Blocker Norfolk Family YMCA of South Hampton Roads

Love this Y! Here are the reasons why:
1. Offers all sorts of classes, all included with the membership, and they give them morning and night. They have cycling, yoga, pilates, zumba, piloxing, body pump, abs, barre, and so many more.
2. Ample cardio machines. I usually go in the evenings and I never have to wait for cardio machines. They have treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, rowing machines, and steppers.
3. Free personal trainer: they have a program called FitQuest where you put in your fitness goals and it gives you a personalized daily workout. It changes every day and you can track your progress as you gain strength.
4. Super clean. Bathrooms and equipment are always clean.
5. Very friendly staff.
6. Easy street parking.
My only con is I wish it was open more hours on the weekends. Otherwise, it’s perfect.

Nice, clean, well organized, many kind of group exercise program. I think Blocker Norfolk Family YMCA of South Hampton Roads is most great gym in VA.

Of all the YMCAs that I’ve visited, this is my absolute favorite! So much to choose from and plenty of fun for the kids. Very friendly, upbeat atmosphere! Love the energy here!

I’ve never visited a YMCA that I didn’t enjoy. Even the smaller facilities are favorable. Customer service great, location great… Couldnt ask for a better fitness center.

So glad to be a member of the blocker family ymca. Great selection of fitness classes. The child care providers for stay and play are wonderful with my son. We really like the parent child swim classes as well. The staff is friendly and helpful. The free Towel service is also appreciated

This place is fantastic! Has ALL of the amenities, the weight lifting equipment is well maintained and I’ve yet to see it too crowded. They also have plenty of classes to choose from if thats youre thing. I’d highly recommend the Blocker YMCA for anyone in the area!

I think this Y is great but is it me or does the Y (all of them) seem to have an obsession with sanitizing? Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of a clean workout environment but I’m not quite on the level of germophobe. I literally see people carrying around sanitizing wipes and cleaning every single piece of equipment they touch. Kinda feel like I’m at granny’s house when I go to the Y. If you use something and don’t wipe it, people start giving you the evil eye. I’ve actually had to go get a handful of towels just to dry off a bench from all the sanitizing liquid left on it. It’s a great idea to keep the place clean but come on.

Used to be a great place but the current management has completely turned me off after basically forcing out the best step aerobics instructor, not responding to member concerns about this, and total lack of understanding about what members really care about. These negative reviews get removed somehow as soon as management sees them. I used to be very gung-​ho on this place but the current director has misplaced priorities and could not care less about member satisfaction, health, or wellness. Took all of my good will toward this Y as a dedicated member for 25 years and destroyed it.

Love this place everyone is always so nice and polite and willing to help. All the equipment is clean and falling apart many different options for how to work out. Fit quest is an amazing program that my wife and I are both using. Extremely easy to follow no matter your experience level. The ladies that do the child care are so good is the reason we joined and probably why we will stay at this ymca. If you are thinking about it go ahead and join you will love it.

Absolutely the best YMCA I have ever been to. This location has everything you need to stay healthy and active. There are whole floors dedicated to weight rooms, cardio machines, etc. The indoor pool is great and they offer convenient times for swim lessons for my children. There’s plenty of locker space and the childcare areas are great.

What a beautiful facility! Tucked into the downtown area it looks very understated from the street, but go inside and it is a wonderful facility with many many activities available! The service is outstanding, all of the workers are friendly and engaging and extremely helpful!

I’ve been going here 3 yrs, and I love it. I’ve tried every class from yoga to kickboxing. I’ve tried racket ball and basketball! Whew! From sauna to steam room to hot tub to pool everyday I can find something different.
I feel confident leaving my kids because the childcare area has an open view of anyone walking in the hall.
Plenty of staff yet i can have a peaceful time and enjoy myself
P. S. they also have a kids Zumba now (so cute)

«Family YMCA» is a great description for this place! It’s an excellent gym with multiple floors of activities. Towels are always clean and plentiful, and the locker rooms are nice and organized with the refreshing smell of bleach in the background. The pool area is nice and warm, and guarded. The free weights area has pretty much everything you would expect. The cardio area on the second deck is quite expansive with well maintained machines. The childcare and lounge areas are also a HUGE plus. The parking lot is small, and you need a pass to get into the neighboring garage. All in all a nice family place to workout!

