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'I'm 98 and In the Best Shape of My Life—This is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By'

By Emily Laurence,

2 days ago

Elaine LaLanne is 98 years old, and she is thriving. Her mind is sharp and she can talk for hours about her marriage of 51 years to her late husband, Jack LaLanne, who is widely known as the “Godfather of Fitness.” In fact, she recently wrote a book dedicated to his legacy, Pride & Discipline .

Though her body has changed, she is still active. In July, Elaine led a worldwide attempt to break the world record for the most people performing jumping jacks simultaneously—which she accomplished with 9,363 people participating.

If you want to be as healthy as Elaine when you’re in your 90s, here’s what you need to know, including the workout routine she does to stay healthy.

How Meeting Her Husband Inspired a Health Pivot

When she first met Jack, Elaine says her diet consisted of donuts, bear claws and cigarettes. It was the ‘50s and fitness wasn’t something most people were interested in, including her. But Jack’s energy and attitude were magnetic. “He was so dynamic, people wanted to exercise,” she says. Jack had his own show, “The Jack LaLanne Show” as well as many products with his name on them, including nutrition bars, bread, crackers and a protein drink.

Jack transformed Elaine’s thinking around health, too. As Jack’s partner, Elaine spent more than 50 years helping motivate others to live a healthy life. Elaine says that the lessons she learned from Jack still apply today. One lesson is to keep things simple. If you want to integrate healthy habits into your life, whether it’s related to diet, exercise or stress management, keeping it simple is key. Otherwise, it’s less likely for it to stay a habit.

Elaine says that another lesson she learned from Jack is to maintain a positive mindset. “We never spoke negatively,” Elaine says. This mindset, she says, is key to aging healthfully. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, she says to focus on what you can. “I’m blind in one eye, but I am making the best of the equipment I have left!” Elaine says, using herself as an example. “Visualize the path forward where you are accomplishing whatever it is you want to do. Picture yourself living healthy,” she says, offering advice to older adults who want to start living healthy but don’t know where to start.

“Everything in moderation” is another lesson Elaine says she learned from Jack. Though she eats primarily nutrient-rich foods, if she wants a piece of cake every now and then, Elaine says she has it!

The Workout Routine Elaine LaLanne Does To Stay Healthy

What does an average day of exercise look like for Elaine? Here, she shares how she moves her body to stay healthy.

Stretch

Elaine says she spends a few minutes each day stretching her entire body, including her face and neck. “There are 55 muscles in your face and most people forget to stretch them,” she says. To stretch her face, she opens her mouth wide and closes it, several times. Then, she closes her eyes and opens them wide several times. She stretches her neck by turning her head to the right, holding it for a few seconds, and then turning it to the left and holding it for a few seconds on that side. To relieve tension in her shoulders, she’ll shrug them up toward her ears and then down toward her back.

One exercise move Elaine likes to do to relieve tension in her lower back and hips is knees-to-chest. To do it, lie down on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Bring one of your knees toward your chest, wrapping your hands around your leg so you can get deeper in the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds. Then, repeat with the other leg.

Short walk

To get her heart rate up, Elaine says she walks on the treadmill at a brisk pace, typically for seven minutes. If you don’t have a treadmill, you can walk outside instead. The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of heart-pumping exercise each week. This could mean taking a 21-minute walk each day, or an 11-minute walk twice a day.

Pull-downs

To avoid poor posture and hunching over, which is common with age, Elaine likes to do pull-downs, which target the back muscles. For this exercise move, you will need to use a pull-down machine.

1. Sit facing the pull-down machine and grab the bar with an overhand grip with your hands far apart from each other.

2. Pull the bar down until it’s level with your chin. You should feel your shoulder blades inching toward each other.

3. Come back to the starting position. Do two rounds of 15 reps.

Squats

To help with her balance while doing squats, Elaine says she does them while holding onto a bar as she moves in and out of the squat. If you struggle with balance, this is something you can try too!

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Send your hips back, sticking your butt out slightly, as if you are going to sit in a chair.

2. Bend your knees and lower down while keeping your chest lifted.

3. Stand back up and repeat. Do two sets of 15 reps.

Toe raises

Doing toe raises regularly, something Elaine enjoys, strengthens lower leg muscles. This helps improve circulation (especially if you spend a lot of time sitting), improves balance and strengthens the legs and ankles, which lowers the risk of falling.

1. Stand up straight with your feet together.

2. Shift your weight to the balls of your feet and lift your heels off the ground.

3. Come back to the starting position. Do two rounds of 15 reps.

Elaine says that when Maria Shriver once asked her to share the words she lives by, Elaine answered in the form of the acronym ARCH: “A is for attitude. It’s important to have a positive one. R is for Resistance, which is good for your muscles. It’s also important to resist foods that undermine your health. C is for Consistency because healthy habits should be consistent. H is for harmony because when you put all these things together, that’s what you have.”

Here’s to following the ARCH all the way to 100 and beyond!

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Sources

Elaine LaLanne, fitness enthusiast, motivational speaker and author
American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids. American Heart Association