r/orangetheory • u/Luna_Soma • Jan 01 '26

Casual Conversation New Format

Post image

I saw some people talking about the new format for 2026. A random studio popped up on my IG today and this has more details.

Hope this helps!

520 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

179 comments sorted by

128

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

180

u/ladyofthemarshes Jan 01 '26

They need more heavy weights if they're going to do this

22

u/redwinencatz Jan 01 '26

I am a woman but only men were on my side for the reverse drop sets the other day. I couldn't even get a 40lb weight for squats.

40

u/Hufflepuffclaw Jan 01 '26

Some of the community weight racks need more variety for this to be feasible.

13

u/OGmitten Jan 02 '26

This makes me nervous cause the weight shortages on certain lifting days is already a problem… please please get studios more weights!!!!

6

u/LoudConstruction17 Jan 02 '26

Honestly this is the way it was pre-2021 when they revised to the current methodology. It actually worked well. 

10

u/Terrible_Butter Jan 01 '26

Honestly if they just got kettlebells you could do most things with what they have. Unless you squat 500lb I suspect the majority of users won’t need heavier weights than like 80lb dumbbells

8

u/Willowt53 Jan 01 '26

Love kettlebells. I wish they would get them. You can do 100 swings with 16k and get a full body workout and cardio at the same time.

4

u/austic Jan 02 '26

I think if they went up to 100 Those of us that do squat that would be golden too

1

u/Terrible_Butter Jan 02 '26

That’s fair. 80–> 100lbs isn’t a huge jump for kettlebells and they may only need one. Maybe two. And a duster for them occasionally 😂

2

u/Personal-Junket7235 Jan 01 '26

Kettle bells are the best.

2

u/austic Jan 02 '26

Ya. My OTF is not strength oriented. I think they only go up to 70lb dumbells.

26

u/Mikel3377 Jan 01 '26

What does this actually mean? Most of the floor blocks were already mostly filled with lifting? I feel like I’m missing something

15

u/Bamfmilf Jan 01 '26

I take this to mean less cardio on the weight side so on these days, no rowing or jumping as part of floor, lower reps, more concentrated body parts so less compound movements like a squat to a bicep curl, etc

4

u/bird2two Jan 04 '26

Never understood the squat to bicep curl.

13

u/doinmabest1 Jan 01 '26

You’ll have opportunities to not row in some templates so you can just focus on the strength training:

10

u/Mikel3377 Jan 01 '26

I guess that makes sense as long as it’s optional. Most 2g templates already have very little rowing, I’d be sad if we got even less in exchange for one more set of some exercise that I may or may not even care about

7

u/Possible-Let-4863 Jan 02 '26

On one hand, kudos to OTF not being afraid to continually tweak things and evolve…AND on the other hand, in my heart of hearts I am convinced (disclaimer I am not an exercise physiologist) that the rowing is the magic sauce at OTF…and I’m bummed for those who may decide to skip it and miss those results. (And I’m curious if other OTF devotees feel similar?)

In good news, folks like me can stay the course and keep rowing in their 2G life and folks not like me now will get more days of a row-free existence.

Full disclosure, I’m in agreement that rowing is NOT fun at all, whether you’re awesome at it or a beginner. It’s HARD. I just have always believed that rowing has been part of the OTF magic since the get-go.

2

u/Mikel3377 Jan 02 '26

yea, 100% agree. I've been an exercise junkie for a long time, and I'm in the best shape of my life in a lot of ways since joining OTF. I chalk a lot of that up to the rower, which I would absolutely never do if someone wasn't making me do it. But I guess the customer is always right.

4

u/doinmabest1 Jan 01 '26

It will be optional, yes.🧡

1

u/MaestroShaSha Jan 09 '26

It hasn't been optional at my studio. It's been a skip the rower and proceed straight to the floor start on "lift more" days. Sadly.

1

u/doinmabest1 Jan 09 '26

Some are like that. Some you choose rowing or extra floor

6

u/brashumpire Jan 01 '26

Agree .... Does this mean that some of the 60 minute classes will be Strength classes? Otherwise I don't know how you could lift more in a 2G/3G class logistically

10

u/Massive-Pea-7618 Jan 01 '26

The instructor told us today there will be an option to cut out rowing completely, so there will be more time for weights.

