National Fitness Center

Poor cleanliness, one of the only gyms that still requires contracts, very limiting workout hours, unkept old facility, a class instructor that loudly howls every five minutes or less every morning for extended periods of time and can be heard through the entire facility. Unkept equipment, cockroaches, the list goes on and on…

Visited from out of town and got 2 free visits. Next visit was $20 for the day. Think that's a little excessive but averaged out for 3 visits that's reasonable. Nice sauna and steam room. Good choice of machines

Beware of this company. They don’t let you touch the gym or ask about a membership without pulling you into a sales room. Then beware of what you sign. They put me into a 3 year contract that I am absolutely not able to get out of, I guess unless I move 20 miles away. It is my fault for not reading this in the contract, but you would think that the sales guy would let you know about such a long commitment. And also, this place isn’t that friendly or welcoming. But then again, they obviously just care about sticking you into 3 year contracts. Pretty pathetic honestly

Don’t waste your time on this gym if you’re wanting to cancel your gym membership. It’s like having to go through government procedure jumping all these hoops just to cancel everything. Not only that you’re having to pay monthly until they approve of your new address which is 30 days. So yeah you’re wasting your money on this gym.

My family and I love this gym! The staff is so friendly, the lay out of the gym is really nice and flows with your workout. I love being able to bring my kids and workout. After we also go into the pool and have some fun.

Great gym facility however they take advantage of you, the consumer, when it comes time to cancel your membership for real world reasons like moving across the country. They make you pay a 195 dollar cancellation fee on top of making you pay an additional month of membership while they have an investigations team validate your new address. Also, electronic submission of cancellation requests will not be considered and you are forced to use certified mail. I’m a USN veteran who moves around a lot, sometimes very unexpectedly, and this gym took advantage of me and my family to the highest degree. I’m pretty certain modern consumer laws protect consumers from companies who’s procedures actively take advantage of their costumers, but alas I don’t have the money or time to engage with them via a lawsuit…which is what they are most likely betting on. So it’s my hope that someone someday WILL have the time and money to do so.

I never went to a single NFC. Or signed an agreement. But they are charging me monthly and when I called to cancel they want $195 just to cancel. I’m a single mom now and I haven’t signed a lease agreement because I moved in with my brother. So I can’t even give them the “proof” they want. Basically I’m being robbed by national fitness center.

In my opinion, I would probably avoid getting a National Fitness Membership. I encourage everyone to read the Better Business Bureau reviews before looking into a membership with them. Extremely inflexible as well. I encourage you to read their own responses to the Better Buisiness Bureau compliants and just ask yourself is this a company you want to do buisiness with? Especially when there are plenty of other gyms in our area. If you just spend a few minutes reading these reviews you will hear horror stories. The compliants are pretty much on point. These guys can absolutely ruin your life if you're not careful. If for some reason you are still brave enough to do buisiness with them after reading this, it may be advisable to have a lawyer look over any contract you sign with them. Understand you will be held to that. It's a shame really because it's not a bad gym otherwise.

There's a lot to love about NFC Tazewell. It's not perfect, but I think the combination of convenience, wide range of amenities, and cost make it the best option.Pros:Staff have always been very kind and attentive when needed, and generally leave you alone after welcoming you. But it's nice that the recognize members and provide a friendly environment.The floor plan allows for ample space for most lifting activities. I tend to visit either at opening at 5:00 AM, where there is still a pretty decent crowd, or between 10:00AM - 1:00 PM. Things might get a little packed after work, but I've never had much of a problem getting a workout in during these hours. The gym is basically separated into two main strips with lengthy dumbbell racks for lots of free weight work, and these areas connected by two large machine and iso focused areas. There is a cardio section if that's your thing as well.The sauna is also a great way to end a workout. It can get cramped faster than the workout areas, but it's a nice option to have.Front desk area comes relatively well stocked with protein and preworkout options, and maintaining an e-cash balance is possible. This makes it convenient for days when I forget something at home. They even have towels, and I've that's saved me from time to time after picking up the wrong gym bag.Locker rooms are functional, but no frills. Locker rentals are available and relatively cheap as part of a new contract. That convenience is huge if you are coming multiple times per week.The location is a huge factor -- Tazewell Pike is an easy 10 minutes from downtown Knoxville, so I can get to the gym from home or work without hassle. But it's also far enough away from work that I don't have to worry about having to stop my workout to have 15 different conversations.Huge quantity of dumbbells means you are rarely waiting around for someone to get done with a set of them. There are usually others to go to. (Your benches are far more of the limiting factor here).Cons:Most negative reviews about the gym usually deal with their pricing and 3 year contract requirements. That is restrictive, but I have not found the commitment to be so daunting that it makes other options in Knoxville more appealing. Low cost/commitment options tend to have fewer equipment options or amenities, or locations that aren't as accessible.Although there is a lot of space, the gym is open for a lot of hours and it is high traffic over the course of a day/week. That means most problems are caused by the volume of people coming in and out. It is difficult to always keep the shower areas clean, or keep people from leaving trash in the sauna. And since this is billed as a fitness center, and less body building or power lifting centric, it seems there is an almost total disregard by members for putting weights back up after done, and definitely not on the correct weight tree. You're almost always going to find 45's stacked on 5's stacked on 25's stacked on a 2.5 at the bottom. It's not possible to staff up enough to go behind every member and rearrange the weights again. There is signage throughout the gym encouraging people to put the weights back, but you see the same signs telling people to put their grocery carts up at Wal-Mart, and you know how that goes.The equipment here is solid, if not spectacular. But they could definitely use a few more mobile flat benches. There are about 3 in the whole gym, and if someone is doing accessory work on them, there aren't many good alternatives. Only 2 squat racks, so those can be a traffic jam. There are some decent leg press and machine squat alternatives, but definitely missing some of the nicer leg day equipment (pendulum squat machine, belt squat station, etc.). Some of the good accessories are very limited in quantity (only one long rope attachment, limited D-ring handles, only one EZ Curl bar).No platform or bumpers for any Olympic lifting. That means people doing deadlifts are having to make room throughout the rest of the floor.

PREDATORY CONTRACT AND SALES MANAGER. Coerced into signing a contract and lied to about cancellation terms. Was told I could cancel with a $195 fee (steep but okay) but failed to be clear that was within SEVEN DAYS of signing the contract. It has been four months since I signed up and I have had an unexpected significant financial life change and the customer service agent in the billing department was beyond condescending explaining "you knowingly signed a *financed term contract* and so you'll have to pay the full balance at time of cancellation."I did not *knowingly* sign up for these terms and I want OUT. The facility is mediocre at best, doesn't open until NOON on Sunday, mandates ACH then adds a $35 charge if the ACH doesn't go through when they run it (say for instance a paycheck hasn't hit in time or the credit limit is maxed due to a significant financial life change).Also -- everything is done on *paper,* including keeping and updating your credit card information. This does not feel secure, especially when attendants regularly leave the desk to perform other duties.Adding the photo so hopefully more people will see this review and steer clear of this predatory company.