Health guru hustles to keep apace of the world of fitness
As manager/operator, he's the guy at the Sports Mall who takes complaints for no toilet paper in the bathrooms or soap in the showers or for not having a Pilates class at a more convenient time.
Not the guy who helps people stay healthier ... or is he?
All of the sophisticated fitness equipment, all of the fitness classes, all of the trainers and free weights and walking/running tracks and aerobic balls are there by design — his design.
He is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on fitness clubs. And, it's a proven fact that better fitness is a direct contributor to better health.
Cook's education into fitness dates back to the mid-1960s when clubs offered nothing but dumbbells and a weight bench, and a good fitness program involved watching the guys with the big muscles and then trying to imitate their routines.
"Those were the sweatshops," remembered Cook. "Free weights and the promise of bigger muscles, which is all they offered. We see the results of these clubs all the time, people coming in with shoulder and knee and elbow problems that now require surgery.
Changes in the health and fitness business started to appear just around the time Cook, fresh out of school, chose fitness clubs as an occupation.
He was hired to work for Health Spa and Fitness in 1964. Eventually, he would travel around the country opening similar facilities in Rhode Island, Connecticut, upper New York, Denver and Albuquerque.
He returned to Utah in 1975 and in September 1976 became involved in the Sports Mall.
"The fitness industry started to make real changes in the mid-1960s with places like Health Spa and Fitness. It went from a sweatshop to a luxury facility with red carpet, and we really did have a red carpet, steam rooms and whirlpools.
"What we found back then, however, was that people really didn't join for fitness, but for the wet areas. They came to relax in the steam room or whirlpool and to socialize. In some ways that hasn't changed. People still enjoy doing those things."
In the area of fitness, he remembered that the 1960s marked the start of the fitness equipment revolution.
"There were no high-tech treadmills or elliptical equipment. What was touted back in the 1960s was the wooden rollers and the 'V' belt."
Members would lie on a table and wooden rollers would move up and massage the body. The theory was that this would increase blood flow, which in turn would decrease cellulite, or lumpy fat found in the thighs, hips and buttocks.
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