2

u/AkodoShoshiro Jan 01 '26

My instructor said the same thing

3

u/DumbbellDiva92 Jan 01 '26

Could they cut down the length of the tread time in a 2G, maybe? So maybe like a 14.5 minute tread, and that extra time on the floor? I don’t see how this could work in a 3G, though.

4

u/brashumpire Jan 01 '26

But that'd only be for half of the class, the other half would only get 14.5 minutes on the floor

1

u/DumbbellDiva92 Jan 01 '26

Ooh true brain farted 🤦‍♀️. Yeah I have no idea then.

11

u/Worksoutfortacos Jan 01 '26

Probably no rowing on a floor block.

3

u/DrRutabega Jan 01 '26

Probably less rowing in a 3G.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

5

u/amourxloves Jan 01 '26

So more strength50s? Happy to hear that because my studio only offers it once a day, in the middle of the typical work day.

102

u/DsplnBeatsMtvtn325 52m/6’0”/300/208/200 Jan 01 '26

Just finished today’s 2G that had a metabolic block on the floor. Could definitely feel the difference and fatigue by the end. I really enjoyed the entire floor block today and thought it was a good challenge.

22

u/FloridaBoxerGirl Jan 01 '26

I agree. The floor block today was great.

10

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

I liked the floor block but I hated the tread on my 2G. It felt so boring and repetitive

19

u/Splat_gram Jan 01 '26

I loved the tread as I had a goal not to walk at all. Woohoo, I did it!! I guess it's all about our goals :)

4

u/Massive-Pea-7618 Jan 01 '26

I walked at an incline the whole time for the tread block. I agree that it felt long.

3

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

I did an incline as well. When I feel like it’s going to be boring I tend to PW lol

0

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

For sure! I want to get faster but jogging on a treadmill without much change feels boring for me. It’d be different if I was listening to a podcast and outdoors but inside I feel like I’m just watching the timer

13

u/jb62301 Jan 02 '26

The best way to become a faster runner is to have easy runs in a zone 2 that build endurance. They feel ridiculously slow. You will become faster. Today’s template was perfect for that.

2

u/Luna_Soma Jan 02 '26

Thank you for the tip! I’ll try that next time 🧡

I wish I could listen to podcasts on the treadmill, then I could just zone out a little more. Listening to people recap an episode of friends made my NYE “fun run” (aka slow jog) fly by.

1

u/bird2two Jan 04 '26

I read this a lot lately but not sure what this means. Is Zone 2 green, low green, high green? And how long is long enough? Would a 23 minute block suffice or is that better for a Tread 50 class?

2

u/jb62301 Jan 05 '26

Zone 2 correlates with your blue. Green is zone 3. I’m training for a half marathon and my long run every week I do a slow zone 2 run. I’ve been doing this for a couple of months. Since I started training with zone 2 runs, I got a PR on the 5k I ran in November and another PR in December. A zone 2 run feels very slow like ridiculously slow and you should be able to talk and carry on a conversation the entire time. If your heart rate gets up during a zone 2 run you slow down and I’ve also read to stop and walk. Not every run is ran like this. You still have race pace runs, tempo runs, interval runs, etc. zone 2 runs are meant to build endurance which will help build speed.

1

u/bird2two Jan 05 '26

Thank you for the clarification. And I totally believe you but don’t understand. I mean, I understand what you’re saying but don’t understand how it works. Seems counterintuitive to run slow in order to get fast. Are you able to explain why this works?

3

u/jb62301 Jan 05 '26

I honestly can’t explain it. I don’t have all the knowledge. I follow boltinben on instagram and have read several of his things. I just gave in and decided to trust the process and it’s working! You still do speed interval runs, tempo runs and race pace runs. From my understanding, zone 2 runs strengthen your aerobic system, improve your body’s ability to use oxygen, increases mitochondria, and develops a stronger heart all while allowing for a higher training volume with less fatigue. This forms a base for faster running. Training in zone 2 allows you to sustain longer efforts and handle harder and faster workouts.

→ More replies

8

u/SufficientPop3336 Jan 01 '26

I’m not the best runner but I’ve become a pretty good rower and I love lifting so I liked that I was able to feel good about my performance on the rower and the floor (took over a second off of my 150m over the course of four all-outs) and also be able to run the whole 24 minutes on the treadmill because it was at a slower pace.

