Our Story
THIS IS THE HOUSE
Hey — I am Mike. I built The House. This is what we are, what we stand for, and what to expect the day you walk in.
Where it started
IT STARTED IN A GARAGE.
A one-car apartment garage that would not fit my truck. So it became a gym instead.
From May of 2016 I coached out of it from five in the morning to six at night, five days a week.
Everything The House does now was worked out in that room first — how we coach, how the programming is built, and why we keep the rooms small enough to know everybody in them.
What this is
A STRENGTH GYM BUILT AROUND COACHING.
The House is small group strength and conditioning. Every session is programmed. Every session is coached. The rooms are kept small enough that whoever is coaching knows your name and knows what you are working around.
We are not a class you survive. There is no leaderboard, no screen with your name on it, and nothing here that only works if you are already fit.
Three houses — Portland, Bend and Redmond. Same method, same standard, same room.
Where it is now
THREE HOUSES, TEN YEARS.
None of it happened fast. That was the point.
Ten years, three rooms. None of it fast. That is the same thing we are asking of you — build it on purpose, and build it to last.
What makes it different
NOT BECAUSE THE FITNESS INDUSTRY NEEDED ANOTHER GYM. BECAUSE IT NEEDED A DIFFERENT KIND OF GYM.
The House was built around three questions.
How should people work out?
Not just hard. Intentionally. With a structure that prepares the body before loading it, and a reason behind every session.
How should working out feel?
Not like punishment. Like something you want to do, because you leave feeling better than when you walked in.
How should people feel after?
Strong. Capable. Like their body is on their side, and like they are building something that will serve them for years.
Those three questions became The House Method, The House Way, and The House Experience. Everything we do is the answer to them — starting with how we train.
In the room
COACHED, NOT COUNTED.
Every session here is coached. Not called out from the front of the room and counted — coached. Someone watches your reps, fixes your position while you are still in it, and sets your load against where you actually are today.
Form first is not a beginner rule here. It is the standard at every weight, for everybody. The strongest person in the room gets corrected the same as the person on day one.
The rooms are small on purpose. Small enough that we know your name, know what you are training around, and notice when you are not in it.
You will never do a session here without knowing why you are doing it. If you cannot hear the reason, we have not done our job.
In the programming
YOU WILL NEVER WONDER WHY.
Twelve weeks, four phases — stability, then strength, then power, then strength endurance. We build in that order because it is the order a body takes it well. Each phase sets up the next, so you finish a cycle stronger than you started it rather than worn down by it.
Every session gives you time to warm up properly, twice. The first round wakes things up. The second prepares the exact movements you are about to do. By the time there is weight in your hands, your body already knows what is coming.
Everybody in the room is doing the same workout. Your weights are your own. Every movement has a version that fits where you are today, and plenty of good sessions here start with an empty barbell.
Three days a week is a complete week of training — it is written to add up whether you make three or six. There is nothing to catch up on, and nobody keeping score.
What we stand for
SIX THINGS WE BELIEVE ABOUT TRAINING PEOPLE.
None of these ideas are complicated. Following through on them every day, in every class, is. That discipline is what The House is built on.
What that looks like
“When I relayed the news of canceling my membership they simply said ‘No.’ It was obvious that I needed help, and without hesitation they helped me by allowing me to continue with my membership until I got back on my feet.”
Nick L.
In Mike’s words
“IT IS A PERSONAL TRAINING SESSION THAT HAPPENS TO HAVE TWENTY PEOPLE IN IT.”
Everybody does the same workout. Nobody does the same weights. In a room small enough that we notice when you are not in it.
If that sounds right to you — you are in the right place.
Mike — MVT, Founder, The House Gyms