Today, Craig Ranch Fitness + Spa is the industry’s only well-being integrated fitness club, a stunning facility standing on eight acres in the heart of Craig Ranch, McKinney. But casual guests may not expect how much of that mission is etched on the club’s DNA, born of and driven by the ideals of local innovators.

Before we were Craig Ranch Fitness + Spa, we were an exciting expansion of the industry-leading Cooper Institute.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, founder of the Institute, creator of Aerobics, and father of the modern fitness industry, opened the legendary Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas in 1970, creating a hub of health and fitness services, care, and research. Nearly 40 years later, Cooper considered opening a second fitness center and spa. Where? David Craig’s master-planned community, Craig Ranch.

The southwest McKinney development was designed to provide homeowners everything they needed not far from their front lawn. With more than 2,000 acres of homes, parks, shops, restaurants, businesses, and medical offices, the community explicitly promoted a health-conscious lifestyle and encouraged residents to exercise daily by walking where they needed to go.

That vision — health as an everyday priority — resonated with the Cooper Institute. So, on April 1, 2006, the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch opened its doors at 7910 Collin McKinney Parkway.

Over the years, we’ve encountered our own evolutions, from new partners and programs to welcoming a name change and new management team in 2017.

But through it all we have always been what our roots would suggest. We are promoters of healthy, fit, nutritious lifestyles that lead guests to greater happiness, stability, and control of their lives. We are supporters of living that lifestyle on a daily basis. And we are, at our core, part of your neighborhood. We’re the fitness club down the block, your home away from home.

We are not simply a space where you can get well. We are a place where you can be well.