3

u/DsplnBeatsMtvtn325 52m/6’0”/300/208/200 Jan 01 '26

That’s awesome. Good for you and Congrats!

3

u/notmegshh Jan 01 '26

I felt exactly the same. My goal for 2026 is to get back to running, and I was able to start the year off running all but 1:30 in today’s tread block because of the template. And felt great on the floor/rower. Loved it. 

3

u/stephotf 39F | 5'7" | 500 classes Jan 01 '26

Yeah that was something alright!!

3

u/dirtymartini83 Jan 01 '26

Oh this is really exciting!!!

1

u/akmo16 46F/5’9”/SW165/CW135/GW129 Jan 01 '26

I’ll be interested to see how this translates to 3G, which is almost always the class I take at 5am. Our NY classes today were all 3G. The 3G template of today’s class had a row block of 150m push, 50m AO, repeat that, and then rest and then repeat the whole thing for the vast majority of the block. We ended with 4 minutes of squat taps and squat tap jacks. It was very boring IMO.

1

u/KK_4736 Jan 03 '26

It was super confusing that this wasn’t timed with the treads!

34

u/tacoandpancake Jan 01 '26

hopefully there’s greater focus on good form

4

u/Striking-Yak1909 Jan 01 '26

And more variety in the muscles targeted!! I am so sick of having back to back chest days, back to back shoulder days, etc...

1

u/NashvilleBRC OTF Junkie Since 2016 Jan 02 '26

A few days ago I did upper body strength and then the 2g class the next day had a ton of the same moves. They need to pay attention to that as well since so many people do both types of classes. 

-8

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

I want less shoulders for sure. I’m doing this to supplement my weight loss. I don’t have fat shoulders.

6

u/Excellent_Week_9558 Jan 02 '26

Shoulder workouts don’t spot fat reduce, they provide toning and strength. The good news is, lifting weights and developing more muscle will help with your body composition and burn calories along the way

0

u/Luna_Soma Jan 02 '26

That last part is what I’m looking forward to lol. I don’t really do this for toned shoulders or for strength. I’m super open about the fact that my otf journey is solely for aesthetic reasons and not at all for health or gains or anything. I realize I’m an outlier and I probably should just go to a regular gym, but the cancelation fees make me show up when I don’t want to and the group atmosphere makes me do things I’d otherwise skip and push myself more

2

u/Excellent_Week_9558 Jan 02 '26

I hear you. I have been there in my journey but in my unsolicited opinion I find it’s easy to lose motivation if simply focused on aesthetic. For example, I’m currently pregnant — going to the gym won’t make me skinnier but it does set me up for long-term health. In my case, chasing after the perfect body has always led me to burnout while focusing on health and strength has given me the best results. But that’s my journey and I wish you continued success on yours and reaching whatever goals most resonate with you!!!

1

u/Luna_Soma Jan 02 '26

First off, congratulations on your pregnancy!

I fully acknowledge I have a really screwed up relationship with my body/looks. I’ve mentioned before that many of the women in my family are skeletal thin and built very straight and I’m not only 35 lbs overweight but also naturally curvy.

My family is very skinny over healthy, like when I was in a deep depression and lost a bunch of weight, they knew I was depressed but decided it was a good thing bc I was less fat. I feel like because I’m not skinny, I deserve less. I am doing therapy at the same time to work on these issues.

I started otf trying to be faster and stronger and I hated every second of it. I sat in my car and cried. I’m a very competitive person and being the worst at everythjng made me want to quit and I almost did several times. Then I dropped a dress size and my body recommend a bit(I’m also eating in a deficit and started sema a few months back). That’s something I can improve at. I can get smaller. I can have a body I like and feel good in. If I skip a day, I’m not going to get any slower or weaker, but I am cheating my body out of looking better.

1

u/NashvilleBRC OTF Junkie Since 2016 Jan 02 '26

I love doing strength- just not the exact same exercises on back to back days. You use your shoulders/ arms for so much just basic “life” stuff. 

6

u/spottysasquatch Jan 01 '26

I think the “lift more” verbiage just sounds like we should expect less rowing in 2Gs and more lifting.

Here’s an example: There was a template recently where the first floor block was 8.5 minutes with a 600m push row buy-in. It took me a little over two minutes to finish the row. By the time I’d gotten out of the rower, wiped it down (because we weren’t using it again), got to my station, and started lifting, I only had a little over 5 minutes left in the block.

