BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com
A gym should include weights, some machines and probably loud music.
But at Josh Cook’s Pain and Victory Gym, located in Mahomet at 203 E. Adams, Bay #3, you’re going to also find something more.
The whole concept began with family.
“I couldn’t find a gym to train at,” Josh said. “There was the old Gold’s Gym; the old owner was really cool.
“He would let us deadlift and do a lot of this stuff that doesn’t really happen in commercial gyms anymore. When he sold off, everything kind of changed.”
While there was one other gym owner in Champaign who offered what Josh was looking for, he decided to take his training and his family’s training into his own hands.
“I like to get pumped and move some weight around,” he said. “So I asked my wife if I could throw a rack in the garage. It was just me, my wife and son.
“That’s where the gym’s ‘Foundation of Family,’ our motto, came from. It was just us.”
As Josh began posting videos of his workout, a few Mahomet-Seymour football players: Morrie Mendenhall, Liam White, Jared Priest, Ethan Carlson and Kyle Kinney, asked if they could join.
“This gym would not be here without them,” Josh Cook said.
By the time 10 teen-age boys were working out in Cook’s garage, his wife told him it was time to find another spot for the equipment.
Cook signed a lease with Bud Parkhill before moving next door to Mahomet Helping Hands earlier this summer.
“(Bud) did more for us than I could have ever dreamed,” Cook said. “I know how sweet of a guy he actually is.”
From the moment the doors at Pain and Victory Gym opened, it has just organically grew.
Moms and dads, sisters and brothers — even grandmas — started coming to workout with Josh.
Among the student-athletes who work out, Josh said there is even a developing brotherhood and sisterhood.
“We’ve got kids that would never hang out with each other outside of here cheering each other on, working with each other, giving high fives,” Josh said.
“We’ve got some swimmers hanging out with some football players, and some kids that just want to lift weights hanging out with guys that they would never talk to at school.”
The women who spend their mornings at Pain and Victory Gym are building new relationships, too.
Josh said Lisa asked Sarah who asked Heather who brought Meghan.
“It’s just kind of blossomed into this thing,” he continued. “We get more and more kids now coming around from St. Joe, Urbana; I mean all over the place. They just want to train with us because we’ve had success.”
Four of the five athletes who started with Cook went on to play at the collegiate level. He’s seen other athletes like Daunte Roberts and Jared Calkins also receive scholarships.
“That’s what I got into it for,” Cook said. “I love watching the kids, and just everybody else, get better.
A Mahomet-Seymour alum, Cook said that establishing his business in his hometown and watching the community grow is important.
“I love the fact that this community is still here,” he said. “You still want to help each other, and if you treat people right, and do what you say you’re going to do, they’re going to be loyal to you.”
Cook isn’t just about helping athletes grow or watching women accomplish things they were unsure of, he’s also sympathetic to the novice or someone who is coming off an injury.
“We’ve got a couple of guys who I’m helping with rehab and stuff like that,” Cook said. “It’s a really cool feeling to watch everybody kind of morph and grow.”
Once clients get past the “honeymoon phase,” Cook wants to make sure they get their money’s worth.
“I expect you to work,” he said. “I expect you to push yourself and give me 100-percent of what you’ve got that day. I’ll take it as long as you come in and give me what you’ve got.
“I want you to feel like you’re walking out a better person than what you came in. That’s my goal.”
Cook said that’s why he keeps classes small; because he wants to make sure that every member gets a chance to interact with him.
“I’m not doing my job if you haven’t had a conversation with me or if we haven’t worked on something together,” he said.
Members of Pain and Victory Gym can expect to set goals, do circuit training: get some cardio in and lift a lot of free weights.
“Free weights and barbell is going to be the best way to hit your fitness goals, and also build bone density and stabilize muscles.
Cook said the circuit will depend on the member’s goals, though.
A married couple came to Cook with their goal to lose weight last year. With training, together they lost several dozen pounds.
“It’s not just a powerlifters gym,” Cook said. “It’s literally for everybody. We’ve got all kinds of class times. It’s just a family gym where you can crank the music up, and you don’t have to worry.”
