Strength Haüs, Philly’s Outdoor Kettlebell Group, Is Moving Into a Brick-and-Mortar Gym
Starting January 1st, Strength Haüs will run strength and conditioning classes, semi-private and personal training, and open gym inside South Philly's Juniper Muay Thai.
Strength Haüs, Philly’s outdoor kettlebell group that started in 2020, will begin operating out of a South Philly gym in January 2023. / Photograph courtesy of Strength Haüs
In its two years of operation, Strength Haüs — the collective of strength trainers teaching people of all fitness levels to become more comfortable with kettlebell-centric workouts — has achieved a lot. From hosting donation-based outdoor classes every Sunday across the city in the middle of the pandemic to winning a Best of Philly in 2021, Strength Haüs has never stopped reminding us all that “exercise is not a punishment but a celebration of our incredible human ability,” in the words of co-founder Jon Lyons.
And at the start of the new year, the group will continue its evolution by shifting all classes indoors. That’s right: Strength Haüs is getting a permanent home!
Starting January 1st, Strength Haüs will operate out of a 1,300-square-foot facility inside South Philly gym Juniper Muay Thai. The kettlebell crew’s signature Sunday workouts aren’t going anywhere, so don’t fret — there’ll be $5 community sessions every Sunday at noon. Strength Haüs will also introduce three brand new classes: Kettlebell Strength & Conditioning (KBSC), good for all levels; Swing School, a beginner-friendly and -focused foundations class; and Advanced Kettlebells, which is appropriate for seasoned cast-iron slingers as there’ll be heavy lifts and demanding circuits. Swing School will be held every Saturday at 10:15 a.m., while KBSC and Advanced will take place daily, with morning, lunchtime, and evening times available.
In addition to group workouts, you can sign up for semi-private (capped at six people) and personal training totally customized by the badass instructors. You’ll utilize every part of the facility — squat racks, deadlift platforms, sleds, assault bikes, TRX, and more — to help you get the most out of your session and increase your strength every time you visit. If you want to use the equipment on your own, that’s cool, too. Open gym — limited to eight people per session — will be held every 75 minutes from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and every 75 minutes from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Some other key things to keep in mind: Outside shoes are not permitted on the studio floor, so come prepared to work out in socks, barefoot, or “in footwear that doesn’t have Philly all over the bottom of it,” per the Strength Haüs team. Chalk is permitted, as long as you clean up after yourself. Drop-in (IRL and virtual!) and membership options are available, so you can decide what works best for you.
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Lyons tells me that the Strength Haüs team had been toying with the idea of moving into an indoor space since the beginning of this year. “It was absolutely wild [to us] that people continued to show up en masse in the blistering heat or freezing cold — even in the snow — to work out, but we realized that this would be tough for a lot of people who maybe wanted to show up but the weather or location might have been a barrier,” he says. “We would have brought these workouts indoors from the start, but had opted to do the outdoor thing due to public safety and social distancing with the pandemic.”
Then, an opportunity with Juniper presented itself. Lyons, who trains at the South Philly gym, asked owners Joe Logan and George Pitsakis if they knew of any potential spots — they told him Juniper was planning to expand and asked if Lyons wanted to be part of it. “It was a no-brainer,” Lyons says. “The culture that Joe and George created aligns with everything that I believe in. They’re firm and gritty, but in a deeply empathetic way … because they sincerely want you to grow and succeed. Their culture of inclusivity and togetherness is undeniable and impossible to ignore, and they’re exactly the type of people I would go into business with.”
Plus, Lyons says having a brick-and-mortar is a physical manifestation of the tenets Strength Haüs is founded on: that “strength is a super power, and that health and wellness isn’t reduced down to a specific “look” or “aesthetic” but a form of self-expression — a sustainable lifestyle.”
You can find the full class schedule and pricing information here. Get ready for January; we know we are!
Strength Haüs Studios is located at 2019 South Juniper Street (inside Juniper Muay Thai) in South Philly.
