class marathoner when your best effort is a slow walk.
I
Cooper arrives at the Cooper Clinic
in Dallas, Texas, at 6:30 a.m. After a brief session of prayer and bible study, he dictates notes until 9:30, sees pa- tients until 2:30 p.m. and then pauses for a light lunch. He continues work- ing until 6:30 p.m. when he exercises at the Cooper Aerobics Center. At 7:45 p.m. he heads home for dinner and a short nap. He works in his home office until midnight, sleeps and starts a new day at 5:40 a.m. When not at the office, the 78-year-
old Cooper travels the world speak- ing at conferences and meeting oth- ers who share the cause of promoting health and assisting people to live healthier lifestyles. Cooper is on a mission. Where most
doctors are concerned only with pa- tients in their waiting rooms, his con- cern is for the entire human race. He has devoted his life to the cause of preventive medicine, and his achieve- ments are remarkable. Cooper is a testimony to the healthy
living message to which he has devot- ed his life. Change the world? He may be doing just that.
The early days
With a medical degree from the
University of Oklahoma, Cooper entered the U.S. Army in 1957,
nterviewing Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the “father of aerobics,” is like trying to keep up with a world
transferring to the Air Force two years later with hopes of becoming a scien- tist astronaut. While stationed in San Antonio, Texas, his weight ballooned from 168 lbs. to over 200 lbs. One sum- mer, following some strenuous water skiing, he thought he was having a heart attack. At the hospital he learned that he had experienced an irregular heartbeat. Said his doctor at the time, “The only thing wrong with you is that you’re out of shape.” This incident became a turning
point in his career motivating him to begin exercising regularly and eating healthier. That year he dropped nearly 40 lbs. The following year he ran his first Boston Marathon. Soon after this, Cooper received his
Master of Public Health degree from Harvard. This created a new interest for him in the area of public health promotion. He returned to the Air Force and en-
rolled in an aerospace medicine resi- dency in 1964 and during this time became interested in the concept of quantifying exercise. How much is ef- fective? How much is dangerous? A classmate said to him: “We should
be able to measure the benefits of ex- ercise like we can measure the benefits of antibiotics. Why don’t we know the dose of exercise to prescribe to peo- ple?” Says Cooper, “It was like a switch flipped in my head. There was no re- search on the topic of exercise at that time, so I set out to do what no one else had done.” Cooper spent the next two years
conducting research which centered on three questions:
1. What is the most important type of exercise?
2. How do you compare exercise? 3. How much do we need?
Says Cooper, “It was like a switch flipped in my head. There was no research on the topic of exercise at that time, so I set out to do what no one else had done.”
March/April 2009 Fitness Business Canada 21
Photo: Brandon Parscale
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