The Health Channel on Christianity.com
Dr. Kenneth Cooper - widely acclaimed for popularizing aerobic exercise - is a committed Christian who practices daily the disciplines he teaches others. At age sixty-nine, he exercises vigorously and enjoys excellent health. Dr. Cooper prefaces his advice to patients with a series of penetrating questions concerning their dietary and lifestyle habits.
The sun is setting in Dallas, Texas. In the early evening, many commuters are pulling into their driveways, looking forward to dinner with their families or planning watch the local news on television. At the same time, Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, often called the “Father of Aerobics,” dons his sneakers for yet another run near his office. Dr. Cooper follows the prescription that he has given to millions by running thirty minutes four or five times a week. During each of those workouts, he runs three to five miles. Dr. Cooper says,

If I exercise, I burn up the stress from my day. I’m a typical type A personality. If I don’t burn off the stress, I take it home with me. Then I can’t sleep and I awake at 4 a.m. worried about the day.

While Dr. Cooper is disciplined in his approach to life, at age 69, he has some of the same struggles of many Americans. He admits,

I burn the candle on both ends, and I have at least five full time jobs. There is no way I could do that if I didn’t keep myself in shape.

If a scheduled meeting runs later than planned and he isn’t able to keep his exercise schedule, does Dr. Cooper forget about exercise? No, it is a key part of his lifestyle.

He says,

I go home and eat a light supper. Then two hours later I briskly walk two miles (at 13 ½ to 14 minute per mile pace) in my neighborhood. I walk because if I run late at night, then I’m wide awake, and I can’t relax.

The author of 18 books, Dr. Cooper is a committed Christian. One of his recent books is called, Faith-based Fitness - the medical program that uses spiritual motivation to achieve maximum health and add years to your life (Thomas Nelson Publishers). He understands the challenges of a busy lifestyle—yet the importance of balance. On an average day, Dr. Cooper arrives in his office at 6:45 a.m. He spends the first twenty minutes in prayer, Bible study and reading. Currently he is reading Start Where You Are by Charles Swindoll—one of his clinic clients. Dr. Cooper says,

I’ve found if I start my day in balance, then I will have a much more effective and productive day. If I can attribute my success - professionally, spiritually and any other way - it’s one word, discipline.

Dr. Cooper continues to have an active medical practice. He is concerned about the many people who stay too busy to exercise and who are unwilling to change their lifestyles. He confides,

My own pastor has gained 40 pounds in the last 11 years since he’s been at our church, and I’m constantly on his back. He’s one of my failures because if he doesn’t get the weight off, then he’s open to all sorts of diseases.

The Cooper family is active in the Prestonwood Baptist Church, where the 7,200-seat sanctuary is full every Sunday.

While most of Dr. Cooper’s professional life has been devoted to urging others to become more fit, he has experienced the problems of being overweight and out of shape. In high school, Kenneth Cooper was an outstanding athlete—he was state champion in track, all state in basketball and attended the University of Oklahoma on a track scholarship. After three years of pre-med, Cooper began medical school at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. Because of his intense work schedule, Dr. Cooper dropped his athletic regimen. As he says, “I ate just to keep awake.” His weight ballooned from 162 to 204. Then one afternoon, at the age of 29, Dr. Cooper went water skiing—something he had enjoyed as a youth.

His heart rate suddenly increased to nearly 250 beats per minute (the maximum rate should have been 190 to 200). “I thought I was having a heart attack,” he said. At the hospital, his heart rate settled to normal. Following a thorough physical, the physician said, “Doc, you’re just out of shape.”

Then he began the discipline of running and working out — a lifestyle that has continued for 40 years. In 1970, Dr. Cooper left the security of an Air Force career with a hope and a prayer. At age 40, he started his career in public life in a new community (Dallas) with a pregnant wife—and an irate medical society. In Dallas in 1970, no one was doing treadmill stress testing. Dr. Cooper practiced what was then a new kind of medicine — preventative medicine. Then a medical review board called him in to be censored. During the hour-and-a-half appearance before the board, he discussed his experiences in the Air Force, and the procedures and statistics that grew out of that phase of his medical practice. He explained the safety factors involved in treadmill testing.

Dr. Cooper smiled as he shared the rest of the story:

The second medical person to begin treadmill testing in Dallas was on that board. Today such a procedure is common and there are more than 200 treadmills for testing in the Dallas/Fort Worth area alone.

Today, Dr. Cooper weighs 168 and is committed to working out four or five times each week. He says,

With rapid weight loss, including the high protein diets, the vast majority of weight returns. There are no quick fixes and it takes at least six months of diet control and consistent exercise to control your weight.

Dr. Cooper asks his Christian patients two basic questions:

1. Are you truly honoring God with your body, soul and spirit?

2. What are you doing to cause your current situation? Drinking? Smoking? Overeating?

Then he sets some priorities with the patient. It’s with a serious tone that he throws into the conversation information about his five full-time jobs. Some of his diversity is shown through his Web site at: http://www.cooperaerobics.com/. To disseminate health information, Dr. Cooper has launched http://www.cooperwellness.com/. At this site, you can experience virtual dining, or take a fitness test. With a few clicks on your mouse, you can discover nutritional information about 60,000 foods. This new web site effort is simply one more facet of Dr. Cooper’s life message. It’s touted on the front of this new site in a large quotation from Dr. Cooper saying,

It’s easier to maintain good health through proper exercise, diet and emotional balance than to regain it once it’s lost.

An Optimal Exercise Program

Dr. Cooper recommends four steps (which are the same steps carried out in the Cooper Clinic):

1. Start with a thorough physical evaluation

2. Approach exercise as an educational experience

3. Embrace lifestyle changes which are safe, effective and realistic

4. Commit to a process for re-evaluation. Dr. Cooper comments on his own motivation,

I use exercise more to help me sleep at night than to protect me from heart disease and strokes. My number one reason for exercise is because it makes me feel good. Studies clearly show people who exercise regularly are less depressed, less of a hypochondriac and have a positive self-image, plus are much more enthused about life.

This encouragement and advice is something that Dr. Cooper has taught and lived for more than 40 years.

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