Fitness Guru Jack Lalanne Dies at 96

By Christopher Walker
Jan 25 2011

Jack Lalanne, a world-renowned fitness expert, died on Sunday at the age of 96 after an extended illness.

Lalanne became famous for his extreme fitness regimen that he taught to millions of Americans each and every year. Even at the age of 96 he was considered to be in better shape than people who were just one-quarter his age.

Lalanne furthered his career in healthy living by designing a series of juice makers that were sold through infomercials on late night television. Lalanne was the spokesman for the devices that sold 40 million units in just 4 years on the market.

Lalanne was best known for encouraging people to use what they have available for their daily workouts. Rather than investing in expensive home gym equipment he taught his students to use furniture and other household items for a fast workout when regular equipment was not available.

According to his attorney, Lalanne worked out until the day he died. He developed an illness that bound him to the hospital and he was recovering. However, he soon developed pneumonia and eventually slipped into a coma and died very quickly.

His doctors said that he would have likely lived another 20 years if not for the pneumonia. They marveled at his physical condition, including his extremely well-defined muscles all over his body.

His oldest son told reporters that he would be taking over his father’s business now that he has passed and would be working with his siblings to keep the dream alive.