where we are willing to settle for two tasteless beef patties they would have one delicious burger at an equal or lesser cost. Less total food, greater marginal enjoyment with every bite, and no love handles to boot. Poor Love Handles…

Beats The Pants off of McDonald’s & Burger King

Another intriguing health aspect of Japan was the lack of gyms. Tokyo is Vying with Mexico City as the biggest city in the world with around forty million people but I never came across a single gym throughout all my hours of walking. Surprisingly without all those gyms I saw roughly nine fat people total when I was over there and their BMIs were probably hovering around a thirty at best.

Out of the Nine Chubby People I saw one had to be blocking my picture of the Geishas. I hope she doesn’t read my blog… & Who needs a gym when you can hang off the side of random stacks of bricks? 8 Minute Abs Japanese Style.

If I had crossed paths with the same amount of people in America I’m sure the percent difference in body fat would be tremendous. Everyone in Japan already appears fairly fit so there is much less of a demand for all the businesses and products promoting weight loss. In the States there are so many overweight individuals that there has to be the market to match which ends up coming over the top with all the body sculpting hubbub and diet pill bull pucky.

I taught them ‘Steal The Bacon’ so they can stay fit for life with out a gym membership. I also hope to get fifty percent of the profits when it becomes a cultural explosion.

I met my friend Dave in Japan who told me that the gyms there are excellent but carry a high premium. Having a car in Japan is also much more costly so it is easy to see why people rely on walking and the efficient train system to move about. To be fair to Americans they did have more ’skinny fat’ (low total weight yet higher body fat percentage) people walking around. They solved this dilemma with an intriguing market of body shaping and slendering underpants.

Who needs to workout when you can buy a boneless belt and padded underwear for buff buttocks?

The one large negative health aspect in Japan was the relatively high smoking rate. Around 30% of Japanese adults are smokers compared to 20% in most other industrialized nations. I’m sure there are several other factors going into that equation such as a very low incidence of drug and alcohol abuse but it still seemed silly to be breathing in that junk like every restaurant was a Denny’s from the 80s. I suppose it is a decent trade-off for the lack of fat bottoms and drug usage.

My friend Dave excited to speed recovery with his new massager. Apparently Coke Zero gives you wild health when in Japan. I was sold

Japan was a fantastic time – even the weather seemed to know I was visiting. I gained a fresh appreciation for walking, hiking, and not being so particular about my protein intake. I also acquired a taste for seaweed packets, they came with my favorite power breakfast, and Matcha – a delicious type of green tea – keep your eyes peeled for it.

For Your Consideration, Some Things To Take Away from the Japanese Culture Would Be To:

-Eat Higher Quality Food In Smaller Portions While Drinking Only Water or Tea

-Drive Less and Walk More Frequently. Be More Efficient Yet Learn To Slow Down.

-But Don’t Smoke Or Substitute A Daily Set of Bodyweight Squats For Undergarmets With Ass Pads.

Adrenaline as a Means to a Six-Pack. Back in mid-summer I had the luxury of stopping an intruder from knocking down my back door. Thankfully it was relatively uneventful but needless to say my adrenaline was at an all time high for the decade and my body was buzzing for about three hours. My workout energy that night was paltry in comparison to the events earlier in the day. One may be able to burn a substantial number of calories by skydiving all day long. It makes sense that competitive athletes would burn more calories than a relaxed one doing the same amount of work. It is unlikely to find an overweight extreme sports enthusiast – or on a side note – someone who is elderly and obese. Food for thought.

Fat Suit Day. When I started lifting weights it was a full body – day on, day off routine. I noticed gymnasts who focused on repetitive body weight movements for extended periods of time were usually very cut. Some people wear weighted vests for their workout but what if you wore the dang thing all day long. The body is extremely adaptable. Wearing it to bed might even cause an improvement in breathing habits. Adding even 10% of your weight could create some impressive gains to your birthday suit.

Internal Abdominal Stretch. It’s good to relax into a stretch after your workout so why not eat your self into a stretch after your workout? The abdominals are a unique muscle since more you eat and drink the more your belly muscles are going to protrude and stretch. Stuffing your stomach post workout and the occasional belt buster of a meal could potentially add that eight pack. Drinking an extra quart of liquid post workout could help put the finishing touches to a washboard stomach.

UnderWorkout For Your Health It seems whenever I have tried to add a sizeable addition to my workout schedule it never sticks. I wanted to give yoga a shot three days a week but after a week that quickly dropped to once a month. I got overtly excited to start running a few years ago so I ran hard for five miles every day for a week but I quickly became bored and injured soon after. However, when I tacked a ten minute cardio session on at the end of my weight workout it worked like a charm. My ten minute dynamic stretching routine in the morning has also stuck around for the long haul. The hard part is creating a habit so fostering that by batching it all together or keeping it simple with short workouts is a surefire way for long term gains.

“There are a Lot of Smart People Pumping Gas” – Being intelligent is nice and gaining knowledge is great but it won’t add up to anything without the will to apply and persist. If ten people read about swimming for a year while another ten were thrown into the pool during that same time the latter group would be having a blast at the beach next summer while the former would be stuck wearing water wings. More often it’s the dumb oaf who takes action that gets things done.

