![]() | This article contains promotional content .(August 2021) |
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![]() An Orangetheory Fitness studio in Markham, Ontario | |
Company type | Private |
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Industry | Fitness |
Founded | 2010 |
Founders | David Long, Jerome Kern, Ellen Latham |
Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 1,500 [1] (2023) |
Areas served | Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States |
Parent | Company Founders (?–2016), Roark Capital Group (2016–) |
Website | www |
Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) is an American boutique fitness studio franchise based in Boca Raton, Florida. The first studio was established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2010 by founder, Ellen Latham. [2] The classes are one hour long and involve two groups, one on the treadmills and the other group working with weights or on rowers. [2] Since its founding in 2010, the chain has expanded, surpassing $1 billion in systemwide sales in 2018, [3] with over one million members in 2020. [4] As of 2023, Orangetheory Fitness has over 1,500 studios throughout 50 US states and 24 countries. [5]
In 2024, Orangetheory Fitness merged with the parent company of Anytime Fitness. [6]
Orangetheory Fitness was founded by exercise physiologist Ellen Latham, Jerome Kern, and David Long in March 2010. [7] It is the successor to a Fort Lauderdale-based Pilates studio, "Ellen's Ultimate Workout", founded by Latham in the late 1990s. [7]
Orangetheory Fitness was ranked No. 415 in Inc. magazine's "Fastest-Growing Private Companies" list [8] and No. 255 in Entrepreneur magazine's 2016 "Franchise 500" list of top franchises in the world. [9] [10] Orangetheory had grown to 350 studios in 7 countries by 2016. That year it received growth equity investment from the private equity firm Roark Capital Group to support its domestic and international growth. [11] Its position on the "Franchise 500" rose to No. 25 in 2019 [12] and No. 43 in 2020. [13] It had 1,200 studios by early 2020. [4]
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Orangetheory Fitness attempted to instill precautions to keep their employees and members safe. On March 17, 2020, all corporate-owned studios were closed. Franchisees were encouraged to follow their lead. [14]
Orangetheory Fitness paused all payments on their memberships during this closure. Corporate studios continued to pay their employees throughout this period. Due to their studios being closed, they developed at-home workouts to give members a way to exercise during this time. [14]
During the closure, Orangetheory Fitness' Medical Advisory Board developed a plan for reopening in order to attempt to reduce uncertainty while also keeping staff and members safe. The new policies implemented follow the guidelines created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which consisted of "temperature checks before entry; reduced class sizes to maintain social distancing; redesigned workouts to minimize equipment cross-contamination; class scheduling modifications to allow for thorough sanitation protocols in between classes; training and implementation of electrostatic cleanings; temporarily closures of showers and towel service; recommended use of face masks by members; and required use personal protective equipment by all staff." [15] Despite reopening their studios, however, the decision was made to continue providing their at-home workouts. [15]
In late February 2024, it was announced that Orangetheory Fitness would merge with the parent company of Anytime Fitness, Self Esteem Brands, to form a fitness franchise chain that has more than 7,000 locations (over 1,500 from Orangetheory, 5,500 Self Esteem) with combined sales of $3.5 billion. [16] [17] The merger was completed in April 2024. [6] The parent company formed by the merger was named Purpose Brands. [18] Orangetheory retains its logo but adjusted its branding. [19] Lauren Cody was appointed its president, while Dave Long became the co-chair of the Purpose Brands board. [20]
Orangetheory workouts are a form of high-intensity interval training, alternating between short periods of intense exercise and long recovery periods. [21] These hour-long sessions are designed to generate excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). [21] Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption is a physiological concept that occurs after an elevation in oxygen consumption as the body returns to its pre-exercise state. [22]
Studios are split into three stations: treadmill, water-resistant rowing machines, and weight training. [21] Attendees cycle between these stations over the course of a session. [21] Workouts are categorized as emphasizing endurance, power, or strength, or a combination of the three. [21] Workout sessions are group exercises led by a coach. Classes are pre-designed and not divulged to attendees prior to arrival. [21]
Members can book classes through the Orangetheory app which displays the location, day and time of open classes as well as which coach will be teaching. Members have the option to book classes at any OTF location around the world. [23]
Heart rate monitors are to be worn around the chest, forearm, or wrist. All metrics are shown on screens within the studio and for updated studios, they are shown on tablets attached to the treadmills or rowers.
There are five heart rate zones used in the Orangetheory workout; grey, blue, green, orange, and red. [24]
Each attendee has the option to wear a branded heart rate monitor that is synchronized to a screen displaying performance metrics for the entire class. [21] Attendees are encouraged to accumulate "splat points," which are based on the amount of time spent in the orange and red heart rate zones, in order to achieve the EPOC effect. The recommended amount of splat points per class is 12 to 20, depending on your age, weight, and gender. [21] Statistics are delivered to each member after each workout via email and a mobile app. [21]
OTF recently partnered with InBody to give members the opportunity to see their body composition analysis through the InBody Test. [26] The test is performed by standing barefoot on the scale while it measures the weight. It then measures limb weight by standing still with arms out at a 45-degree angle while holding scanners. This 15 second test provides the user with a summary of statistics such as their metabolic rate, skeletal muscle mass, body fat percentage, and more. This test gives more information than a normal scale, allowing users to pinpoint areas of improvement. After completing the scan, users are asked to enter their email to get a copy of their in-depth summary.
Orangetheory Fitness hosts several challenges throughout the year, including the Transformation Challenge, Dri-Tri, Marathon, All Out Mayhem, Hell Week, Orange Voyage, Catch Me If You Can, Inferno, Capture the Flag, [27] and 12 Days of Fitness. [28] These challenges offer members themed workouts and apparel such as t-shirts, hats, or socks, for completing so many days of the challenge. [29]
Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest along with a formal recovery plan.
V̇O2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption attainable during physical exertion. The name is derived from three abbreviations: "V̇" for volume (the dot over the V indicates "per unit of time" in Newton's notation), "O2" for oxygen, and "max" for maximum and usually normalized per kilogram of body mass. A similar measure is V̇O2 peak (peak oxygen consumption), which is the measurable value from a session of physical exercise, be it incremental or otherwise. It could match or underestimate the actual V̇O2 max. Confusion between the values in older and popular fitness literature is common. The capacity of the lung to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide is constrained by the rate of blood oxygen transport to active tissue.
An elliptical trainer or cross-trainer is a stationary exercise machine used to stair climb, walk, or run without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries. For this reason, people with some injuries can use an elliptical to stay fit, as the low impact affects them little. Elliptical trainers offer a non-impact cardiovascular workout that can vary from light to high intensity based on the speed of the exercise and the resistance preference set by the user.
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity. In historical contexts the term "oxygen debt" was popularized to explain or perhaps attempt to quantify anaerobic energy expenditure, particularly as regards lactic acid/lactate metabolism; in fact, the term "oxygen debt" is still widely used to this day. However, direct and indirect calorimeter experiments have definitively disproven any association of lactate metabolism as causal to an elevated oxygen uptake.
Sally Edwards is the CEO and Founder of Heart Zones, Inc. She is a best-selling and prolific author, serial entrepreneur, professional triathlete, motivational speaker, innovative app developer and a living legend. Edwards is a pioneer in modern women's sports. She supported and then qualified for the first women's marathon Olympic Trials in 1984. She is one of the original founders of the national governing body of triathlon, USA Triathlon. Edwards has been inducted into two Hall of Fames: the Triathlon Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Sacramento Running Hall of Fame in 2016. She has authored the first books written on subjects including triathlons, training with a heart rate monitor, indoor cycling with wearables, sports snowshoeing, school PE curriculums using wearable devices, and 6 subsequent books on the sport of triathlon. Altogether, Edwards has written 25 books in her effort and her focused mission to get America fit.
Aerobic conditioning is the use of continuous, rhythmic movement of large muscle groups to strengthen the heart and lungs, as well as changes to the skeletal muscles. Improvement in aerobic conditioning occurs when athletes expose themselves to an increase in oxygen uptake and metabolism, but to keep this level of aerobic conditioning, the athletes must keep or progressively increase their training to increase their aerobic conditioning.
