Fit4life Health Clubs - Wilmington Shipyard — Local services in Wilmington

I was looking to join a gym after about a 7 year hiatus from lifting weights. I had been doing bodyweight exercises in my house but my home workout area has been recently consumed by my granddaughters gear. For those in the know, baby's require many contraptions, toys, play pens, play areas, etc. It's all good and I'm fortunate to be able to host my first grandchild. Anyhow, Fit4Life was the 3rd gym I visited in my immediate area. As soon as I walked in and looked to the left, I knew this was my place. While most gyms have enough cardio machines to consume a majority of the available gym floor space, F4L takes the opposite approach. Most of their floor space consists of quality workout machines, and more importantly to me, a massive free weight area. They have about 7 squat racks against one wall and plenty of benches, barbells, dumbells, and plates of all denominations. And, they are open 24 hours! That might not be a big deal to many people but if ever i need some peace and quiet away from home, I can pack a cooler of drinks, head to the gym, watch a little TV, shower if I need to, and head back home - any time of day or night. I don't even have to work out. It's sort of a local detached man cave for me. It's a good place. UPDATE: After a full year, I still think it's a great gym. However, they seem to have a staff retention problem. This may be industry-wide and not just specific to this gym, not sure. Additionally, they do not hold their members accountable for "trashing the place". Sometimes , weights are strewn all over the place, empty beverage bottles left on the floor along with tissues, paper towels, etc. Barbells and machines are overloaded with plates. I've brought the situation to their attention and of course, there are excuses. Forget the excuses and hold these slobs accountable. Yet there are signs saying if you're caught personal training others, your membership will be revoked. What about if you're caught being a slob? UPDATE#2 I must say, the most recent renovation (4/28/2025) to Fit4Life is awesome! They bumped out a wall, put all the dumbbells and many benches in their own room. Plus, they've added some excellent Hammer Strength Machines and other brands with some appearing to be new. They have also doubled up on the more popular machines like Hammer Strength ISO Wide Chest. Plus, they've added more Universal/ Cable Stations. Nicely done Fit4Life. It's like a whole new gym. Can't give it 5 stars because upper management needs to better communicate with its members. They had shut down during the renovation and told us to visit any of the other gyms in the area to workout. They neglected to tell us that the Kerr Ave branch would be shutting It's doors the Friday the renovations were happening. I stroll into the Kerr Gym on Friday while practically every machine was being loaded onto trucks and nobody was around.So, I made the trip to Murrayville which by the way is a great looking gym too. UPDATE #3: How I look forward to visiting Fit4Life. What an escape! This place is huge. It's got everything anyone would need and plenty of it. Additionally, management has been communicating much better. Fit4Life is a great place to workout. Now if only the late nighters or super early gym goers would re-rack their plates. You know who you are...the guy that loads up 5 45 lb plates on either side of a leg press and just walks away after...

I’ve never felt like I’ve needed to leave a review before, But I think I need to. Since Fit4Life has taken over they’ve become much more focused on money and numbers OVER the gym and the members. I’ve known so many that have been a part of this gym over the years that have left because of this. And it’s such a sad thing to see as this has been a home to most of us for many years, the gym floor has turned into the Wild Wild West, there is no code of conduct enforced like in the past. They did bring in a lot of needed good equipment, but then removed some good equipment that we had, as well as removing so much of the good cardio equipment and kept the old ones which are the ones that break so often. Which is another issue having equipment broken for weeks before it’s fixed, you guys need to train on set staff with their own tools to fix equipment. And if something breaks have the head mechanic order the part to ship to the gym.

But I did notice that over the past few months that Nate has been pretty much holding this gym together! From what most of us see he is one of the hardest workers you have and definitely a natural leader, from what many of us see it’s almost like he’s the manager holding the gym together, I see that man doing many different jobs, he cares for this him and wants it to do well. And the few days he was on vacation the gym was a mess and felt like it was falling apart. But one of the main problems is all of Fit4Life’s red tape that prioritize money and numbers over the gym and its members.

Which brings me to my last mention, Martha has been the heart and soul of this gym at shipyard forever, and this gym without Martha isn’t the same. Even if it’s just weekend shifts, Martha is worth more to the gym and the members than any 3 employees you could hire. Members will increase, desk sales will increase, with Martha there people will come! I know many that have come back when she came back and with her gone I know many left!

But bottom life for Fit4Life as a whole they need to prioritize the gym and its members OVER sales and numbers. Things were great during the Golds era, then O2 came and did something like this and made the gym not fun, then TruFit came and brought back Golds.. but after turning to Fit4Life it fell back worse than O2! It’s like watching your favorite small YouTuber channel and then see them grow and then sellout, and that’s honestly what this feels like.

Hope this helps any! And you should highly consider Nate as a GM, he is highly passionate and ambitious for fitness! As well as bringing Martha back which will heavily boost moral with the gym members and her years of knowledge could help your staff moral; There is NO ONE that knows this gym and it’s members and community as well As Martha and it’s such a shame to not utilize such a viable person, if you’re truly wanting to build this gym and increase its...

If you’re not a parent, keep scrolling.

The gym itself is great, with plenty of equipment, and despite it feeling a little crammed, it works. However, my issue lies with the communication, and the Kid’s Zone. The hours clearly state on the website and within gym signage that the Kid’s Zone opens at 8 AM at all locations. Our home gym is the Shipyard location, and their Kid’s Zone is closed this week. It wasn’t until after I arrived on Monday morning and spoke with the front desk associate (who is so friendly, and honestly the best) that a notice was sent out on the app stating that it was closed. This lack of timely communication is frustrating for parents who rely on this service.

On Monday, we left Shipyard and went to the Murrayville location, where we had a great experience. However, on Tuesday, when I returned to Shipyard, the Kid’s Zone was closed again with no prior notice. Despite there being five employees in a meeting, including who I understand to be the district manager, none of them were available to help in the Kid’s Zone. This reflects a “that’s not my job” attitude instead of realizing that stepping in where needed could greatly benefit the gym and its members.

Today, Wednesday (knowing that Shipyard is closed) I arrived at Murrayville at 9:40 AM, and not a single staff member was behind the desk. The Kid’s Zone was completely empty with the lights off, and the only employee I saw was a personal trainer working with a client. Other parents had also arrived before me and were waiting with their kids, too. Thinking maybe the front desk or Kid’s Zone staff was in the bathroom, I waited with my 4-year-old. I even called the gym three times, hoping that someone would hear the phone and come to the front, but that wasn’t the case. After waiting for an extended period with no one showing up, it became clear that this was not an isolated incident but a systemic issue. This could have been completely avoided had a notice been sent out that the Kid’s Zone opening would be delayed.

Overall, the gym's facilities are excellent, and the staff, when present, is friendly. However, the staff's lack of communication and unwillingness to step in where needed significantly detracts from the experience. Parents rely on the Kid’s Zone to maintain their fitness routines, and the current state of affairs makes this extremely difficult. This needs urgent improvement to not only meet the needs of parent members but also for the business to keep its word and uphold a major membership selling point for prospective members with children.

There are plenty of other gyms in the area that also offer childcare, and if I hadn’t paid for my membership for the entire year in advance, this would be my cancellation notice. I’d even be willing to pay extra for this service if it meant consistent employees who are compensated enough to ensure...