Eight years later, after experiencing declining profits because of competition, Sorensen changed her business name to Jacki's, Inc., and soon integrated the new step aerobics style.

Called the "mother of aerobic dancing",[4][5] Sorensen served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for six years in the 1970s, and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by that body in 2012.

She studied recent exercise publications including Kenneth H. Cooper's 1968 book Aerobics, which recommended jogging for a healthy heart.

She wrote to Cooper and he encouraged her, saying her idea of a dance-based exercise was better, since jogging by itself was not interesting enough for most women to maintain a steady regimen.

[16] Agreeing to the request of Air Force producers, she put together a television show called Aerobic Dancing on a TV station in San Juan, recording eight broadcasts per visit because it was a long drive from Ramey AFB.

[19] She ran the 26.2-mile (42.2 km) Atlantic City Marathon organized by the Road Runners Club of America on October 31, 1971, coming in second place in the women's division,[20] behind Nina Kuscsik.

[19] Working toward a master's degree, Sorensen conducted research on aerobic exercise at Seton Hall and at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

[25] Rooker introduced her to C. Carson "Casey" Conrad, the executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Conrad invited Sorensen to travel the U.S. as a clinician, bringing her methods to teachers and students at every level from elementary school through college.

[1][15] Sorensen required her clinicians to meet an exacting set of standards: they must not be smokers or drinkers, they must maintain their weight within a narrow optimal range relative to height, their hearts must be strong as measured by resting and active heart rates, they must be able to run 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in 12 minutes, they must memorize all of the current dance routines, and they must represent the company while wearing pantyhose under white polyester dance shorts of Sorensen's design.

She attended a cardiovascular health clinic in San Diego given by doctors John Boyer and Fred Kasch, authors of the 1968 book Adult Fitness.

By May 1975, the company was so successful that Neil shifted careers to manage the business side of Aerobic Dancing, Inc. (ADI).

The San Diego location was very active locally, sponsoring a dance-a-thon to fund Special Olympics, a walkathon for the American Heart Association, and a benefit to rebuild the Old Globe Theatre.

[1] After this, the business steadily lost instructors because it paid an hourly wage rather than allowing entrepreneurship of its franchisees, and because it abandoned the popular YMCA base for dedicated dance studios.

ADI was losing ground to Judi Missett's Jazzercise franchises and to the new crop of home video releases inspired by Jane Fonda's Workout in 1982.

She promoted shoes by Lotto Sport Italia: the $38.95 "Jacki" signature model made in 1982 specifically for aerobic dancing.

[37] Sorensen kept her business operating through the 1980s, releasing another book in 1983, keeping the company headquarters in Northridge while she and her husband moved to Malibu.

[39] Sorensen's husband Neil started exercising for the first time with her in 1983, wearing a t-shirt that said, "Jane Fonda Does Not Work Out Here.

[40] The logo's silhouette of a dancer was designed by Carol Woody, and purchased by the company; it is used on branded clothing and exercise gear.

[8] In 1979 she signed a letter urging the president to support Title IX legislation which would ensure American girls receive the same physical education opportunities as boys.