Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper

Fifteen years ago, Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper of the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps created the first comprehensive aerobic fitness program. “I could not sell it,” he concedes today, “to anybody.”

Convinced that he had found the key to total well-being, he left the safety of a very promising career in the military and moved to Dallas. “I was 40, I didn’t have a leg to stand on, my wife was pregnant, I had no insurance, no place to work, no home to live in and no money.” He succeeded in borrowing funds to invest in a medical practice.

The first two years, he did not receive much support from the medical community and only a few clients found their way to his office. “I thought that people would come in droves, but I was in for a real surprise,” says Dr. Cooper, reflecting on his start-up period. “I seriously considered giving up. I thought that it was not worth it.”

Today, Dr. Cooper’s Aerobic Center is spread out over 27 acres of prime land in Dallas. Each day, over 1,300 people come to exercise in this ultra-modern center. His books have been translated into 29 languages and sold over 12 million copies. In Brazil, people refer to jogging as “doing their Cooper.”

At 51, Dr. Cooper enjoys his worldwide success. A Japanese syndicate had retained his services for developing a modern aerobics center on 750 acres near Tokyo. He receives invitations from every corner of the globe to help build aerobics centers based on the advanced concepts developed in Dallas.

Dr. Cooper has sold thousands on the benefits of physical fitness. His salesmanship goes far beyond the amateur level instilled in medical schools. Sometimes he even resorts to quoting Plato to persuade a hesitant patient: “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save and preserve it.”

After our interview, I checked up on Plato and found to my surprise that the Greek philosopher took his own advice and lived longer than the average American male; he lived – 2,300 years ago – to the fit and active age of 80!

PSP: Prior to this interview, we surveyed a small number of sales executives about their health habits. We found that the ones who do not exercise regularly are not only overweight, but also tend to feel guilty about their self-defeating attitudes. they all agree on the benefits of fitness, but they procrastinate and don’t take positive action.

Dr. Cooper: I’ve seen many people with this attitude. They say, “I am just going to take my chances…I want to enjoy life to the fullest…”

PSP: …eating brownies while they watch Richard Simmons…

Dr. Cooper: Right, but they also want to be successful in life and overlook that the important thing for achieving success is good health. I haven’t missed a day at work in 23 years because of illness.

PSP: In your book. The Aerobics Program For Total Wellness, you admitted that you yourself did not always practice good health habits.

Dr. Cooper: That’s right. I thought, like so many people, that I didn’t have to worry about my calorie intake. I was totally disinterested in any type of physical activity. I thought I could ignore all the recommendations about health because I had some inborn immunity. That’s the type of rationalization I used.

PSP: You were overweight?

Dr. Cooper: Yes, during my medical training I gained at least 30 pounds. The big problem occurred during my internship in Seattle. We were working late every night, and we just ate to keep us awake. There was a snack bar…it was open all night and free to the hospital staff…

PSP: That’s hard to resist.

Dr. Cooper: We were so busy and didn’t have the time to exercise, so by the time I finished my internship, I had gained a lot of weight.

PSP: That was before you joined the Army?

Dr. Cooper: I joined the Army in August 1957, and went to some training programs, but was still quite overweight. When I got married in August of 1959, my wife started cooking, and I became even more lethargic. I remember saying to her, “I feel like I am dying of mental stagnation.”

PSP: Was that due to your lack of activity?

Dr. Cooper: It was probably as much physical as it was mental. I kind of felt that there was nothing to challenge me. I had anticipated spending just two years in the military and then pursuing an orthopedic residency or specializing in ophthalmology. But once I got into the military, I didn’t pursue either one of those goals.

PSP: What prompted you to get out of your mental stagnation?

Dr. Cooper: I decided to make a career change and get interested in aviation and aerospace medicine. So I transferred to the Air Force.

PSP: Did this change your attitude about physical fitness?

