You have to run 75 to 100 miles a week if you expect to break the four-minute mile.
— Kenneth H. Cooper
The reason I exercise is for the quality of life I enjoy.
Over the years, I've covered 22,000 miles.
I used to think that it didn't make any difference how far you ran if you had a good, strong musculoskeletal system and no underlying cardiovascular problems.
I don't criticize weight training - as long as it is not a substitute for aerobic training.
Aerobic dancing is already adjusting to injury problems and will probably phase out to some extent.
We are involved in youth testing internationally. We want to try to prove without a shadow of a doubt the relationship between physical fitness and health, not just physical fitness and ability to perform.
So I've broadened the fitness concept to make it one of moderation and balance.
Now I say that if you run more than 15 miles a week, it's for something other than aerobic fitness. Once you pass 15 miles, you do not see much further improvement.
I think investments in general related to the exercise industry are going to be good for a long time.
Far too many times over the next 12 to 15 years, it was brought to my attention that people who followed my exercise guidelines exactly but ignored their diet, their weight and their cigarette smoking had heart attacks at age 55.
According to the Gallup Poll, 24 percent of American adults exercised regularly in 1961, and 50 percent after 1968. The peak was 59 percent in 1984, dropping off to 51 percent last September.
There are six components of wellness: proper weight and diet, proper exercise, breaking the smoking habit, control of alcohol, stress management and periodic exams.
Since then, I have not missed five consecutive days in getting some type of aerobic exercise, mostly jogging.
If you look at body fat, it seems to increase with age, even though your weight does not. That's a physiological fact of aging, they say. Heck it is. It is an adaptive effect of aging.
I have not missed a day from work because of illness since 1956.
After 26 years, I am still practicing what I preach.
