Jack LaLanne Challenges

 

• 1954 (age 40): Jack swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco underwater with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks. A world record.
• 1955 (age 41): Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed. When interviewed afterward, he was quoted as saying that the worst thing about the ordeal was being handcuffed, which reduced his chance to star jump significantly.
• 1956 (age 42): Jack set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on You Asked For It, a television program hosted by Art Baker.
• 1957 (age 43): Jack swam the Golden Gate channel while towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser. The swift ocean currents turned this 1-mile swim into a swimming distance of 6.5 miles.
• 1958 (age 44): Jack maneuvered a paddleboard nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The 30-mile trip took 9.5 hours.
• 1959 (age 45): The year The Jack LaLanne Show went nationwide, Jack did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour and 22 minutes .
• 1974 (age 60): For the second time, Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf. Again, he was handcuffed, but this time he was also shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.
• 1975 (age 61): Repeating his performance of 21 years earlier, Jack again swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater and handcuffed, but this time he was shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.
• 1976 (age 62): To commemorate the United States bicentennial, Jack swam 1 mile in Long Beach Harbor. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he towed 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people (representing the Spirit of '76).
• 1979 (age 65): Jack towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with a total of 6,500 pounds of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp.
• 1980 (age 66): Jack towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for more than 1 mile in less than 1 hour.
• 1984 (age 70): Once again handcuffed and shackled, Jack fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles while towing 70 boats (bearing a total of 70 people) from the Queen's Way Bridge in Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary.