Academy of Lions / Crossfit + General Store + Café

The box and café was awesome! We enjoyed today’s WOD and some almond buttered tea. My cousin, her husband and I purchased t-​shirts so that we could participate in a class. We came from Arizona and Ohio for the weekend.

Best coffee in Toronto! $ 5 for the butter coffee — can’t be beat. This place is super cool. In the summer the doors are wide open and you can get everything from clothing to coffee. Every time I am in this part of town, I will always stop in and grab a cup butter coffee! It cannot be beat. Seriously.

Dropped in from out of town. Instructors and staff were knowledgeable and cared about their box/​business. Place was large and clean. If you live close and are looking for a one stop fitness place, then this would definitely be a great place to go.
If you are a crossfitter from out of town, know that this place is not your typical crossfit box. This facility has chosen to provide crossfit training, but does so in their own style and own way of doing things (from their level program to class structures to gym organization). While the staff were quite friendly, I got the impression that they had a very particular way of doing things that they expected you to follow, so if your box back home is a bit more rough around the edges and a little more into Crossfit as a sport and crossfit as publicized by HQ, then know that this box may not quite jive with that.
Actual WOD area (for doing lifting WODs) is quite small. No showers.

Best bullit proof coffee in the city!
add cinnamon and hold off on syrup for extra kick.
All organic, all good and has become part of my morning wake up routine
And they’re open at 6am! Perfecto!

I love when crossfit boxes have a tshirt drop in deal! Buying an item of merchandise will cover your drop in at Academy of Lions which is awesome but I wished they had more sizes available when I dropped in a few weeks ago. I mean. is a Mens Medium that hard to stock? this place is really cool though as they have a whole paleo café set up and two floors of crossfit awesomeness. Will definitely be back.

Came here for the first time today with a friend to try their bulletproof coffee after someone recommended it. It’s a special type of coffee that’s more beneficial than regular coffee (I haven’t read too much about it but there’s tons of stuff written about it on the interwebs). My barista blended it with a bit of butter and maple syrup to cut the bitterness and the tart taste of the butter. I had it hot and my friend had it iced; I definitely recommend it hot. Oh man, that was probably some of the best coffee I’ve ever had. It’s pretty expensive at $ 5 for a cup of just coffee (no tax) but that’s pretty good considering the quality of the coffee compared to all the sugared up mixed coffee drinks these days. I’d take a cup of this stuff over that junk any day. One of the best things about the bulletproof coffee is that it’s not supposed to give you the jitters and anxious side effects like regular coffee, which I hate when I choose coffee for a perk. And it was true, I didn’t experience any of the usual anxiety when I drink coffee. Apparently, some people use this coffee as a meal replacement in the morning to get a boost on fat loss… I’ll probably stick to drinking it for the taste and the brain boost. Our barista was super nice and explained all this to us and what was in it and how it’s made. She was great!
I haven’t tried the cross fit facilities (I’m very happily committed to Brass Vixens) but I hear great things and how religious people are about their work out… Who knows, I may try it in the future if I ever want to change things up. My friend and I liked sitting in the space and played a game of Connect Four with our coffee before heading on our way. The huge space is also used to sell running shoes, work out gear, and healthy snacks and food (lots of paleo stuff). I’ll definitely be back to get another cup of this awesome coffee. Thumbs up!

They make you do 3 fundamentals classes before you can participate, except they are only 3 days a week and so it can be hard to make it if you work later than 5pm, like I do.
I bought a $ 200 pack of 10 classes and they always gave me a hard time when I dropped in because I didn’t do the ‘fundamentals’ class — but they gladly took my money.
Instead, encouraged me to use the upstairs gym by myself, and so when I came back to do so, a different manager told me that I wasn’t allowed to because I didn’t finish the Fundamentals. I told them that I dropped $ 200 and I can’t even use their gym? She didn’t seem to care and refused entry to me.
Never going back. Over-​priced and self-​righteous.

Am a new CF er and this place could use instructors who explain, assist and help newcomers with weights on a regular basis not just in the intro class.

Academy of Lions is an amazing CrossFit Gym. It is incredibly diverse, interesting and intellegent in its classes as well as its programming. They offer CrossFit WOD classes, gymnastics, olympic lifting, mobility yoga, pose running technique workshops and more. It is truly a great place to train. The coaches are all very knowledgeable and Alex Varbanov heads up the olympic lifting classes so technique and correct form is always stressed at the academy. It does not disappoint. I would urge anyone to give this place a try if you are considering CrossFit. I have been there for 5 months now and have seen phenomenal results. I love this place!

I checked out this CrossFit box during my last visit in Toronto. Really great club with a great community.
During my WOD, I had an assistant trainer watch over me to ensure my form was good. I felt very safe and taken care of. This club also has a nice little storefront and paleo bar when you first walk in.
My only complaint is that the workout area is a bit on the small side and there are no showers. Otherwise, a really great box to check out if you are visiting the Toronto area or if you live or work in the area, a great box to join.

This was one of several boxes I checked out in T. O, while the WOD was enjoyable (as always) I felt that perhaps the trainers could’ve done a better job watching people’s form, movement instruction etc. As a new CF-​er I felt that had I not gone with my exerienced CF partner, I could have been at risk to hurt myself. I saw many members rushing the WOD and lifting heavier than necessary with poor form (the WOD was deadlifts/​pushups 20 min AMRAP). The overall environment wasn’t really welcoming, which could just be me looking for a more ‘friendly’ box. It sstill appears to be a quality box, just one that could use a little more care in what they do.

If you can work out weekdays at 10 am in the Dundas /​Ossington area, I’d highly recommend Academy of Lions.
What they offer at this time, Monday to Friday, is an Agatsu Kettlebell class, a high-​intensity combination of cardio and strength activity done in a small group. I’ve had the chance to take it for the past 2+ months — I’ve really enjoyed the class and gotten great results. The instructors (one of three will most likely do the class) are all excellent. I’d encourage anyone who’s curious to check it out. The fees for the class were quite reasonable when I joined and they may have a similar promotion at the moment.
I should mention that their main product is the traditional Crossfit classes that occur throughout the day.
My schedule has changed recently so unfortunately I won’t be able to continue. The other thing to note is that as of this writing there are no showers, so that’s something you may wish to consider.