Virgin Active

Affordable gyms around the CBD are hard to find but Virgin Active is definitely one that most can afford.
However it felt more suited for women than men in my opinion. It was a greater «spa» than a gym. The gym equipment were modern and cool but overall did not really have a «flow» if you really knew what you wanted to do. It’s sufficient but still basic.
It’s a cool designer version of a gym rather than one for the hardcore workout addict.

If you like gyms, then perhaps you’ll like Virgin. The price is decent, and the facility is nice enough, I’m just more of a class person, and based on the classes I’ve taken I was not impressed. If you are used to spin classes like Soul Cycle or Fly Wheel or Cru or the numerous other high octane spin classes that are out there, you will walk out of class at Virgin laughing your ass off and real confused. It was honestly the worst spin class I have ever taken in my life. I actually walked out before it was even over, and never broke a sweat. I should’ve known when people we wearing basketball shorts and street shoes. Nope. The playlist was also horrible, with things like chumba wumba playing. I’ve also tried the hot yoga class, and body pump. Both were okay, but with hot yoga if you are used to a serious practice then again meh. I also don’t understand why their hours, but I think that’s a Singapore thing, coming from the US, where gyms are open 24 hours, or at least open at 5a.m. Equipment looks fine, and again if you are looking to just life weights or run on a treadmill, then you’ll probably like the place, but for me, I think I’ll place my account on hold.

It’s a great gym that is incredibly central with modern equipment and clean facilities. The staff is all very kind and helpful and the food and smoothies they serve are quite good. However, the facility is oddly designed, a bit gimmicky and the classes are frustrating to book. If you live or work around One Raffles, it is a no brainer that you should pick up a membership here compared to the other gyms in the immediate vicinity.
Overview
You’re in One Raffles, this is ideal for a gym location if you work or live in the CBD area. After going up the elevator, you are welcomed by a check-​in/​café on the left and the gym itself on the right. This is a 3 level facility with yoga rooms, changing rooms with a steam room and a few gimmicky rooms (ice room, salt room, relaxation lounge that I’ve almost never seen used, etc) on the ground floor. The middle floor has a few modern treadmills and the engaging cycling room. The top floor has all of the floor weights, more treadmills and an open area where many classes are held.
The changing rooms are perfect with plenty of showers and high end product. The clothing they give you to wear is also pretty fitted and nice. They have these relax and recovery zone rooms (ice room, salt room, cold water bucket, aroma shower, etc.) which were really awesome during the tour but ended up being something I almost never used other than the steam room during my membership.
The yoga rooms look like you would expect out of a Virgin or any other high end gym — clean and open. The gym itself has all the best equipment which is one of the other reasons I picked up a membership. Everything in here is modern and you really do have your pick of what you want to use. They also have this modern way of tracking a few numbers with a USB type drive which is cool. The last cool thing is that the memberships are extremely flexible so you can pretty much cancel whenever after a month.
Then comes my irks about the place:
1) They apparently have a lot of classes but the unfortunate reality is that the valuable ones are practically all full most everyday which is a complete joke. One class in particular that I’ve had my eye on for awhile is called HIIT which is High Intensity Interval Training which fills up long in advance. Who the hell plans to do this class days or a week in advance? Classes are meant to be flexible based on work and personal life, yet these classes rarely open up. So say you wake up one day and find you have some extra time and want to take a class… not going to happen. The fact that the team hasn’t expanded this program or others that are always full or done more to figure out this problem (or scheduling) is really frustrating, especially when the marketing push the idea that they have so many classes to choose from. You MIGHT get lucky with a last minute opening but it is very unlikely based on my experience. If you are joining a gym specifically for classes of any type (yoga, cycling, high intensity, etc.), I HIGHLY recommend considering elsewhere with specialized instructors and classes that work to your schedule (e.q. Ritual is down the street for better High Intensity Training).
2) The weight area on the top floor is oddly small, limited and narrow, gets crowded even with only a few people there. I always end up grabbing my weights and bringing them a good walk away from the rack which is really annoying, especially when I need to go heavier or lighter. I don’t at all understand why the weights area was setup to be like this. Not a whole lot of benches to choose from.
3) You are fighting for space during peak hours everyday. Just when you think you found an open space, you’ll find someone with a trainer is doing lunges in your direction. Many gyms are like this, yes, but here in particular it becomes difficult to find your little area of the floor to set up your station.
4) The napping pods are awkward and beat up.
5) Steam room for men is tiny. Who’s idea was it to be that small! And I don’t end up using the other rooms of this place unfortunately and would assume the recovery room, relaxation lounges, ice room and such might be a bit unnecessary for most people.
When all is said and done, Virgin Active is a beautiful top tier gym in a very convenient One Raffles location with enough money to spend for a large ad agency to take care of their promos. The staff is extremely kind and helpful and the equipment is top notch. Unfortunately for me, I feel there is much more real gym value at Pure in Asia Square given how awkwardly designed Virgin is to me and my points above. But totally check it out and see if what you think!