BowFlex, Inc., formerly Nautilus, Inc., located in Vancouver, Washington, United States, is the American worldwide marketer, developer, and manufacturer of fitness equipment brands Bowflex, Schwinn, and JRNY, its adaptive fitness platform. The company changed its corporate name from Nautilus, Inc. to BowFlex, Inc. in 2023. BowFlex Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the OTC Markets Group as BFXXQ, and formerly on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's products are sold globally to customers through e-commerce, call centers, and retail stores.
A health club is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to exercise:
CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trademark. The company forms what has been described as the biggest fitness chain in the world, with around 12,000 affiliated gyms in over 150 countries as of 2022, under half of which are located in the United States.
The Bruce protocol is a standardized diagnostic test used in the evaluation of cardiac function and physical fitness, developed by American cardiologist Robert A. Bruce.
Crunch Fitness is a US-based brand of over 400 franchised and corporate owned fitness clubs located in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, and Australia. Founded by Doug Levine in 1989, its current Worldwide CEO is Jim Rowley.
Anytime Fitness Franchisor, LLC, doing business as Anytime Fitness, is an American franchise of 24 hour health and fitness clubs that is based in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States. The company operates over 5,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. In 2014, Anytime Fitness was named the top franchise of 2014 by Entrepreneur magazine.
Matrix Fitness is a brand specializing in commercial fitness equipment, founded in 2001 under the parent company Johnson Health Tech, which itself was established in 1975. As a brand of Johnson Health Tech, it serves a range of markets, including commercial fitness facilities, universities, hospitality, and home fitness consumers.
Barre is a form of physical exercise, usually conducted in group classes in gyms or specialty studios. It is distinguished from other group fitness activities by its use of the ballet barre and its incorporation of movements derived from ballet. These classical dance movements and positions are combined with those drawn from yoga and pilates, and other equipment is sometimes used in addition to the barre, such as resistance bands, yoga straps, exercise balls, and hand weights. Barre classes typically focus on small, pulsing movements with emphasis on form, alignment and core engagement. Participants hold their bodies still while contracting specific, targeted sets of muscles in isometric exercises. Repetitions tend to be high, range-of-motion small, and weights, when used, light. Barre classes focus on the lower body and core, developing strength and flexibility from the ankles up though the calves, knees, thighs, glutes and abdominals. Holding muscles in contraction for extended periods frequently leads to them shaking as they fatigue. This is particularly true of thighs, as the quadriceps tire.
Rock My Run is a mobile running/fitness app founded in 2011 that provides running and workout music in the form of DJ mixes. It is owned by Rock My World, Inc., a health and fitness technology company based in San Diego, California. The app allows users to listen to these professional DJ mixes on their smartphone while running or working out to enhance and motivate their performance.
Peloton Interactive, Inc. is an American exercise equipment and media company based in New York City. The company's products are stationary bicycles, treadmills, and indoor rowers equipped with Internet-connected touch screens that stream live and on-demand fitness classes through a subscription service. The equipment includes built-in sensors that track metrics such as power output, providing users with real-time feedback on their performance and leaderboard rankings to compete with other users.
F45 Training is an Australian franchiser and operator of fitness centers based in Austin, Texas. It has around 1,600 studios in over 60 countries across Australia/Oceania, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. The fitness franchise was launched in 2011 by Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsche. It was ranked the fastest growing fitness franchise in the US in 2021, one of the fastest globally. It has around 1,600 studios worldwide, including approximately 240 studios in Australia and about 1,000 studios in North America as of 2024.
Jacki Sorensen is the American originator of aerobic dancing, popularly known as aerobics. Inspired by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's 1968 book on aerobic exercise, she created for women an aerobic dance routine to music in 1969 in Puerto Rico, teaching U.S. Air Force wives. She expanded this concept into a teaching method and studio franchise, Aerobic Dancing Inc., that rose to 1,500 locations and 4,000 instructors teaching 170,000 students in 1981 at its peak.
Fitness, formerly Activity, is an exercise tracking companion app by Apple Inc. available on iPhones running iOS 8.2 or above for users with a connected Apple Watch, later expanding to all iPhones regardless of Watch connectivity with the release of iOS 16. The application displays a summary view of user's recorded workouts from the Apple Watch or supported third-party apps and exercise equipment, as well as acting as the home for all Apple Fitness+ content.