Onelife Fitness - Norfolk Gym — Attraction in Norfolk

The short version: this one life could be great but it just seems like staff doesn’t care unless you’re a personal training client. Their equipment in their function training area is often broken or close to it or missing. They do get two stars because their locker rooms are always clean, There are some friendly staff, and the added space itself is really awesome when I don’t need the equipment that’s broken. I have also already addressed this directly with Petra the GM a couple months ago but nothing seems to have changed or improve so that is why I’m now posting a review here.

More details: This One Life could be really awesome but unfortunately just falls short. I frequently work out at the two in Newport News and this one in Norfolk. I was extremely excited when I realized that Norfolk added a huge space for functional style fitness but it’s so frustrating when half of the equipment on the floor is broken or almost broken/not taken care of at all or missing from the floor. For example, I filled out a private survey and was contacted by the GM immediately to get further info which is great but one of the things we discussed how one concept 2 rower is broken and the other Is on its last leg. She said she would have the broken one removed and the other looked at. Nothing has changed with those rowers - why even have them on the floor? The part that I really just can’t get past is the fact that they have awesome equipment blocked off for only use of private training clients (both in NN have their private training clients on the floor with everyone else which is my opinion is awesome because there’s always staff on the floor with all members). The equipment that is blocked off actually works and even has things like the ski erg that isn’t available anywhere else! Why post a sign in the front of the gym with new equipment they were able to purchase (the ski erg was on this list) when the normal members don’t even have access to it!! The most frustrating part is when I talked to the personal trainers as to why that area is blocked off for normal members and that the other equipment barely works their response was “yeah stuff just gets broken from people not treating it right so that’s just what everyone is stuck with” - Don’t get me wrong I completely understand that with amount of people using it it gets wear and tear and you can’t always control every member and the way they use It. BUT Why not staff that expansion side with a floater who can make sure things are being used appropriately?! There is always multiple staff just standing around by the front desk. In the 3 days a week i work out there in the afternoon i RARELY ever see staff on that side of building. If you have that big of a space that A TON of people use why would you not have staff over there consistently?! I have even asked the front desk if they have certain equipment and where it would be and their response was “I’m not sure, maybe upstairs”. How about I’m not sure let me ask someone who would know or let’s go see if this is what you’re looking for. Instead they just dismissed my question with an I don’t know. It just seems like staff doesn’t really care and if you’re not a personal training client you don’t...

i like this one. slowly but surely getting more comfortable after switching from planet fitness. vibe is different but you know everyone’s putting in the work and is focused. i went with the second option for a plan and it does lock you in for a year but thats fine with me. i also do personal training once a week for 30 mins, which locks you in for six months, but it’s a good way to get that consistency going if you need a push.

it’s not necessarily always busy busy busy but theres always people there. obviously, i find slow times are in the morning around the time most people are at work and then late night when most people are in bed. even then, still always gonna have some folks pumping iron or on the cardio machines (which there arent a boat load of) but after going at both times, i prefer early morning and i never have a problem getting in a workout.

locker rooms are good with showers, sauna, toilet stalls, and lockers. this location isnt necessarily as big as the other ones feel overall but it still has three levels and lots of equipment.

front desk is always nice and typically always say hello. and if you need help finding something, they’ll assist. i also like how they have a larger two hour parking lot next door (i didnt notice for about a month which was my silly mistake but that would be great to hear on a tour of the facility).

my biggest recommendations might be to turn the overall gym music down just a notch or two, but i generally like the music played. it would be fine to hear if you forgot headphones or they die. and i also wish it was a lot colder. i wear a sports bra and shorts and i still find myself getting warmer than i’d like during my workouts. it really hits me when im resting between sets but some areas do have large ceilings fans. i know the seasons are changing right now (Oct/Nov 2024) but i would rather come in cold and feel good as i workout than come in warm and get hotter as i workout. i also wish the single person bathrooms were a tad cleaner but some have showers so i think that just is what it is.

but overall great and highly recommend working out here or switching from a...

Unprofessional and deceitful.

I joined Onelife specifically for personal training. Though when I came in to talk about it, they told me I couldn’t speak to a personal trainer about pricing until I was a member and that the sessions are “$20-$40 each”. That red flag should’ve been enough to turn me away. Then, on my tour of the facility, I specifically asked if the InBody analyses are free with the membership (after the two included in the SmartStart). I was told yes, the InBody analyses are included in the membership. Great.

So, I come in to talk with the personal training manager, and she tells me they aren’t free. As far as personal training goes, the cheapest personal training sessions they have are $45 for 30 minutes, buying dozens of them at a time… which is nowhere near the $20-40 sessions that the membership manager was talking about. Then I receive a phone call saying I misunderstood what was said because they never told me those things, which is just a flat out lie.

Setting all of this aside, trying to make the best of the one-year trap I got sucked into, I agreed to set up a 30-minute appointment with a personal trainer to see if our styles would mesh well together. Our appointment was for 8am this morning. I showed up at 7:55am and waited until after 8:10am. She never showed up.

I sent a message to the PT manager and she said “oh there’s been a misunderstanding” with no further elaboration. Yes, seems there have been a LOT of misunderstandings at Onelife Norfolk. I am now in the process of attempting to cancel and refund this membership, just a complete waste of my time and money. Very disappointed in the lack of professionalism and the outright lies told to people to get...