“Don’t Be the Peabody” – Apparently the Peabody is the guy who walks behind an animal parade and gets to pick up all of their surprises. Our coach would designate this honor to the guy who was last out on the field for practice that day. Being the Peabody in one aspect of your fitness will most like spread those Peabody-like ethics into other facets. Don’t Be The Peabody.

“Do the Extra Ten Percent” – Our track coach wanted us to take our extra efforts into our own hands. He explained that regular practice was the standard and to be the best it was necessary to go the extra mile. Following a ten sprint workout the team would stay after the coaches had left and crank it up to eleven. Einstein is rumored to have said that the most powerful force in the universe is compound interest. That extra ten percent will definitely pay dividends.

“Don’t Blow Your Wad Too Soon” – On the bus to an away game my teammates energy levels were high, we were feeling amazing, and we were showing it. The crazy Metal lover had his boom box blasting and everyone was banging on the seat in front of them. Our coach looked back, smiled and said “Hey! I love the intensity guys but don’t blow your wad too soon!” We all took it down a notch and then let our intensity amplify out on the field where it actually mattered. Make sure to save your energy and excitement for the fitness activities that truly need it.

“Don’t Spend Your Vacation Eating Twinkies on the Beach” – Once the weather went slightly above frigid my track team put on their sweat pants and started going on road runs. We had seven weeks before spring break came along and the outdoor season began. Every member of the team saw much improvement over those weeks and our coach warned us not to spend our spring break eating hostess treats on the beach for a week. Enjoying an inevitable cheat day is great for staying on the fitness wagon but an entire week of inaction and sugary delights is a hefty setback for any program.

“You get out what you put into it.” – None of my coaches spoke these exact words but it was what I finally came to realize after all those months of training with them. If your eating habits and workout ethic are amazing then the results of that should be the same. If you choose to run on beer and brats this season your body is going to look like it has been running on beer and brats this season. While unwinding and relaxing your inhibitions this summer always remember to indulge intelligently.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” .

You need to start thinking outside of the box in order to push your fitness to the next level. The ideas that gave you the body you currently have isn’t going to get your physique to where you want it to be. If you’re out of shape, the ‘I should probably start working out’ mindset is going to do nothing for your fat loss. Perhaps you’re a runner and your recent results have been mediocre. It may be time to put more focus on nutritional aspects or add a weight lifting regimen to your training. It is especially important if you are in peak condition to try different methods of exercise. I found that playing basketball caused my leg strength to progress much more quickly than if I had relied on weight training alone. So while one-sided thinking will get you nowhere slow, using a bit of ingenuity will allow you to plow through any plateaus that are encountered.

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.”

It is particularly true in terms of health and fitness that as people grow older they get even more stuck in their ways and are less likely to try anything new. It seems that whatever sport they played in high school or fitness fad that helped them lose the most weight has them for life. I once tried explaining to a woman at the gym how the rowing machine is the best cardio machine for burning fat. She looked befuddled and then quickly ran back to her favorite elliptical machine. I spoke to a former wrestler who swore that soy protein was the best way to get lean without getting bulky. I told him about all the different types of protein and how whey was best since it is the fastest acting and has the highest bioavailability. He just stood there shaking his head with a discerning look and then I assume he went into the locker room to put on his sweat suit and vibrating waist band. Especially in fitness where there are so many different ways to burn calories, stay healthy, and feel great, it is such a shame when people trade that childlike wonderment for trying new sports and activities for a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude. Old Al’ knew that people should stay opened minded and never stop learning or experimenting to see what works best for them.

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”

If you expect mediocre results in your fitness program then your wishes will magically be granted. Your mind wouldn’t want to prove itself wrong, that might cause one’s head to explode. Going through the motions is not going to propel your body to new heights; you’re just spinning your wheels. I’m sure you have heard the expression that ‘thoughts become things’ or ‘you will never go higher than you think’. Successful changes in one’s health start with a positive attitude. A poor attitude will seep into every region of your life where as a positive attitude will help reinvigorate and renew your efforts. When tackling a new fitness goal make sure to have your brainpower behind you, not busy muddling with your vision.

“It is better for people to be like the beasts… they should be more intuitive; they should not be too conscious of what they are doing while they are doing it.”

People tend to over analyze things most of the time. This usually leads to some sort of miscommunication or convincing themselves to skip something entirely. Einstein believes it is much better when people stop thinking so much and become more proactive about there fitness. I doubt cavemen pondered the meaning of life or fretted over the obstacles ahead. I’m sure they hunted when they were hungry, slept when they were sleepy, fornicated when they were frisky. They just took the next logical action without thinking about it. Brilliant. In his book Getting Things Done, David Allen said that the dumb oaf is usually the one who succeeds since he thinks less and takes more action. I doubt when Lance Armstrong is riding his bike he’s thinking ‘Man, I have such great form and endurance!’ Eventually your actions won’t even seem like discipline. They’ll just be what you do…