THE COOPER INSTITUTE IN DALLAS

 

I went this week to the Cooper Insititue in Dallas. In case you don't know, Dr. Ken Cooper is the father of the aerobic exercise movement. He literally invented the word, "aerobic" back in the Sixties. The Institute - run by Ken Cooper and his terrific son, Dr. Tyler Cooper - is the Mother Church of Fitness, as far as I am concerned, and it is mighty impressive.

 

On a 30 acre campus, the Institute does a lot of important stuff. It has a great fitness center, it trains trainers, it promotes corporate wellness programs and so on. But, most familiarly, it gives very intensive (and expensive) one day physicals - mostly to executives - that are the gold standard for such things. If they don't find it, you ain't got it. But  - like Harry in his practice - once they're done with that, they settle down to their true passion...getting their patients to modify their life style. Unlike almost all American medicine, they are in the prevention business, big time. And, just like the YNY books, they say that the great key to prevention and the good life is serious, relentless exercise, for the rest of your life.

 

It is hard to believe today but when Ken Cooper "discovered" the impact of steady aerobic exercise on health and wellness back in the 1960's - and he really did - no one knew about it. When he set up his clinic, back then, the Texas medical establishment more or less tried to run him out of town as a witch doctor. Honest. But he proved the soundness of his concept endlessly and incontrovertably, and today he is one of the most respected people in medicine and wellness. He has created schools of true believers all over the country.

 

I spent a long time with Tyler Cooper - a star in his own right to whom I took a great shine - and it was a particular treat. Partly because he so utterly gets it about exercise...that's obvious of course. But mostly because he has been thinking about it so hard and cares about it so very much. It was preaching to the choir for both of us but, Mercy!, it was fun. Smart people, boy, and so dedicated. I am a fan. A lot of people get it but these guys really get it...in great depth.

 

The Cooper Insitute is a distinctly scientific/medical establishment...you get a superb physical. But they are messianic, too, about life style as the key to decent health . Mostly they promote it by persuading their high-end clients to change their lives and become missionaries themselves. I had quie the little experience of just how it works. I went to  Cooper - about which I had heard forever - only because a lovely St. Louis lawyer and fitness lunatic named Hardey Menees more or less forced me to do so. He said, repeatedly, that I could not be a serious person in the field and not go. He'd go with me, he said, to make sure I got it. He did, we had great fun together and he was right. It is a Must Do thing for serious people in this field.

 

The next frontier for Cooper may be corporate "wellness programs" of which they do a lot. That just happens to be my great new focus these days, and I spent some useful time with their experts. I begin to think that, if we are to "move the middle of the road"...if we are to have fundamental change in behavior in this country any time soon... businesses are going to have to lead the way. We are a market driven country and I suspsect that we have to create a "Market for Good Health". It shoujld be possible. God knows, there's enough dough lying around in wasted health care expense. If we can somehow "monetize" good health - and promote it  with carrots and sticks - maybe we can get off the dime. There are some very tough issues...the reasonable feat of a Big Corporate  Brother getting into your private affairs. But I think there are fair solutions and that Corporate America can lead the way. It  will be no surprise if Cooper leads Corporate America.

 

If you happen to get a chance to go to the Cooper Institute, don't miss it. Even if you know a little about the field, it is a revealation.  And they are terrific people.

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