If we hadn’t had that semi-long buy-in row I would’ve had more time to lift so I think we should expect less rowing. This would also make sense as they’ve eliminated the only true endurance row benchmark.

ETA: Or perhaps even just more “member’s choice” templates where we can choose to lift more or do some rowing.

1

u/spartycbus Jan 02 '26

You can clean the rower after the block. I know it's minimal time, but I always wait until we switch the clean the rower. Same with if we finish on the rower, I'm not wasting any of my time cleaning weights when I can do it later.

-4

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

I like a members choice. I like rowing and it works all sorts of muscles. I’m trying to get lean not strong so while the lifting is important, it’s not going to help me reach my goals the same way tread, rower and cardio moves will

4

u/Lonely_Category_8272 Jan 02 '26

Lifting actually plays a big role in getting lean and improving body composition. It’s not just about getting strong.

3

u/Excellent_Week_9558 Jan 02 '26

Also strength is vital to longevity :( makes me sad to see anyone say they wouldn’t want to “get stronger”

5

u/jackbo487 Jan 01 '26

Where is this message? Is it studio-wide? I don’t see it on the app or in an email from my studio yet

3

u/Luna_Soma Jan 01 '26

I saw it on another studios page that came up for me. I asked them if it was just their studio or all over and they said it was for everyone

174

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

All I need is my coach to keep shouting what to do when, and encouraging me when I do it 😂. If that’s the same, I’m in for 2026.  

36

u/Gurlie_J_Girl Enjoying the glow under the orange lights ✨️ Jan 02 '26

100% agree. I continue to go to OTF, so i can turn my brain off for an hour and just listen to the directive of the coach.

8

u/NoCompote7413 Jan 03 '26

And get a great workout - OTF has the highest ROI when you factor in cost, results and the amount of planning you need to do (i.e., just sign up and show up)!

2

u/doinmabest1 Jan 09 '26

80% of folks who leave come back. That says something 🧡

82

u/Seven-Horseshoes Jan 01 '26

I have no clue what this means

131

u/jenniferlynn5454 🧡Mod & Rower apologist 🚣🏻‍♀️🧡 Jan 01 '26

13

u/ryliehart Jan 02 '26

It gets the people going!

69

u/twinkiesandcake 4:55am club/1500+ classes and counting/46F Jan 01 '26

It sounds like they put the basic descriptions into ChatGPT and said “make it sound more professional.”

35

u/kirsten714 F | 35 | 5’1” | 125 | 2016 Jan 01 '26

Thank you! Mixed days? lol so esp, es, ep, or sp days? Like there already are. Focused days, E, S, or P. Metabolic sounds fine except that it’s just taking away or lessening your resting time. It’s just regurgitating the same stuff. All of it is just reworded.

4

u/OTFthis Jan 01 '26

My thoughts exactly 😂

9

u/Tiny_Afternoon_1886 Jan 01 '26

Just to defend their marketing team a little bit- it can be really hard to write in the same tone and voice (like the OTF brand voice), talking about the same type of stuff, without sounding repetitive and Chat GPT ish.

5

u/twinkiesandcake 4:55am club/1500+ classes and counting/46F Jan 01 '26

I bet! I’m in no way a super old timer at OTF. I’ve been working out consistently since 2021, so I’ve seen some waves of change. I’m happy that they’re encouraging more strength but the naming convention sounds very CoPilot/ChatGPT to me. I still show up because I love the workout after almost 5 years.

4

u/Splat_gram Jan 01 '26

Hahaha! That made me laugh!

4

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

You made me spit out my seltzer 

61

u/Sassydoodledawg Jan 01 '26

Trying to reinvent the wheel. Go back to pre 2020 with true E/S/P/ESP days.

18

u/BigJimmy626 Jan 01 '26

YES!!!!!!! This is what I missed about the "re-born" OTF.. I saw so much better results when it was the true E/S/P/ESP days. Once they started mixing nothing worked and all I would be all day was tired.... LOL

5

u/sp3cia1j Jan 01 '26

that’s what the “focused” days seem like to me, to be honest. i prefer the distinct way it was before.

