This gym has so much potential, but it needs some refreshments. As a 5+ year bodybuilder and…read moreathlete, I've been to my fair share of gyms, ranging from basic $10/month facilities to high-end luxury gyms and D1 college weight rooms. I've seen the many aspects that make a gym great. We can evaluate a gym across seven different categories: organization, cleanliness, environment, staff, cardio, weight machines & free weights, and price. I'll rank these on a scale of 1-10 for Powerhouse.
First, I'll start with my personal Powerhouse story. Coming home from my first year of college playing water polo and lifting at a high level, it was a battle to find a gym that could fit my needs without charging crazy start-up or cancellation fees. I stumbled upon Powerhouse. Since it's about 10-ish minutes from my house, I purchased a 3-month membership for the summer. I have been training here for 2-3 weeks while dealing with the loss of my grandfather and uncle. I want to see this gym transform into the facility I know it can be, so here are my honest reviews for each category.
Organization: 5/10
The weight machines and cardio sections are good and fit my needs, but when it comes to the free weight and plate-loaded machine section, Powerhouse lacks significantly. The plates, barbells, and dumbbells are mismatched and all over the place. The quality of these is nice, but they need organization. Keep the rubber/rubber-coated plates with the leg machines, and the metal plates for the benches and plate-loaded machines. The mismatched plates cause confusing unevenness and can lead to injuries. Personally, I love the T-bar row and leg curl, but they are weirdly placed in a corner. They are very close to other equipment and lack mirrors to check your form.
This brings up another issue: the lack of mirrors. I understand not leaning too heavily into the new-age "mirror maze" aesthetic, but they are needed in certain areas, especially here. There are big mirrors lining the functional fitness zone, but they have thick frames and don't connect. It seems like for each piece of equipment in that area, your reflection is cut off by the mirror frames, and you can't fully see what you are doing. This can cause injuries. I believe connecting the mirrors, or adjusting the equipment so it aligns properly with them, would transform this gym. Also, there are a couple of staff rooms taking up a lot of space, yet there are barely any staff members around.
Cleanliness: 3/10
This is where Powerhouse falls incredibly short. The gym has a significant smell that I'm developing nose blindness to. This could easily be fixed with air fresheners and a good floor/carpet cleaning, which would help attract more customers and prevent current members from canceling. The locker rooms are relatively clean, but in the men's room, the toilet stall door has giant gaps and a large hole where a lock presumably used to be. This needs to be fixed ASAP.
Additionally, a lot of the attachments and handles are sticky. I'm not sure if this is from chalk or the grips deteriorating, but it's a major turn-off. I shouldn't have to clean my hands constantly just so they aren't disgusting. The locker room also frequently lacks paper towels, and the garbage can is usually full to the brim with a broken lid. This just makes members feel repulsed in a place that's supposed to be clean.
Environment: 7/10
The environment here is pretty good. The people seem friendly and are dedicated to fitness. However, one small issue is the small group of members who take up multiple machines at once. With the minimal equipment available, it gets difficult to use something when you constantly have to guess if someone is actively using it or not.
Equipment & Staff
This leads us into the next category: equipment. The cardio machines seem to be pretty good; they are basic but get the job done. Pretty much all the machines here are like that. Some of the equipment is very good, but much of it is lacking grips or deteriorating. Instead of feeling cool and old-school, it just creates uncomfortable workouts and sticky hands. This is especially prevalent with the cable attachments and plate-loaded machines. This gym could benefit from replacing small things like that, or even just using the old-school "tape-it-up" method.
The staff here are very friendly and helpful, but a gym like this desperately needs them to be cleaning and organizing equipment on the hour rather than sitting at the desk.
Price
I'd say the price here is fair. As I mentioned, I'm only here for three months, and finding even a basic gym that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg was almost impossible. I paid a one-time $230 fee, and I feel like that's fair.
Summary
To summarize and keep this brief, even though there is more to be said: Powerhouse has so much potential, and they are making improvements every time I come in. I believe this gym could be great if the owners and staff make the right choices.