Not just a gym but also a place to work, to eat salads and be part of a very friendly gym.
People generally leave you alone but if you want to chat to another member they will almost always be friendly.
The only gym worth joining.

I love the relaxation and recovery section of Virgin Active. In fact, I think that is the main reason I joined Virgin Active. So 5 stars for that.
Virgin Active is not like any other regular big gyms. Before I signed up for Virgin Active, I was checking out other gyms as I wanted one near my work place. I am not a new user to big gyms and have been a gym go-​er since I was 18 or 19 years old. I have had personal trainers before and more or less know how to work those fitness machines.
The one thing which sets Virgin Active apart is really the «spa-​like» environment of the relaxation and recovery area. Besides focusing on the exercise areas, Virgin Active actually thinks of the post-​exercise area.
The salt room is my favorite place. Somehow the heat (around 38 or 40 degree celsius) relaxes the body further and offers a great respite from the stress of work. I also love the aroma shower where essential oils are released into the atmosphere together with the water. Breathing in the essential oil just calms the mind.
Then if I am adventurous, I will do the «ice bucket» thing. It is actually cold water in a bucket high above. Pull the cord and you get dumped with cold water. So needed during this heatwave. Or I can go to the ice room (actually a cold room with ice chips) to do a cold compress on any achy part on the body or just sit there and literally chill. There is also a steam room if you prefer heat.
There is a smaller lounge with foot bath. Soak your weary feet and read a book. Yes I have done that before. This is also where you can get your nails done or have a back or foot massage and probably facial too. Complimentary too. The challenge is being able to get an appointment. The slots go fast!
The shower rooms are quite tiny but the water pressure is good. And they use Molton Brown products here (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion).
The exercise section is also good, with the latest machines available. Plus the many classes available, including 30 minutes sessions of HIIT and ZUU. I like the power plates too.
I love how Virgin Active has thought of everything. After exercising and relaxing, you could also grab a bite. Salad and wraps and muesli or yogurt by SaladStop. There are complimentary apple and tea or water in the lobby lounge area.
I tried the sleep pod but still think the Salt Room is the better option.
The only thing lacking is free WIFI here. Oh wait, there is free WIFI for members.

Finally, a review I’ve been drafting for months now. You can’t really review a gym after one or two visit, it’s a continuous process. So, after visiting this gym 3 times a week for the past 2 months, I think I’m all ready to give you my take on my second «home» in Singapore located in the heart of Raffles Place.
Virgin Active is pretty cool and smart in their marketing. There are only two outlets in South East Asia — one in Singapore and another one in Bangkok and they don’t do mass marketing unlike other gyms. You can walk in or get a referral invite from an existing member to book for a «gym tour» and try out some of the available classes. The fee is calculated based on every fortnight ($ 80) and one time registration fee is imposed depending on your «contract» –either 6 months or 12 months. That’s all. Simple. You can also freeze your membership if you’re going away and continue anytime when you’re ready.
The work out machines are sophisticated and the best in its range. They’re arranged nicely to maximize the gym floor without making it look too congested and clumsy. On the first floor, you get the reception counter, a couple of track mill and powerplate machines as well as a RPM and workout studio. On the second floor, you have more track mills as well as lifting machines and a decent sized floor space for circuit training. There is also a studio where Zumba is conducted from time to time.
Let’s move on to the classes. They are nothing but fun and motivational enough for you to attend again and again. My favorite are HIIT, body pump, RPM and Grit — a combination of circuit training and weight lifting to build up stamina, strength and endurance all in a complete package. Virgin Active is very famous for its ZUU and recently launched ANKORR classes. ZUU is a group class where everyone mimic the movement of animals (sounds easy until you experience it yourself and you’ll cry the first 10 mins) while ANKORR makes you wear a vest tied to a rubber rope (like bungy jump) while you do «bear crawl» up down and crisscross legs continuously for 20 minutes. Personally speaking, ZUU and ANKORR are both too extreme for beginners. I’ve joined both classes and hated it. Firstly because I can’t cope with the instructor and second, I might have did it wrongly that could lead to potential injury. ZUU is always very pack and the instructor has no time to come and checks on everyone if your posture is right or if you’re doing the right way. I always felt that ZUU and ANKORR should start with Level 1 and then to Advance Class. For those planning to join the different classes, go easy and start slow. You don’t have to impress the hot chick next to you by doing all hardcore exercise. When you’re down with leg cramps or injuries you’re just making a fool of yourself. Always workout at your own pace.
Once you’re done, head down to basement 1 to the recovery floor. There’s salt room where the temperature is set to maintain at certain degrees for you to rest and rejuvenate while lounging at the reclining chair. The room is unisex. There’s also aromatherapy shower, ice and steam room and enough shower cubicles to cater to the peak hour crowd so no queuing or the need to quickly shower and get out.
Virgin Active is the first ever gym I joined since moving to Singapore and I’m loving it! The staffs and instructors are friendly; they address you by name and not making you feel like a complete stranger. They also track your progress to make sure you’re a step closer in achieving your goals. If one of your new year’s resolutions is to stay fit and healthy for 2015 and still undecided which gym to go for, give Virgin Active a try.
Trust me, it will be love at firstsight the minute the elevator open its door revealing this state-​of-​the-​art gym. Time to #eatcleantrainmean!