My family has been coming here for almost two years now and we love it. I hardly ever have to wait for machines and the online fitness tracking has really helped me achieve the level of fitness I’ve always aspired to. We can usually find street parking within a couple of blocks but you can pay for a parking pass for the garage next door. We plan on looking into other YMCA’s when we move because we have had such a good experience here.

I *LOVE* this Y. It is, hands down, the best gym I have ever belonged to, and that includes the gyms I paid lots of money to join. Huge, clean facility, tons of classes (Tonya’s Zumba class is insanely good!), and so so so family friendly. They have events for kids and families, free babysitting every other Friday night, classes for kids, aftercare, summer camp, and day camp for school holidays when I have to work. They also have a café with yummy Mediterranean food from Azar’s, smoothies (which are a bit expensive but really good) and a variety of snacks. Friendly staff and a great gym overall.

Fantastic place — clean, tons of equipment, great classes, locker rooms are large and pristine, good pool, whirl pool, wet/​dry sauna, café — just fantastic. Also has day care for kids. Oh, did I mention basketball, racquet ball/​hand ball, free WiFi…

This place is cool. I came here for a Zumba Instructor licensing class. Nice workout area, huge area to change your clothes and get ready for work. Also they have an cute little bistro area where you can get a smoothie or something to eat.

I started coming here for a week as part of the Away Program. This particular Y offers the first week free, and then $ 2.50 for each visit afterward if you’re a Y member out of the area.
This place is top notch. Friendly staff, clean equipment, and HUGE. Between six stories there’s a kids area, a swimming pool, and a wide variety of classes. Honestly, my short time here makes me wish this was my Y year round.

Wow, this is a *YMCA*?! The dingy haunt of generations of pedophiles and broke-​ass students? I am seriously impressed…
The Blocker branch is bright and airy, with a cute café, and a large variety of classes on par with for-​profit gyms. They have so many cardio machines I’ve never had to wait (almost all have individual TVs), and they even have a separate floor dedicated to free weights.
The staff, for the most part, are friendly (although there are a few sour-​pusses) — I’ve enjoyed the group classes I took, but can’t speak about personal training (if they even offer it). The locker room is large, and there’s a great well-​lit common area for make-​up and hair, but the lockers are a little old and there is a definite mildew smell lingering around. Steam-​room at your own risk.
What is really nice to see, however, is how many community wellness programs they offer. This location has a very diverse clientele, and in addition to the fun classes like kickboxing and water aerobics, they offer special 6-​week get-​in-​shape programs and «yoga by the waterfront» and «walk around Norfolk» classes for people who aren’t typical gym rats. They have a computerized system that allows you to keep a workout log, and it even connects to individual weight machines and guides your reps, which is very helpful if you aren’t familiar with lifting or come in often enough to memorize your weights. The swim classes are also wicked cheap, so I need to look into those…
I’ve worked at a fancy gym, and this is easily comparable in quality, superior in amount of equipment, and fantastic for the discounted memberships and wellness programs they offer for all members of the community. Seriously, YMCA, you just restored my faith in humanity a teeny bit.
There are all shapes and sizes here, and most everything you’d ever need in a gym, so NO EXCUSES for not losing those love handles or getting your heart in shape!

Holy, wow! My primary YMCA is the Outer Banks Family YMCA, which is a nice facility. But I was blown away when I walked into the Blocker Norfolk YMCA. It looks more like a trendy gym than a YMCA. New and nice-​looking inside, huge, a café, and lots of the latest cardio equipment.
I mostly used the pool to swim laps. It seems to get busy with the after work crowd, but usually I can get a lane. The locker rooms are nice and large and there is lots of counter space for putting on your makeup or drying your hair after. However, I didn’t like that the locker room had carpet (looks nice now, but can we say «mildew?») and that it’s a community shower.
Another downside is the parking. There is garage parking but you need a pass (I guess you buy one if it’s your primary YMCA?). There is street parking, but that can be just as tough to accomplish as a boot camp workout.
Overall, the quality you get for a South Hampton Roads YMCA membership is very good for the price. If this is your neighborhood YMCA, you will get even more bang for your buck.