AP Photo/Steve YeaterJack LaLanne, who died Sunday, inspired millions to exercise and eat right for about 80 years.

Tony Horton, the creator the P90X at-home workout system, is 52 years young and still going strong.

He credits his enthusiasm and staying in shape to his idol.

That would be Jack LaLanne, who died Sunday afternoon at his home in central California at the age of 96 due to pneumonia.

"That guy has always been in shape, even into his mid-'90s," Horton said recently. "I've always looked up to him. If he can do it, just about anyone can do it."

LaLanne, the "godfather of fitness", has been promoting fitness for 80 years. He published several books and videos on fitness and nutrition, marketed his exercise style, vitamin supplements and electric juicers. Up until recently, he still was working out two hours a day.

"It's a lifestyle. It's something you do the rest of your life," LaLanne told the Associated Press recently. "How long are you going to keep breathing? How long do you keep eating? You just do it."

Horton always loved LaLanne's fitness style because it wasn't about gimmicks. It was just good eating and exercise.

"I can't stand watching all these infomercials where they say you can lose weight quickly. Those things don't work," he said. "You need to eat healthy and exercise. That's what Jack did."