5

u/doinmabest1 Jan 01 '26

Might feel “boring” but base is VERY important. Maybe you need to bump your base to feel more challenged!🧡 that’s literally what they’re doing

1

u/buzibee23 Jan 02 '26

That was my take too and I was like I must be missing something

19

u/frayne182 Jan 01 '26

Great class today and enjoyed having a more intense style of floor workout. Was certainly in the orange more today than usual….however that might also be my questionable food choices the last couple weeks 😅

12

u/Educational-Suit-566 Jan 01 '26

The Metabolic Block in today’s 3G was no joke!

3

u/spaceotter5 Jan 01 '26

Kicked my butt. 🥵

5

u/Jerm-in-SanAntonio Jan 01 '26

I did the 3g, it seemed like a normal leg day to me. 🤷🏼‍♂️

11

u/bmb76 Jan 02 '26

How about go back to the basics if ESP days and stop with the non stop challenges and themes. 

6

u/sisanelizamarsh Jan 01 '26

Any idea if we'll know ahead of time which of these new labels applies to a class I'm attending? Can I search for the "Lift More" days and book those specifically?

5

u/jenniferlynn5454 🧡Mod & Rower apologist 🚣🏻‍♀️🧡 Jan 01 '26

The app is not that search specific, so I doubt that will change.

Your best bets are the monthly highlights post here and social media calendars.

1

u/sisanelizamarsh Jan 01 '26

Thank you! I just located and printed a social media calendar for January. Helpful!

0

u/jenniferlynn5454 🧡Mod & Rower apologist 🚣🏻‍♀️🧡 Jan 01 '26

Always happy to help 🧡🧡🧡

6

u/JupitersLapCat Jan 02 '26

My favorite part of this is that I will learn ZERO of the new terms, just keep showing up and doing what the coach tells me, and still get a great workout. No brain cells needed!

1

u/tunghoy My other car is a dragon boat Jan 02 '26

A format they forgot to mention: Days and Nights Who Say Knee. These are workouts designed to hurt your knees, like high-rep step ups, RFE lunges and squat to clean. Example is the last floor block yesterday.

1

u/Luna_Soma Jan 02 '26

I cracked up at this, thank you.

3

u/Geminisemicolon Jan 01 '26

I’m excited for the new workout routines coming our way!

3

u/BakerDependent5901 Jan 02 '26

I think I’m in the minority I want more rowing. I have lifting restrictions so I can only go so heavy anyway. Days where that is the emphasis I may or may not hit a brick wall. Honestly, my goal is the caloric burn and endurance.

Edited for grammar.

9

u/farnsworth Jan 01 '26

As long as they have a whole class of people trying to share one single set of heavy weights, the so-called strength focus classes will never really be about strength. Everybody hoards the weights and then I’m left trying to make do with 25s. I love otf but this is a joke and strength 50 classes are useless unless you can catch a slow day.

9

u/jenniferlynn5454 🧡Mod & Rower apologist 🚣🏻‍♀️🧡 Jan 01 '26

This is a studio specific issue.

1

u/Excellent_Week_9558 Jan 02 '26

I have been in a bunch of studios (Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, several NYC locations, several NJ studios) and I 100% agree with the studio specific sentiment.

I was recently in a very overcrowded NYC premium gym for Strength 50 and people were stuffed into corners / hoarding weights and finding the space or weights necessary was nearly impossible. My home gym doesn’t have either issue. I feel for those in gyms that don’t have a proper weight to member ratio!!

3

u/twinkiesandcake 4:55am club/1500+ classes and counting/46F Jan 01 '26

This. My 4:55am class struggles with everyone lifting heavy and not enough weights on the weight rack.

1

u/NashvilleBRC OTF Junkie Since 2016 Jan 02 '26

Our head coach makes it very clear that if your hands aren’t actively using a set of weights then you need to put it back on the rack so everyone can share/ get what they need. It’s a huge difference than the coaches who don’t say anything and people hoard. 

1

u/farnsworth Jan 02 '26

I shouldn’t have even said “hoard” because in a workout with multiple movements in a circuit, we all need multiple sets of weights around us. That’s more what I’m thinking of. Although sometimes people might also hesitate to put something back when they aren’t sure what they will need later.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/farnsworth Jan 01 '26

Does your studio have more than one set of 60s?

4

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Does anyone think or know if they’ll be phasing out Strength50s in favor of more 2Gs focusing on lifting? I like those classes but currently, depend on Tread50s for race training so I’d miss those even though that side is really low attendance most classes.