Dr. Cooper: No, the experience that had the greatest impact on me was one single incident while I was water-skiing. I had no idea what an extra 30 pounds could do to my body. I put on a slalom ski after may years of deconditioning and I told the driver to accelerate to 30 miles per hour. To my surprise, after only a few minutes, I began to feel nauseated and weak. I told the driver to get me back and for a half hour I lay on the shore, in agony. My head was spinning and I was unable to put a series of logical thoughts together. I suspect that I suffered some type of cardiac arrhythmia. My heart had been stimulated beyond its capacity and was beating very fast and out of control.

PSP: A frightening experience…

Dr. Cooper: It really frightened me, and I became so depressed about my physical deterioration that I began to change my lifestyle. I reduced my weight and exercised regularly.

PSP: Dr. Cooper, not everyone has an emotionally significant experience to push them into action. How do you sell people on committing themselves to physical fitness?

Dr. Cooper: I am not convinced that even near-death experiences have a long term effect on many people. At the Aerobics Center, we use a proper balance of education and motivation. We have very exciting, motivated leaders. Our members attend different classes; they benefit from an award system.

PSP: You reward them for their progress?

Dr. Cooper: Yes, we have the 100 Mile Club, the 1,000, the 5,000 and the 10,000 Mile Clubs. We want our members to be aware of their progress. We use constant encouragement, objective feedback, and continuous goal setting.

PSP: How many people come here to exercise?

Dr. Cooper: About 1,300 people exercise here every day.

We now have a 14-month waiting list for people who want to join our center.

PSP: What do you mean by being physically fit? Do you have an objective way to measure fitness?

Dr. Cooper: Historically, physicians have classified their patients as being physically fit if they are free from disease. A weight lifter may say it means having bulging muscles, a young lady might say that it means having a lovely figure. To me, physical fitness means a good cardiovascular-pulmonary system which means that you are fit for life. I suggest to focus on the organs that you live with first. Once you’ve built your cardio- vascular reserves and achieved fitness on the inside, then you begin to work on the outside, the muscle building or the figure contouring.

PSP: So your priorities are, first, fit for life, second, fit for looks.

Dr. Cooper: Yes, what I am saying is the weight lifting, the figure tone-ups are great, but should be done in conjunction with, not in the place of aerobic exercise..

PSP: What exactly does aerobics mean?

Dr. Cooper: It literally means exercising with air, and refers primarily to endurance types of exercise.

PSP: What type of exercise would qualify?

Dr. Cooper: Some people prefer to jog, others walk, swim, dance, play tennis or ride a bike.

PSP: Does each activity lead to the same level of fitness?

Dr. Cooper: It doesn’t make a difference what type of aerobic exercise you engage in, the key is to increase your heart rate for a period of at least 20 minutes.

PSP: How many times a week?

Dr. Cooper: We encourage people to work a minimum of 30 minutes three times a week or 20 minutes four times a week.

PSP: So you don’t need to run 15 miles everyday?

Dr. Cooper: No, 15 miles a week is the optimum. If you run more than 15 miles per week, you are running for something other than cardio-vascular fitness.

PSP: How can you test your level of fitness without going through your stress test?

Dr. Cooper: I use a very simple test in my presentations. I ask the audience to count their pulse for 15 seconds and then multiply that figure by 4 to get the number of heartbeats per minute. Then I ask for a show of hands. In a group of 400, there is usually one person with a resting heart rate of less than 50, which we consider as athletic. Fifty to sixty is excellent; sixty to seventy is good; seventy to eighty is average, most American men and women are within this category. Eighty to ninety is fair and over is ninety is poor.

PSP: How soon after you begin an aerobics exercise program can you expect a lower resting pulse as a result?

Dr. Cooper: Well, our studies have shown that, for example, middle-aged men between 45 and 55 years of age had an average heart rate of 72 beats per minute. After three months of conditioning, the average rate was 55 beats per minute. If you would start exercising today, you’ll notice some changes within eight weeks and a significant change by the twelfth week.

PSP: Zig Ziglar said once, “The tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you.”

Dr. Cooper: Exactly. Zig is a classic example of what a person can do. He has gone from total inactivity and weight of about 30 pounds more than he weighs at the present time, to the top percentile of all people who have come here. He stayed longer on the treadmill than any professional football player we’ve ever had in our center.

