Fitness guru Jack LaLanne dies aged 96

Jack LaLanne, the veteran television fitness guru who did much to promote exercise and healthy eating in America, has died aged 96.

Even well into his 90s the fitness fanatic exercised for two hours a day.

Mr LaLanne, who was only 5ft 6ins tall, was born to French immigrant parents in San Francisco and was a “sugar-holic” as a child.

His day-time television show, instructing housewives how to work out and eat healthily, ran for 34 years from 1959.

Among numerous high profile fitness stunts he completed 1,000 push-ups and 1,000 chin-ups at the age of 45.

More detail here.

He was surrounded by his family and passed very peacefully and in no distress.

May he rest in peace.

Ab toners and Ab belts - do they work?

So you want to get a set of rock hard six pack abs or trim your waistline? You’ve probably seen one of those late night TV shopping commercials touting some fancy ab toner contraption or muscle stimulator belt.

All you need to do is rock backwards and forwards once a day and lo and behold, by the end of the month you will have that well sculpted mid section that you’ve always wanted. Better still, just sit there on the couch or behind your desk at work with one of those Electronic Muscle Stimulators (EMS) belts - don't exercise and still get the results you've been after? Physical trainers have it all wrong. After all, the fitness model pitching it has the well toned body and six pack abs. There are even testimonials from regular folks who swear by it. Surely, there has got to be something in it?

So out comes the credit card, you're a little reluctant but they are so convincing aren't they? What the hell, you have got nothing to lose eh, except the fat round your waistline?

Three months later you still don’t have the six pack abs, nor any reduction in your waistline despite using the ab toner with total dedication.

Unfortunately this is the plight of everyone who buys an ab toner or EMS belt. The reality is you will not get abs or a trimmer waistline by using some fancy piece of equipment to “spot reduce” fat from the areas of your body where you don’t want it. As for the EMS belts, unknown to you when you purchased it, in 2002 The Federal Trade Commission in the US filed lawsuits against three electronic abdominal exercise belts: AB Energizer, Ab Tronic and Fast Abs. The lawsuit claims that the ads for these products falsely claim the belts will help tone stomach muscles.

"Spot reduction" is one of those myths that are perpetuated by greedy marketers because they are so appealing to a lazy public that wants something for nothing. For years, marketers of diet and exercise products have been preying on overweight, out-of-shape consumers by hawking false hope in a pill, false hope in a bottle, and now, in a belt.

This is a public that wants to eat donuts, chips, crisps and chocolate biscuits, sit on a couch and watch daytime TV day in day out, then just rock back and forth in a little contraption and voila, six pack abs! Have you heard of the phrase "If it sounds to good to be true........." ?

The “spot reduction” myth is one that needs be sentenced to death once and for all. The only way to show your six pack abs (because we all have them) is through a total commitment of diet and whole-body high intensity exercise.

Repeat after me:- "I WILL NOT WASTE MY MONEY AND TIME ON USELESS AB TONERS AND ELECTRONIC STIMULATOR BELTS, THEY DO NOT WORK!"

Train with purpose!