Centuries before Dr. Kenneth Cooper coined the term "aerobic exercise," cardiovascular endurance was crucial to survival. There's a subtle irony to this statement. As technology eliminated the need to walk, or in some cases, run to and from a destination, the heart muscles of those leading a sedentary lifestyle suffered from atrophy. Heart disease ensued, and once again, cardio exercise became essential for survival.
Primitive Society
Before 10,000 B.C., nomadic societies needed to continually hunt and gather for survival, explains University of New Mexico exercise physiologist Len Kravitz. These hunting journeys often lasted up to two days. The need for speed was obvious. With a saber-toothed tiger in swift pursuit, nomadic hunters did not think about warming up for a run or checking their heart rates. They simply ran for their lives. Following a successful hunt, tribe members would walk up to 20 miles to visit and celebrate with a neighboring tribe. Dancing and athletic games occurred at these celebrations.
Ancient Greece
The ancient Greek belief in exercise for the health of the human body and music for the development of the soul might be the precursor of choreographed aerobic exercise. Children exercised in the palaestra, a forum where they practiced musical gymnastics, as well as running, jumping and wrestling movements. At age 14, they moved to the gymnasium, where the paidotribe, the equivalent of the modern fitness trainer, supervised their programs.
The Marathon
The marathon was never part of the ancient Greek Olympics, explains Gregory Crane, creator of the Tufts University Perseus Project. During the fifth century B.C., the Persian army invaded the town of Marathon, located 26 miles from Athens. Legend has it that after the Greeks' victory, a messenger was sent to Athens to inform the people of the good news. The messenger ran the full 26 miles, but died after his announcement. While this story is controversial and unsubstantiated, many exercise physiology professors use it to explain the importance of cooling down after aerobic exercise to prevent blood pooling that might cause a heart attack.
Military Training
Aerobic exercise is an important element of military training. This concept began in 4000 B.C. in civilizations such as Persia, Syria, Babylon and Egypt. By age 6, says Kravitz, in his article "History of Fitness," boys learned to march, ride and throw a javelin. Throughout the ensuing centuries, other civilizations used cardiovascular conditioning in their military training programs. The U.S., however, was late to the party. After World War I, military officials reported that 1-in-3 drafted men was unfit for military service. The government passed legislation that improved school physical education programs, but funding was eliminated during the Depression. After World War II, military officials reported that half of the draftees were rejected or given noncombat positions. These statistics prompted Dr. Thomas Cureton of the University of Illinois to develop cardiorespiratory endurance tests that became the basis for future aerobic fitness programs.
Kenneth Cooper and Beyond
Dr. Kenneth Cooper joined the military in 1957. He served as a flight surgeon and director of the Aerospace Medical Laboratory in San Antonio, but his dreams of becoming an astronaut inspired him to develop a fitness program for NASA. The fitness industry credits Cooper with the development of the 12-minute and 1.5-mile fitness tests used in the military, athletic teams and at universities, and with creation of the term "aerobics." Then former dancer Jacki Sorensen, while stationed at her husband's military base, developed the aerobic dancing mode of cardiovascular exercise in the late 1960s.
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