PSP: And he’s past 55 years old.

Dr. Cooper: Yes, he’s a prime example of what a positive attitude towards fitness can do.

PSP: Zig started out by walking and added a little jogging each day.

Dr. Cooper: That’s the beauty of the aerobic system, you can choose the fitness level you want to achieve by selecting the intensity and duration of activity.

PSP: Do you find that aerobic exercise reduces stress and anxiety?

Dr. Cooper: I think it is nature’s best tranquilizer.

I have a very busy schedule; today is a classic example. I have been here since 6:30 in the morning, I took only ten minutes for lunch. I’ve been constantly involved with patients. If I go home tonight without working out, I won’t sleep well. I’ll take all the activities of the day home with me and they’ll run over in my mind all night long. I’ll toss and turn and be very keyed up. But, if I go out and run two or three miles, as I will before I go home this evening, I will come home totally relaxed.

PSP: How do you explain this relaxing effect?

Dr. Cooper: During a stressful day, your adrenal system produces hormones which set you up for flight or fight responses. You are keyed up from a high level of these hormones. Your body can’t relax until this chemical imbalance is corrected. Exercise helps you dissipate the stress and you end up feeling refreshed and relaxed. If you don’t allow for a physiological release, you tend to respond to your body’s demand for chemical balance by having a drink or taking a tranquilizer.

PSP: So you are essentially saying that if you invest in aerobic exercise, your internal system is working smarter, not harder.

Dr. Cooper: Yes, there are a number of additional benefits such as higher enthusiasm, better energy levels, higher confidence, improved attitudes.

PSP: Have you been able to measure an increase in productivity on the job because of exercise?

Dr. Cooper: There are numerous cases that document lower health insurance premiums as a result of company fitness programs. We recently conducted an extensive study involving 7,400 teachers in Dallas where the participants of a regular exercise program had fewer sick days during the school year. By figuring the direct cost saved on substitute teachers alone, we could document a savings of $452,000.

PSP: Have you designed company fitness programs?

Dr. Cooper: We’ve worked with many corporations. One of the first was Xerox. There is an increased consciousness about the value of fitness throughout the world. For example, IBM spent over one million dollars last year involving over 40,000 people in a wellness program.

PSP: How about overseas?

Dr. Cooper: I just got back from Tokyo. The Japanese are building the Nihon Aerobic Center on 750 acres following the know-how we’ve developed here in Dallas. In Brazil, since 1970, people have referred to their jogging as doing their Cooper. We receive invitations from every corner of the globe. Just this week I received an invitation to help an organization to build a center in Egypt: another request came from Malaysia. Last week, I received two invitations from Australia.

PSP: You are travelling extensively. What do you recommend to travelling salespeople? How can you maintain a healthy diet when you are on the road, passing hundreds of fast food places…

Dr. Cooper: I have the same problem salespeople have. Sometimes I skip meals. I know this is not ideal, but I can’t eat a big meal before giving a speech. Our staff nutritionist just finished this little brochure with ten tips on selecting items in fast food restaurants. (Editor’s note: See box on page 11).

PSP: What do you consider as the dangers of an extra 10 or 15 pounds?

Dr. Cooper: Your risk of having a heart attack is greater. New scientific evidence prompted me to reverse the statement I had used over the years which said that, “Exercise can overcome many, if not all, the deleterious effects of diet.” We’ve been able to study a number of people who exercised properly, but ignored their 20 pounds of extra weight and suffered from a heart attack later on.

PSP: So, aerobics alone is not guarantee.

Dr. Cooper: A combination of exercise and diet reduces your risks much more.

PSP: You said once that when a person dies, he dies not so much of that particular disease as of his entire life.

Dr. Cooper: True. I am convinced that the leading causes of death in the prime of life are more acts of man than acts of God.

PSP: How can you improve your chances for losing weight? What solution do you have in addition to exercising and limiting calories?

Dr. Cooper: I suggest that overweight salespeople eat 75% of their daily calories before 1 p.m. Try to eat 25% at breakfast, 50% at lunch, and 25% at dinner.

PSP: Take your client out to lunch and avoid entertaining in the evening.

