Theme: Aerobics plan

History

See also: Aerobic exercise § History, Exercise § History, and Fitness culture

A water aerobics class at an Aquatic Centre

Both the term and the specific exercise method were developed by Dr Kenneth H. Cooper, an exercise physiologist, and Col. Pauline Potts, a physical therapist, both of the United States Air Force. Cooper, an exercise enthusiast, was puzzled about why some people with good muscular strength were prone to perform poorly at activities such as long-distance running, swimming, and bicycling. He began using a bicycle ergometer to measure sustained performance in terms of a person's ability to use oxygen. In 1968, he published Aerobics, which included exercise programs using running, walking, swimming and bicycling. At the time the book was published there was increasing awareness of the need for increased exercise due to widespread weakness and inactivity. Cooper published a mass-market version "The New Aerobics" in 1979.^[1][2]

Aerobics gained worldwide popularity after the release of Jane Fonda's exercise videos in 1982.