Some
gyms have more than good equipment and atmosphere, some gyms have history.
Total Fitness Health Club on Kennedy Blvd in North Bergen is one of those
places. However, few are aware that the gym began its existence as the Atlas
Health Club in Jersey City.
Jersey City has always been a
tough city; it is a place where you had to be strong as well as street smart in
order to survive. In the 1950’s, Jersey City was a working class neighborhood. Many of the residents supported themselves and their families by working in the
various factories located downtown (including Colgate). These jobs were very
physical, so it was rare that a hardworking man would spend what little leisure
time they had performing what was in a sense, more manual labor. And yet,
people were beginning to realize the importance of having a strong, healthy
body. In 1958, a new type of gymnasium
opened up in the heights section of Jersey City on the corner of Charles Street
and Central Avenue. The gym provided
residents with a venue to participate in a relatively new hobby: bodybuilding.
The name of the gym was The Atlas Health Club and it was started in 1958 by Don Andretta and Denie Walters (a teenager at the time). The Atlas Health Club was one of the first
true bodybuilding gyms in the USA; early on it attracted many local
competitive bodybuilders. The Atlas quickly became known as the place to train.
One early Atlas member was future Mr. New Jersey Mike Romagnola.
The Atlas
Health Club (and bodybuilders in general) had a strong sense of community as
well as camaraderie not often found in today’s gyms. John Kemper, Serge Nubret and Harold Poole (see images below) all hit the iron at the Atlas.
According
to Mike Romagnola, there were quite a few interesting occurrences that took place
at The Atlas Health Club. One infamous incident involved a lifter performing
barbell squats. Apparently, when the lifter unracked the weight, the floor
collapsed and sent the lifter and the barbell down into the store below,
leaving a hole in the floor that was promptly covered up by carpeting. The hole
in the floor remained until the gym relocated directly across the street above
the post office. In the Atlas’ new
location at 392 Central Ave, a sauna was added and the gym was split over 2
floors, which enabled Don Andretta to purchase more equipment since he now had
more space.
Mike Romagnola performing lat pulldowns at the 2nd location of The Atlas Health Club
In
1966, Denie Walters left The Atlas to open up his own gym in Downtown Jersey
City. Even though Denie was no longer was involved in the Atlas’ daily
operations, Denie still used the gym to photograph several bodybuilders including Mike Romagnola and Serge Nubret, for magazines such as Muscle Training Illustrated.
Sometime
in the early 70’s, Don Andretta relocated The Atlas a second time to 623
Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, New Jersey where it was renamed Total
Fitness Health Club. Amazingly, Don continued running the gym until 1998 when
his son Don Jr. took over and still operates it to this day.
Stepping
into Total Fitness Health club in the present day, you will notice that the
facility is refreshingly old school, complete with equipment from legendary
manufacturers such as TK star, York, Atlantis, Nautilus, Cybex and Flex. Total
Fitness Health Club has some longtime members that remember the facility in its
former incarnation as The Atlas on Central Ave. The fact that Total Fitness has
managed to retain some members for such a long time is a testament to the gym’s
exceptional customer service.
In
today’s ever changing fitness landscape, it's refreshing to see a small, old
school facility Like Total Fitness remain true to its roots as a serious, bare
bones neighborhood gym.
One final note, if you count its time as The Atlas, Total Fitness Health Club is 57 years old, making it one of the oldest gyms in the country.
