Aerobics became a cultural revolution back in the 1970s and created the foundation for fitness that’s still going strong today. The exercise program has been shown to help prevent numerous medical issues, including heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, as well as mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Aerobic exercise is any activity that causes our heart rate to increase, providing much-needed oxygen to our cells. Doctors recommend at least two and a half hours a week. However, it hasn’t always been that way. Believe it or not, at one time, doctors thought an aerobics program could lead to an early grave.
Dr. Kenneth Cooper, known as the Father of Aerobics, conducted major research on the topic, recommending it to ordinary people, which drew stiff backlash. Ultimately, he managed to prove the skeptics wrong.
God’s Guidance
“I praise the Lord every day,” Cooper, now age 94, told CBN News. “I give him credit for everything I’ve achieved.”
He recalls as a young Air Force doctor receiving divine guidance to introduce what was considered at the time, a strange, new, concept.
“I frequently use the word ‘aerobics,’ which literally means ‘with air,’ or ‘with oxygen.’ And the ability of the body to utilize large amounts of oxygen is the real secret to physical fitness,” he explained to a group of doctors in the 1960s.
At that time, Dr. Cooper had no idea aerobics would become a movement that would skyrocket and improve health outcomes for millions worldwide.
He’s now releasing his twentieth book, Grow Healthier as You Grow Older by the Father of Aerobics: How a Life Devoted to Preventive Medicine Fostered the Global Fitness Revolution
“The government’s not going to do it for you. The insurance company’s not going to do it for you,” he said. “It’s what you do for yourself, because no drug can replicate the benefits of an active lifestyle. And that’s my hope and prayer for all the people.”
Practices What He Preaches
Dr. Cooper still exercises 30 minutes a day and works 40 hours a week at Dallas’ Cooper Clinic, which helps patients live about ten years longer than the national average.
“If I die tomorrow, I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I know where I’m going. I’d have no regret.”
Back in the 1950s, Dr. Cooper made his radical discovery after having lived a sedentary life and gained 40 pounds.
“I got into Medical School and learned a very important point, that obesity is the most common manifestation of stress,” he said.
A day of waterskiing with friends caused him to suffer chest pains and a racing heart.
“The next day, I was evaluated thoroughly at the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio. I was hypertensive, I was pre-diabetic,” he recalled.
Cooper put himself on an aerobics program and, within months, saw a complete turnaround in his own health. He realized he needed to share this concept with the world.
“I controlled the blood pressure, I controlled the diabetes by doing something, by changing my lifestyle,” he said. “That was the divine intervention of my life because from then on I dedicated my life to the practice of preventive medicine.”
His Seminal Work
Dr. Cooper spent years researching the benefits of aerobics and in 1968, released his seminal work, Aerobics, which challenged the views of the mainstream medical community. Back then, many doctors thought aerobic exercise would lead to an enlarged heart and early death.
“I was the target of criticism. ‘Street’s going to be full of dead joggers if people try to follow Cooper! Cooper’s going to kill more than Hitler did in World War Two!'” Dr. Cooper recalled. “It was really vicious.”
He spent years pushing back on those claims, and in spite of the resistance, in time, aerobics became a cornerstone of good health. Dr. Cooper went on to consult NASA astronauts and Olympic athletes.
Still, he suffered more persecution after developing the treadmill stress test, a diagnostic tool to detect the early signs of coronary heart disease that is still widely used today.
“I was immediately jumped on by the medical society. ‘You’re going to kill people! You can’t exercise people to exhaustion!’ I said, ‘I’ve been doing this for 10 years. It can be a very valuable tool, because remember, the most common first symptom of severe heart diseases is sudden death.'”
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There’s no telling how many lives Dr. Cooper touched through his medical work or Christian outreach, such as his association with Billy Graham Crusades.
“I use Bible verses in my presentations all the time,” Dr. Cooper said. “One of my favorite ones is Isaiah 40:31. ‘Those who wait upon the Lord can renew their strength. They can mount wings and soar like eagles, and they can run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.'”
Today’s doctors recommend their patients do aerobic exercise to help prevent heart disease, cancer, dementia, and more. The man who started it all, at age 94 and still going strong, gives God all the glory.
“The Lord has had His hand on my life,” he said, “That’s the reason I’m here today.”
Related:
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Secrets to Longevity Revealed in Denomination’s Lifestyle
Your DNA Is Not Your Destiny: What the New Science of Epigenetics Means for Your Health
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