From their 40s into their 70s, Linda Smith and Lee Shuster’s involvement in the PEAK Health and Fitness Program at the University of Utah has been an important part of their lives. PEAK classes have helped to keep them physically, socially, and mentally active for almost 25 years.
“I think exercising with other people is a real motivator,” said Smith. She added that “It is much easier to get up and go exercise when you are doing it in a class with people you know rather than if you have to do it all alone.”
Smith, a retired U of U law professor and Shuster, her husband, a retired IT service engineer with the university, started attending early morning circuit training and cycling classes at PEAK back in 1999.
The classes bring people from every corner and walk of life on the university campus together. The workouts build community between people who might never otherwise cross paths.
“Having Lee and me both do the classes, one person can’t decide to sleep in because the other will say, ‘No, we both need to get up and go.’ Then, you also have people you are going to see at the class who are fun to interact with,” said Smith.
“You get a wide range of people in the classes. Right now, our circuit training class has two doctors, one who is a senior pediatrician at the U, and three of us are retired. There is a woman who used to be a researcher and worked at the Veteran’s Administration in a heart research lab. She also happens to be our neighbor,” said Smith.
U of U employee fitness classes have been a popular and integral piece of the PEAK program since its inception. They are most often taught by undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Health. Since Traci Thompson, MS, ACSM, HFD, CSCS, became director of PEAK in 2001, she has expanded class and program offerings.
“Traci (Thompson) and the staff at PEAK do a really good job of helping the student teachers address their weaknesses and maximize their strengths,” said Shuster.
Smith and Shuster remember the dedication and growth of a young man who really developed as a teacher over the course of his education and then employment at PEAK.
“He taught all through the pandemic online and did circuit training at 6:30 in the morning from his porch outdoors while we were home in our TV room doing push-ups and squats or whatever we had to do without weights, and he was great,” recalled Smith.
Shuster agreed. “While some of the students improved and became employees, it is also fun to get new students as teachers. No matter what their background, they each bring something unique to the experience.”
At times, Shuster has even stepped in to use his background as an IT specialist and experience operating audio-visual (AV) equipment to help the student teachers both technically and creatively.
It started with assistance setting up the equipment. And the next thing Shuster knew, he was creating playlists for an audience whose musical tastes span several generations.
“It has always been fun to help with the music playlist aspect of the classes. That’s also what led me into wanting to teach spinning classes because that class is heavily focused on coordinating the music with the routines you are doing on the indoor cycles,” said Shuster.
Over the years, the PEAK classes have supported Smith and Shuster in both their personal and professional lives in ways they might never have expected. Over a decade ago, Smith’s son Greg Kogan, who has Down syndrome, started attending classes with the couple.
“The classes were a way to get my son to exercise after high school because people with Down syndrome often have problems with weight gain. So, getting him into a regular exercise regime was good for him,” said Smith.
Looking back, the couple said they might have expected to move on from the classes after they both retired, but dropping out of the PEAK program would leave a void in their days, especially early mornings. After all, Smith said, “You need to stay active and fit to be happy. And now our Medicare advantage plan pays for it!”