Dr. Cooper: Right. We have done a study involving two groups of overweight people who were consuming 1200 calories per day. The group that consumed 75% of their calories before 1 p.m. lost a great deal more weight.

PSP: Why?

Dr. Cooper: We are not sure, but I suspect that if you take in most of your food early in the day, your body remains relatively active during the digestive process.

PSP: You also suggest to exercise before your evening meal?

Dr. Cooper: Yes, this reduces your appetite and leads you to eat less.

PSP: How about taking a shortcut with a low-calorie diet?

Dr. Cooper: Dr. Kathan, the author of the book The 200 Calorie Solution, talks about these shortcuts. A low-calorie diet can help you lose weight rapidly, but you will gain it back just as fast, only with fewer calories than it took to maintain your weight before.

PSP: Why is that?

Dr. Cooper: Let’s say your metabolism requires 2,000 calories per day. If you go on a 300 calorie diet, you may lose as much as 15 pounds in three weeks. As a response to this lower caloric intake, your body lowers the metabolism. After three weeks, your metabolism may have dropped from 2,000 to 1,200 calories. As soon as you get off your low-calorie diet, your weight will go up rapidly, even if you eat less, let’s say only 1,600 calories.

PSP: When does your reduced metabolism go back to the previous level?

Dr. Cooper: It takes a long time, perhaps as long as a year to readjust your metabolism back to the original level.

PSP: So the shortcut doesn’t seem to solve the problem over the long run.

Dr. Cooper: No.

PSP: You said earlier that health is an important criteria for achieving success. What is your measure of success?

Dr. Cooper: To enjoy what I am doing. I think that is a very important factor of success. I set high goals for myself, and once I reach those goals, I establish new ones. The Aerobics Center has expanded much farther than I ever dreamed it would.

PSP: What were the low points on your way to success?

Dr. Cooper: Well, there are a couple of points. First, the criticism I received back in the Air Force from my peers and colleagues when I tried to promote my fitness program.

PSP: How did you overcome this setback?

Dr. Cooper: Well, I refused to accept anything that would slow me down. I kept my sights right ahead. I refused to buckle.

PSP: You were loyal to your dreams.

Dr. Cooper: Yes, and it required time. The way I overcame that obstacle was by doubling my efforts. I began to write books, undertook research projects, and searched for answers. I wouldn’t accept the statement that jogging is bad and people should not do it. But, it was up to me to find solutions until finally, the Air Force began to accept my concepts.

PSP: What was the second lowest point?

Dr. Cooper: Well, without question, the second lowest

point came right after our office was established in Dallas. I thought that people would come in droves. I hoped for the acceptance of the medical community here in Dallas. But, I was in for a real surprise. It was very, very difficult. For the first couple of years, I seriously considered giving up. I thought that it was not worth it.

PSP: You thought that you had it made after leaving the Air Force.

Dr. Cooper: At age 40, I left what could have been a very promising career and started completely from scratch. I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I moved into a new community, my wife was pregnant, I had no insurance, no place to work, no home to live in and no money.

PSP: And little support from the medical community.

Dr. Cooper: Support wasn’t coming, people were not coming in, so after two years, I was convinced that I’d made a mistake and considered going back to the Air Force.

PSP: What caused you to stay?

Dr. Cooper: I have to give credit to my wife, she really encouraged me to stay in the field, to tough it out. 1971 and 1972 were the worst years. Then it started to turn around. In 1972, Frank Shorter, a marathon runner, won the gold medal in the Olympics in Munich. He created a national interest and pride in running. More and more people began to get involved in running. In the late sixties, there were only about 100,000 joggers in this country compared to over 20 million today.

PSP: It sounds like your persistance paid off.

Dr. Cooper: Of course, there were other factors in my success like the willingness to work. I still put in 12 to 14 hour days.

PSP: Your enthusiasm in selling your program was probably a large factor, too.

Dr. Cooper: That’s right, because it takes a lot of selling to convince people that it is a whole lot cheaper and more effective to maintain good health than to regain it once it’s gone.

PSP: Thank you.