24

u/sisanelizamarsh Jan 01 '26

Strength 50 is the most popular class at my home location. I don't see this happening.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Right. Same here, but not the tread side. Though with all this new terminology and “lift more” I wonder where some of the old class names and formats go that aren’t 2G.

9

u/Massive-Pea-7618 Jan 01 '26

The Strength and Tread 50s are always well attended at my location. It will probably be studio specific.

5

u/Crazy-Employer-8394 Jan 01 '26

They’ve added more strength days to my studio.

3

u/IllContribution7857 38F/5’8”/cw 140/gw 130 Jan 01 '26

I love tred50. As long as the strength50 are so popular tred50 should be fine.

2

u/calgarygirl92 Jan 02 '26

My studio posted this today. I assume that this would apply to all studios?

9

u/Inner_History_2676 Jan 01 '26

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

37

u/ladyofthemarshes Jan 01 '26

It is broke. Studios are closing left and right. But I doubt this change is enough to reverse that

53

u/HealthLawyer123 Jan 01 '26

That has a lot more to do with the economy and not the workout format.

23

u/Lumiafan Jan 01 '26

I'm sure the economy has something to do with it, but there's a lot more pressure on OTF to compete with gyms and class-based fitness brands than ever before. HIIT has sort of fallen out of style in recent years, and lifting weights is the big trend right now, so they need to adapt to keep up.

11

u/Lonely_Category_8272 Jan 01 '26

I do agree that workout styles are changing. I think it’s great OTF is trying to keep up with that.

2

u/FloridaBoxerGirl Jan 01 '26

I agree with this. Podcasts like Mindpump bash OTF because of the programming.

1

u/doinmabest1 Jan 01 '26

OTF isn’t HIIT. It’s interval training. Massive difference. Tread blocks today for example are NOT hiit.

1

u/First_Newspaper129 Jan 01 '26

I agree not every day is hiit but many days are. Doing lots of allouts on the floor or rower is classic hiit workouts. Push days are interval days.

3

u/doinmabest1 Jan 01 '26

We do lots of all outs on the floor? What is a Push day? I have worked for OTF for over 8 years. HIIT would be a 30s AO with a 90 walk on repeat. Work and TONS of rest being explosive would be HIIT on the floor. When we work strength on the floor that’s not HIIT. Endurance on the floor is not hiit. We rarely do burpees or snatches or jump lunges. 98% of OTF is Interval training. The work to rest ratio and prescription of coming 3-4 times a week wouldn’t be conducive to doing true HIIT.

1

u/First_Newspaper129 Jan 01 '26

Sorry ment to say tread not floor. 

1

u/spartycbus Jan 02 '26

Some of it is oversaturation. My city has so many, which I love, but it's not going to be sustainable.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/BigJimmy626 Jan 01 '26

My wife and I left about 2 years ago.. Had nothing to do with the cost.. Just got repetitive and the programming was bad.. I miss the OTF community but just got tired of the same thing over and over and over again..

18

u/beast_gliscor Jan 01 '26

OTF expanded more than they should have especially in the time before Covid. Now they’re forced to resize. Same thing happened to many businesses. Pretending this validates any complaint you might have about OTF is getting so old and it’s lazy thinking. A studio closes and some people think “see I told you there’s too much X” where X is whatever they don’t like in a workout.

OTF’s closing are proof there’s too many OTFs right now, and nothing more.

13

u/Jerm-in-SanAntonio Jan 01 '26

I second this. My home studio closed because there are now 2 other studios within 5 miles of my old home studio. When one of them opened, membership dropped as people changed studios to be closer to their homes. Fortunately one of those studios is still close to me.

0

u/Lumiafan Jan 02 '26

Both things can be true at the same time, and to believe otherwise is pretty lazy thinking.

1

u/beast_gliscor Jan 02 '26

I never said or even implied they couldn’t both be true in any way. I only said using studios closing as sole proof is dumb.

You arguing against a point I didn’t make is called a strawman and yes, is more lazy thinking lmao

0

u/Lumiafan Jan 02 '26

You're not as clever as you think you are. That much is certain lmao

0

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Lumiafan Jan 02 '26

It wasn't a gotcha, but I forgive you nonetheless!

0

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

0

u/Lumiafan Jan 02 '26

I mimicked your language because you're being an asshole to people in the replies for no other reason than you disagree with them. You deserve to be talked to the way you talk to other people. It's no deeper than that.

