Stretch Yourself
Sun Herald
Saturday April 8, 1995
WITH a statement that will make couch potatoes world-wide crack open a celebratory tinnie, the man who invented aerobics says he would never do an aerobic class himself.
Particularly the high-impact variety popularised by exercise junkies like Jane Fonda, and still practised in many gyms.
"I see people in gyms really straining themselves. I've fought Jane Fonda from the beginning when she said you have to exercise to the burn with aerobic dancing.
"I started aerobics, I invented the word, but I've modified my programs over the years to try to make them safe and effective. I wouldn't do a high-impact aerobics class, though I have run marathons."
Indeed, Dr Cooper, 64, has modified his exercise beliefs so much over the past 25 years since he wrote his first best-selling exercise bible, Aerobics (advocating the then-revolutionary idea that regular cardiovascular exercise and proper diet would improve health) he said readers have "profanely accused me of changing my concepts to sell books".
"It makes me nauseous when I hear that. If I see data that proves what I am saying is wrong then I would be the most irresponsible man on earth if I didn't modify my work accordingly."
Dr Cooper has stronger reasons than ever to change his recommendations because $60-million worth of research at his Cooper Aerobics Institute in America has revealed a shocking new truth in the annals of exercise-that too much can in fact be a killer.
In his latest book, The Antioxidant Revolution, Dr Cooper proposes that while moderate exercise increases longevity and reduces the risk of contracting medical conditions like cancer and heart disease, strenuous exercise can increase the risk.
"Back in 68 I said if you run 10km or marathons that was good; the more the better, but over the next 14 years we noticed as people increased the distance there was a marked increase in skeletal injuries. Then in 82 we said if you run more than 25km per week you run for something other than cardiovascular fitness because you get little improvement in health after that amount of kilometres."
In an 89 study of 13,400 healthy men and women over an eight-year period he found that when they exercised over a certain level they developed diseases such as heart attack, diabetes, strokes and cancer, which baffled him.
Dr Cooper also noticed the number of ultra-marathoners with exemplary diets were stricken in their prime by cancer and heart disease when their exercise regimes should have been protecting them.
Further research carried out at his Institute and several US universities has now drawn a link between serious medical conditions in exercise junkies (running over 80km a week) and the high level of free radicals present in their bodies.
Free radicals naturally exist in the body but when they turn feral, for whatever reason, they start to destroy the body causing heart disease, cancer, stroke, premature aging and Parkinson's disease. They are also generated by smoking, excess UV light and pesticides.
The answer to all this says Dr Cooper lies in taking an "antioxidant cocktail", a high dose of vitamin tablets - C (1,000mg), E (400mg) and beta carotene (15mg) which are thought to "gobble up" extra free radicals. Or increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet particularly those containing vitamin C and beta carotene like brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
Dr Cooper, who still runs several times a week (no more marathons) and skis every year said his current recommendation for health and longevity was a healthy diet plus 30 minutes of sustained activity three times a week. "This can be just brisk walking," he says, like running, swimming, low-intensity aerobics and gym work to build flexibility and strength including weight training.
Dr Cooper also warns that anyone can overtrain and there are very definite signs to look out for which he outlines in his book. These include: loss of weight, sleep disturbance, diseases, lethargy, loss of libido, muscle and joint pains.
© 1995 Sun Herald