Regarded by many as the godfather of fitness, Jack LaLanne passed away last week at 96. I have never seen any of the 3000 episodes of his television show, and before last week I didn’t know much about the man. However, after a quick scan of the internet, I am pretty sure the “godfather of fitness” label is absolutely correct.
At 42 he set the world record for pushups: 1033 in 23 minutes (on television). At 45 he completed 1000 pushups and 1000 chin-ups in 1 hour 22 minutes. At 54 he challenged the 21 year old Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwartzenegger, to a chin-up competition and terminated the Terminator!
The picture above is Mr. LaLanne at age 90, an inspiration for us all.
As I mentioned in this previous post, I have been running sprints every week with my family. I knew I hadn’t set any records, but I was happy with my improving times. Curiosity got the best of me, so I looked up the USA Masters Track and Field Rankings for 2010. Let’s just say the men’s 400 meter champ (age 80-84) has me beat, as does the women’s champ (age 70-74). Ouch. And Wow!
How do you stack up?
| Age Group | 400 Meter Men | 400 Meter Women | 100 Meter Men | 100 Meter Women |
| 40-44 | 50.28 | 57.26 | 10.99 | 12.67 |
| 45-49 | 49.77 | 59.97 | 10.86 | 12.29 |
| 50-54 | 49.85 | 1:06.77 | 11.39 | 13.11 |
| 55-59 | 54.80 | 1:07.76 | 11.57 | 13.77 |
| 60-64 | 55.37 | 1:14.98 | 12.29 | 14.49 |
| 65-69 | 58.01 | 1:21.89 | 12.48 | 14.70 |
| 70-74 | 1:04:80 | 1:20.44 | 13.24 | 14.60 |
| 75-79 | 1:13.47 | 1:25.40 | 14.27 | 16.15 |
| 80-84 | 1:19.23 | 2:37.19 | 15.49 | 21.45 |
I find it humbling that Jack LaLanne did more than 50x the number of pushups that I can do. Equally humbling is the fact that several 80 year old men and 70 year old women can beat me in a lap around the track. In spite of that, I am inspired by their accomplishments and even more motivated to keep improving.
I’m inspired, too. Wow, look at that pushup!
Don’t think I will be trying that one very soon (or maybe ever).
You rock! Great post! I am running hill sprints right now and loving it. Haven’t timed myself, though. Going to get on a track and see how I do with the time chart. Keep on keeping on!
Thanks Laura. The sprints have been great so far.
In that picture, he is doing the famous fingertips push up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIVfe-crHDs as shown in this youtube video. Not impossible to do but… I think he even gives a bit of a warning about them. Good note, I didn’t know he performed that record for pushups on television. Wow.
The show that he did the 1033 pushups on was called “You Asked For It” hosted by Art Baker.
Wow, that photo is almost enough to make me give up. I just started running sprints today after lots of hill walking. Haven’t timed myself yet, but will keep that 100m Women for my age in mind. Thanks for sharing it. And that photo, yikes!
In looking at the chart for the 400m and considering my gradual improvements, I am hoping to intersect the 75 year old time before I get to 50 (in 6 more years)…:)