Orangetheory Fitness

Its a shame this didn’t work out for me because I love the workouts. BUT… there were just way too many drawbacks
1.) WAY too expensive for the value
2.) WAY too overpacked (it got to the point where i would have to book classes a week in advance just to get spots, and then plan my life around workouts and not vice versa) And when you get there there is no space, you have to leave class 5 – 10 mins early and miss the stretching if you want to get a shower spot.
3.) BAD customer service
–example 1.) getting charged 12 dollars if you miss a class when the membership fee is astronomically high is crazy. You have to book classes way in advance but lets say something comes up (a work meeting, a sick child) its suddenly going to cost you extra. Its a lose-​lose for clients but a win win for the owners. If something comes up, good luck getting another time slot to work out that day, but you’ve just paid extra. For the owners though… thats another spot open for them and another 12 dollars they’ve gotten paid.
–example 2.) The staff are nice but it always comes down to «sorry, its just policy.» The sign up fee is really high (and absolutely never gets waived-​its policy) on top of a high monthly fee. It was explained to me that it was for the heart monitor, and I get that, they must not be cheap. But when I enquired about changing to the Burlington location due to a move they told me that I would have to cancel and pay that last month and then pay another sign up fee at the Burlington location. I couldn’t use the same membership because you have to do 90% of the classes at the Oakville studio. WHY? The Burlington location is the same gym, owned by the same people. Its like they DON’T want my business. Most gyms don’t even charge sign up fees and have way cheaper monthly fees, so theres absolutely no incentive as a customer for me to stay with the gym I’ve been at. But «its just policy.»
–example 3.) Everything costs more money! Forgot your water bottle… pay extra. Want to sign up for a challenge… thats extra. Have to miss a class… thats extra.
4.) The members at the Oakville location are not the friendliest. Its dead silence before the workouts and just weird to workout that close to other people who are not feeling it. The energy is just not great. I am in no way speaking for all the members, just the general vibe.
5.) I am a huge believer that everyone going to the gym is doing something amazing for themselves and that should be celebrated. Everyone starts somewhere and everyone is on a different journey. So why are we holding planks and seeing who can stay up the longest? Why are we seeing who can run the fastest mile and recording this on a board for all to see? Why are we trying to lose the most weight in 6 weeks to have a spot on the coveted wall? Some days I would leave the gym feeling worse about myself then when I first walked in.

Aside from the modern heart rate monitors, it’s just an old fashioned gym circa 1980’s. Zero flexibility. Not interested in customer service, only selling memberships and packing people in like sardines. On top of the monthly fee, you are charged if you cancel less than 12 hours prior to the class time. So basically, if you book a class for later in the day and your toddler gets sick or a work issue comes up, you will be charged a no show fee of $ 12. this is on top of your monthly fee. Of course, everyone books in advance because classes fill up very fast. Too many members…
My husband is travelling for work and hasn’t used his membership for the last 3 weeks. He now found out he will not be back in the country until January (In addition to new work commitments, we will be spending Christmas down South). He called and asked to have his membership cancelled and the manager said he needs to cancel IN PERSON because «it’s in the contract» and then he will ONLY be charged for one more month.
Sorry…in 2015, you have to cancel your gym membership in person… and then charged for one more month???
I am a realtor and have done many deals over email, on-​line forms and fax. My sister is a lawyer and has clients sign documents and scan and email them back to her. In this day and age their policies are archaic and outdated.
Out of curiosity, I called a few other Orange Fitness locations in Canada and every single manager I spoke with said that despite it being in the contract, they will accept an email as a record of cancellation and have in the past. NOT THIS LOCATION! Boy howdy!!! While calling around, I also found out that the Oakville location (and possibly Burlington) are independently owned, so if you need help from above, there is no head office to help you. «BUYER BEWARE» as they say…
****My advice: for the cost, go somewhere else where management is better and you have more work out options. You will get bored after a couple of months or possibly injured since the workouts are packed in so tight, there is emphasis on speed only and no time to explain proper technique, form or contraindications.

Terrible customer service, very small gym and people are exercising a few inches from one another.
You’ll get sweat from other customers.
They oversell memberships. Every day before your workout they have a selling message for you.
It’s private own so you can’t escalate to head office any complaint you may have. They just don’t care about their clients but they LOVE the small letters in their membership agreement. Expensive for what they offer.
A full membership is almost 200 dollars and they will never hesitate to charge you 12 dollars if you don’t cancel with at least 12 hours.
It is not worth even 30 bucks a month. Save your money.

They are not flexible at all with scheduling even though they told me they were when I joined. This would only be good if your work ends at a very specific time or you live nearby so traffic/​weather will never be an issue. They won’t let you in if you’re late 5 minutes because «it’s dangerous» & you’re penalized if you cancel a few hours before the class because you’re stuck at work unexpectedly. Also the trainer is split between two sides of the classes so it’s difficult to ask questions about your form & how to do things correctly. These classes are better if you already know what you’re doing. It’s too bad because I really wanted to like this place! I do like that each class is different & you can monitor your heart rate. Trainers super nice & you will work up a sweat

Just what South Oakville needed — a well organized, intense 1hr workout that really pushes you to your limits.
Every workout builds strength and endurance. They are designed to take you between your fat burning zone and your conditioning zone in intervals that will allow for max calorie burn even after the workout is over.
I’ve done a bit of everything — Tough Mudder, Spartan, powerlifting, marathon training and working with a coach. Nothing compares to this workout in my opinion. It would be great for anyone training for any of the above and just to maintain overall good health. I never burn less than 650cal, so if weightloss is the goal, they have that covered too.
You leave feeling farigued, but amazing. It’s a great workout all around from rowing to sprinting to weight lifting, busy weight exercises as even those dreaded burpees!
This location is brand new. Today was their first day officially open, so it’s sparkling clean and even smells brand new. The staff are wonderful. Even at 5:30am they’re smiling. The instructors are also great. They provide a lot of guidance and are very uplifting. They have us all cheering by the end.
It’s a fun group environment and I love that you can watch your heart rate go up and down on the screen. Teaches you a lot about your recovery time and gives you goals to work towards that aren’t just «I want to lose 10lbs».
I definitely encourage anyone to try it who’s looking for something new. They offer a free trial class!