I’ve always been a bit resistant to the idea of joining a gym. Throughout my youth I’d been involved in various sports (in school), and it didn’t make sense to be paying exorbitant amounts for a facility where all you did was run, when you could do it for free at a park or something.
What changed? Unfortunately, I grew older, left school and the perks of having someone yell at me to exercise for free went away as I entered the working world. And I don’t get my butt moving unless I get shouted at. Yoga lessons were fun for a year, but after I started going for 4, 5 lessons a week, having to pay at least $ 17 per class didn’t make financial sense.
Gyms here generally charge by a per-​week/​month basis, rather than a pay-​per-​use scheme. Perfect if you plan to go regularly. I decided on Virgin Active as it had the best mix of classes (I still need someone to shout at me) for $ 40−45/week (depending on what kind of contract you sign up for). With an additional $ 199 membership fee, it’s a tad pricey, but in the long run I save a significant amount compared to my previous yoga spree.
The equipment is wonderful (the treadmill has a touch screen with an app for you to log in to track your workout, shows, music, even Facebook… Though if you’re well enough to be surfing Facebook obviously you’re not working hard enough), but I’m here for the classes. There’s everything– from HIIT to Zumba to Pilates to Aerial yoga to normal Yoga to Spin class to Zuu and many more. No worries about being bored with classes here! And the equipment is top-​notch throughout.
So far I’ve been religious in attending HIIT classes, where you go all crazy intense on various stations for 30mins– supposedly a very effective, efficient workout. My instructors have been friendly and motivational and I do feel a sense of achievement at the end of the class. And I have seen abs starting to appear! After 2 lessons!
I tried Zuu out yesterday. It’s a 45min session based on animal movements and feels like a mix of drama class (imagine 30 people doing bear crawls and cobra slithers in a large room) and crazy cardio. I thought HIIT was intense but this was… Whoa. There went my breakfast and lunch. But while you’re sweating buckets, there’s the instructors and everyone else in the class motivating you, high fives and all, and a lovely sense of camaraderie. That was a torturous workout but I’m definitely going back. (Virgin active is the only gym in Singapore that offers Zuu classes)
No regrets joining this gym, so go on, take a tour (unfortunately they don’t give free trials unless you know a member) — you’ll be convinced!

