Reisterstown Native Eager to Lead New Wellness Clinic

While those New Year’s resolutions of regularly going to the gym and curtailing bad eating habits slowly fade away as February rolls around, one new business—and one energetic woman—is dead set on keeping you healthy and feeling good about yourself all year long.  

Full Stride Wellness, which opened this past Sunday, is headed up by Reisterstown native Jennifer Cook, a certified athletic trainer and licensed healthcare provider who is fully intent on making her clinic the one-stop shop for everything health related.

From sports massage and relaxation therapy to dieting tips and athletics tournaments Cook believes there’s something out there that everyone can use to improve their wellbeing. And, in a society where spending leisure time in an active way is all too often replaced with behinds stuck on couches and eyes glued to televisions, she’s looking to give individuals that extra boost to live a healthier life.

With almost a decade of experience in different wellness fields, Cook is amped to spread her message throughout the community.

“Every aspect that I’ve gained—whether it’s through sports rehabilitation, on field coverage, emergency care, education for disease prevention, safety in strength and conditioning, dietary concerns—every aspect I’ve learned; every little bit has come together to help me create this,” said Cook, who earned her bachelor’s degree  in athletic training and her master’s health administration.

“I’m catering to pretty much everybody out there in the public. I feel like I can reach a lot of people.”

On site, Full Stride Wellness offers numerous types of massage techniques, including cancer and prenatal therapy, from trained professionals.

“Massage therapy isn’t just a feel good experience,” Cook said. “There are a lot of physiological benefits that go along with it too that a lot of people just don’t know about. It’s a healthy activity and it feels fantastic.”

The clinic also plans on offering sports tournaments for adults and skill camps for youths in a variety of sports such as softball, tennis, soccer, football and lacrosse. For almost all of those sports, Cook is encouraging anyone with any interest to give it a chance, emphasizing that talent is not required to participate.  

By providing a multitude of options, she’s banking on individuals—young and old—finding something they enjoy.

“A lot of people have the misconception that exercise is a drag. It’s a bore, it’s a chore—that’s not true,” Cook said. “Just because you didn’t like the one thing you did doesn’t mean you can’t try something else.”

Wearing a wide grin while talking about her new endeavor, Cook is anticipating that her upbeat attitude and energetic persona will help attract others to her business and get them to start thinking what changes can be made en route to a healthier life.  

“I know the passion that I have for what I’m doing and I know the energy that I have for what I’m doing,” Cook said. “I would love for people to come in and understand, hey she’s really excited about this, she’s really passionate about this. Let’s find out why. Let’s learn from her and find out why she’s so excited about this.”