Oakland Health and Performance Center

Amazing Health Club!
I started going to the Dimond Health Club for a little bit more than a month now. I got into a bicycle accident a year ago and I’m starting to get back into fitness. While shopping for a gym, I was debating between my old gym 24 Hour Fitness, the new Planet Fitness up the block and here at the Dimond Health Club.
While this place is considered ‘cozy’ versus the others, it houses everything I need or would want to use. 24 was just a tad outta my area and Planet fitness was a joke, lacking in the some basic equipment, and the staff was completely unprofessional and was downright rude.
The Dimond Health Club has been steadily improving their gym, with the recently expanded hours to open the entire time on M-​F from 6am till 8pm which is perfect for me when I want to get a workout before or after work, to adding new equipment like that of the Jacob’s Ladder and a punching bag, The Dimond Health Club is becoming a major contender in the area!
The Dimond Health Club is also starting up a new program with Personal Training and Group Classes. I’ve taken 2 group classes with the Head Trainer Nate and it was awesome! He is quite knowledgeable and informative. I got such an effective workout in a short amount of time, the constant feedback and positive motivation really helped me power through!
The entire staff has been quite friendly, helpful and all around great people! They provide friendly service, helpful tips and tricks when working out and the owner, Polo, even spotted me on the bench when I needed it!
I highly recommend this place for anyone and everyone who wants a great experience working out. Lastly, you are supporting a local establishment! Support locally owned businesses!

This place is great. I have to admit that I’m being a little selfish in writing the review — the place seems a little empty and I want to make sure they keep enough members to stay in business. The space is just big enough to be a decent gym. The owner has thought it through carefully and it is a good set of equipment, well-​laid out. They have a variety of aerobic machines (treadmill, stairmaster, rowing, bikes), rubber weights for olympic-​style lifting, leg press, smith press, bench press, dumbbells, and other machines and free weight racks. Polo, the owner, is very responsive and trying very hard to make it a place people want to go. Hamid is the guy there pretty much every morning, very personable and willing to show you how to use a particular piece of equipment. It’s more than the purple corporate-​chain gym in the Laurel, but not that much more (especially if paying for a whole year at once). It’s not crowded and has a informal feel to it but still with good equipment. They just got in a bunch of new equipment and knocked out a wall to make more space for it. Classes supposedly coming soon, along a crossfit kind of lines.

This is my first experience with a local gym after using big box and large university gyms my whole life. It took some getting used to, but I can’t imagine going anywhere else to work out.
The owner, Polo, created this gym specifically because he knew there was a need in the area. And, since he lives nearby, works another full time job, and believes in fitness, he wants to keep the membership within certain numbers and available to folks in the Dimond/​Laurel.
I live a block away and tried out the gym when it was just a few weeks old. After negotiating a monthly rate (yes, Polo let me negotiate the rate, no problem!), I joined the gym and have been a member for over a year since.
Over time, Polo has added equipment to include most everything you would need for a standard gym, from free weights to multi-​purpose machines and cardio equipment. The Jacob’s Ladder is one of the best pieces of equipment to maximize a cardio workout in a small amount of time.
The staff are always friendly and responsive and will show you how to properly work with any of the equipment or suggest a routine for you to meet your goals. The gym is never crowded and I rarely have to wait to use any equipment. If something needs servicing, they make sure to replace it or have it fixed quickly.
I began to encourage my wife to visit, and after one session with Polo training her on various weights she decided to join. Polo, being the fantastic person he is, allowed her to join for FREE since I was such a loyal member (although I doubt this is firm policy and I do not endorse Polo this policy for anyone else so that the gym can keep making money and stay open. I’m very selfish :).
All in all, I hope this place sticks it out since it works out so perfectly for many of us.

This is a simple, straight-​forward, CLEAN, locally-​owned neighborhood gym, the kind that the big chains put out of business en masse a while back. The machines and weights are good quality and work well. Even though it’s a small gym, towel service and water are provided. The owner, Polo, is very attentive to members, and very on top of keeping things in working order. No showers or locker rooms, but lockers are available. I usually change in the bathroom. No classes (so far) but the staff are more than happy to help you. Prices are comparable to the big chains. If you just want to work out without all the distractions of TVs, long waits for equipment, and big crowds (looking at you, 24 Hour!), this is for you!

My boyfriend and I have been going to Dimond Health Club for about a month now and feel like we’re getting a great deal. There’s no waiting for machines, it’s quiet and the owner even bought a couple of pieces of equipment that I mentioned I wouldn’t mind seeing there!
The owner is super nice and so are the other staff that work there. The negative review on here is surprising… and really, the rates are very low, so to comparing this locally owned independent gym to a big box gym and feeling the need to negotiate over a few dollars doesn’t make sense to me. Enjoy waiting in lines for equipment at 24 Hour Fitness!
Nice to go to support a local business (and work up a good sweat) where the owner greets you by name when you walk in the door!

I’ve had nothing but positive experiences here so far. After a couple trial days, my husband and I quit our longtime membership at 24 hr fitness and never looked back.
I’ve found the owner and other employees to be totally welcoming. I feel a strong sense of community in there (even though it has never been very full when I’ve gone) which is worth more to me than the amenities I no longer have here (classes, pool, changing room)
Also, the price is great, the equipment is cleaning and in working condition, and there aren’t long lines waiting for cardio machines.
The other review here really surprises me since it is so different than what I’ve witnessed or experienced there.

I give 1 STAR to the Business Owner, NOT the gym. Let me emphasize that. The Gym itself is great. Its got the equipment you need, its a small «cozy» gym, its close to where I live. Overall I GIVE the GYM: 4 STARS.
The Business Owner, however, gets ONE star. I worked out at this gym for free for 2 days, then I was ready to sign up. — I liked it so much, I met a man who lived across the street from the gym, AND I recommended the gym to him: told the man to JOIN the gym. So I was helping promote the gym a little-​bit.
Anyways, get this: I walk in the gym. And I sit down to sign up. I start negotiating a price. He was set on «XX» amount of dollars. And me being a negotiator, I try to negotiate $ 5 lower. Its normal with gyms. And I compared his gym to a larger gym (his gym is smaller, the other gym has classes, etc).
WELL,… apparently the guy took it personally, and he said that I should go to the other gym. I went BACK to the Original amount, and agreed to pay his price price… He would not take it.
He took it SO PERSONALLY, he would not even sign me up if I paid his original price… He said, «you are trying to low-​ball me, and comparing my gym to a big gym»…
DUH… of-​course I’m going to negotiate. That’s most people. ‘Cause most people want to get the lowest price on everything.
I ended up APOLOGIZING to him. I said, «okay, I apologize. I was not trying to low-​ball you». HE STILL WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY BUSINESS, and sign me up.
WOW… I «promoted» his gym a little with the guy across the street, and I apologized, and still refused my business for a measly $ 5 dollars?!!
I’m sorry, but that’s just ridiculous.