Only one location at the moment but oh, what a great location — if you work in the Raffles Place vicinity! They just celebrated their one year anniversary in the month of October 2014. The crowd is still relatively manageable at the moment… hoping that they open another location before the gym feels like a market.
Apart from that, I gotta say I love this gym! Trust Richard Branson and his Virgin brand to create something special in the fitness industry — you certainly will be pleasantly surprised. This gym has incredible variety in terms of exercise, classes, and equipment. Everything is cutting-​edge.
Plus, there are special areas within the 3 floors that make this an overall holistic health-​focused modern gym. I won’t spoil the surprises for you but I’m confident that you’ll be impressed with the special areas and the special effort they’ve put into this place to make it somewhere you’d want to come by whenever you can. Simply put, the gym has everything you could possibly want.
So if you find yourself in this area quite often and you have health-​and-​fitness goals, come by for a visit. Let them know you’re a friend of mine, my gym ID#10 018 379
Unlike other gyms, you can’t have a complimentary visit-​and-​try. So the only way is to register on their website and have one of their staff contact you, or have a friend connect you. So I’m doing this for you guys and gals in the Unilocal community:)
Enjoy!
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Virgin Active is truly a spectacular gym in layout and features. It’s huge, has great new equipment, and during my visit the gym was not too busy or crowded to make it uncomfortable. The best are all the small little touches around the whole gym, and the relaxation areas in the back with steam rooms, ice rooms, rest rooms, scented showers, all very decadent.
So why a 2 star review? I have ended up joining their competitor after my evaluation, and walked away very disappointed in my experience with their team. The individuals were very nice, friendly and professional, but their policies and rigidity ruined it for me.
I am a very active gym user, and regularly use personal training for the past 4+ years to get the most out of it. For the past 2 years I’ve done this through the gym in my condo. But with a new job in the area of Virgin Active and Fitness First I decided to commit to 12 months to one of the two. I was prepared to invest (both are far more expensive than other options for gyms, but you get a great environment) — cost was an element, but more importantly was what the experience would be — and frankly how interested they were in helping me to make my decision and join their gym.
At Fitness First I walked in and had a professional intro to the gym. I explained I was comparing them and Virgin, as well as my commitment to personal training. They quickly offered me a 3 day trial (which I requested) to fully evaluate how the gym was, the atmosphere, the people and the staff and get a good feel for it. A trainer showed me around on my first visit. I told them I would be evaluating Virgin and asked them to give me the best deal possible. I was pleased when they offered me several perks and benefits on the deal at the end of my trial. Their team checked up on me, and was very proactive in making sure I was getting everything I needed in my evaluation.
At Virgin in contrast, I explained exactly the same thing. I asked for a trial to evaluate and their response was «No». Unless I had a friend who could go online and get me a one visit pass, I was expected to just pay up for what is the one of the most expensive gyms in the city — take it or leave it.
Luckily I had a friend but I had to get a hold of him that night, trouble him to help me. In contrast at Fitness First I walked in and worked out straight away on trial. At Virgin I had to wait a day to just do a single workout. I asked again for them to extend out to even 3 days to do a fair comparison. «No»
I explained the various perks that Fitness First was offering me to see what they could do. «Nothing — take it or leave it».
This reluctance to let me do a trial was a big issue for me — Virgin is asking me to pay a huge premium, for a lot of bells and whistles — more than 2 ½ times a California Fitness membership. A lot of the features like the salt room and the relaxation pods might be too gimmicky, might not be something I’d really use. A trial would have been able to demonstrate whether these benefits were useful for me, and worth the extra money. More importantly the «vibe» or atmosphere could have been experienced.
I met with them 4 times — no one reached out to me — I had to call them. In contrast Fitness First was very proactive (and not pushy), at checking up on me and helping me. I asked to be contacted by a manager, and was told «We checked, and we can’t offer anything» — a manager didn’t feel it worth their time to reach out to me.
I made it very clear to Virgin that in fact I preferred them, I just needed to see the slightest sign that they cared about me — I said this straight out, and suggested the trial might do it, some perks, some extra days on the 12 month contract, a waiver of the joining fee — frankly anything. They continued to show zero flexibility, and offered no indication they cared about my business.
When consumers have a choice, having a policy of «take it or leave it» sets a very bad precedent, and left me feeling that committing to a year here would be very risky. More importantly it was at complete odds with what I expected and wanted from Virgin as a brand.

Virgin Active changed my impression of gyms when i checked out their Asia flagship at One Raffles Place.
The focus at Virgin Active is to provide a fun, friendly and encouraging environment to promote health and fitness. Find exercising a chore? Virgin Active has made working out a hassle-​free activity by providing you with cool workout gear, you only need to bring yourself and your shoes. An RFID membership card/​bracelet takes care of the lockers and cashless payments at the delicious snack bar (food supplied by Salad Stop). Their mobile site allows you to book classes on the go as well.
Starting with level 3, the high energy area. Here is where you get pumped up with the machines. Virgin uses the ARTIS line of Android powered fitness equipment from Technogym.
Each piece of ARTIS equipment is designed for connectivity, allowing members access to his or her own world: training programmes, training data track record, web bookmarks, apps, and social networks. In addition, it employs cloud technology, so members can track their workouts wherever they are in the world.
One of the special workouts at Virgin is the THIRTY TRYHIT, a new small-​group training zone based on the principles of high intensity interval training. Fresh new workout every week, it is guaranteed to keep things exciting and fun and very very sweaty.
Another high intensity workout is Zuu, and it increases joint mobility, promotes fat burning and building lean muscles. I call this the animal workout as it is based on movements of animals.
Anti Gravity Yoga classes are available here as well. For a beginner class, do not expect to get a workout from this. It was extremely relaxing for me and the hammocks made inversions so easy. It’s perfect for those who wants to experience inversions but do not have adequate core strength, balance or confidence to get into a headstand or handstand.
After a sweaty workout (or not), enjoy a luxurious shower with rain shower in every cubicle and complimentary Molton Brown amenities provided for members’ use.
Virgin Active also offers a Relax and Recovery Zone which will soothe your nerves. There are steam rooms, ice rooms, experience showers and foot baths with complimentary use of bathrobes. I love the peppermint infused ice room and showers.
There is also a salt room with ionised salts that aid in skin rejuvenation and purify one’s respiratory system. Great place to nap if you don’t mind lying next to strangers. If you need a private power nap, do not miss out on the sleep pods on level 2. These are the Google beds! I’m definitely gonna try these sometime.