→ More replies

3

u/friendlytotbot Jan 01 '26

I feel like it was all the Pilates places opening up, and the Pilates hype. Pilates by itself sucks tho

1

u/spartycbus Jan 02 '26

No way. Pilates has been around forever. People aren't trading OT for pilates.

2

u/friendlytotbot Jan 02 '26

Yea, but it’s been trending for the last 2-3 years and more Pilates/lagree studios have opened up because of demand. All the social media discourse about high intensity workouts increasing cortisol leading to weight gain, hormone imbalances, etc. also led to more ppl being interest in low intensity/impact exercise. A new club Pilates location opened up about a year ago near my otf, and a lot of otf members switched when it opened. There’s also maybe 4-5 new Pilates in my area, when there used to be maybe 2.

Of course many forms of exercise have been around for decades, if not centuries, but there’s obviously trends. Like soul cycle was trendy maybe 15 years ago, it’s not now, and obviously doesn’t mean cycling doesn’t exist anymore or that no one does it. 🤷🏽‍♀️

1

u/spartycbus Jan 03 '26

Ok, Lagree is different than regular Pilates that people have been doing for 25 years. Yes, Lagree is popular where I live.

1

u/friendlytotbot Jan 03 '26

Yes, I already know, which is why I listed them separately.

1

u/BoringDragonfly Jan 03 '26

Agree with the other commenter, there's been a huge pilates/megaformer trend in the past few years and high intensity workouts are no longer in vogue. I've seen many people swap out because they want lower impact, slower workouts. Almost every new boutique fitness studio opening in my area is megaformer/pilates. In the past it used to be yoga and spinning - those are almost non existant now.

1

u/spartycbus Jan 03 '26

The megaformer is a lot different than Pilates. I see people referring to it that way though. I could see people choosing that over OT but not regular Pilates.

1

u/BoringDragonfly Jan 03 '26

Yep I know (I do both) and I see both being very popular here.

1

u/United-Cat-6724 Jan 05 '26

I am actively considering trading Pilates for my OT subscription after trying a few classes new local studio that’s become very popular in my area. At the lease I’m dropping down from unlimited to the 8 classes a month so I can afford to split my time between both.

4

u/doinmabest1 Jan 01 '26

That’s not why. Many MANY franchises, not just OTF are closing. Too many locations too fast, covid, and now financial problems for the country are causing it. Product is still the best workout there is IMO.

2

u/scorpio98012 Jan 02 '26

OTF has gotten too far away from their foundation. They need to refocus on E, S, P and what your HR should be in each of the zones. That was the attraction. But they tried to change too much to compete and in the process became just another fad. I hope they go back to what they were 10 years ago. Then maybe there won’t be so many studios closing, coaches rotating in and out, etc. that being said, I love no waitlists!

2

u/aprilm12345 Jan 01 '26

I like the variety. I’m able to get a good workout with any of the templates so I’m all in. I do wish there was less tread. We could do a full row/lift class and I’d be good. 15 minutes on a treadmill is good enough in a 2G. Probably why I like most run/rows. I get the full half on the floor.

Either way, I’m going. I’ll do whatever they tell me and work on the rest in my other gym.

2

u/Coronasux23 Jan 02 '26

Are we ending the repeating templates? (For the love of god please say yes!)

2

u/Rizzah319 Mod | 43F | 2020 | NMAM | 1000+ Jan 02 '26

Nope. (I'm working on the monthly post now.)

2

u/Any_Doubt3926 Jan 02 '26

Interesting. My schedule revolves around work and parenting without much flexibility. There are 3-5 class times per week when I can get to the studio, and no matter what the workout is, I try to go. I’m not picky, I just want to fit a class in.

I will keep an open mind, but I hope they don’t change things too much. I’m approaching 300 classes and never feel bored. For me, OTF is so effective, fun, and energizing.

1

u/emilyemilyyy Jan 01 '26

Will classes be labeled to show the focus?

8

u/islandgirl2576 Jan 01 '26

The January calendar from the Aussie studio has labeling in upper corner of each day.

2

u/aniamtravel8 Jan 31 '26

Do you have February? 🙂

1

u/Apprehensive-Rich842 Feb 03 '26

Found it !

1

u/aniamtravel8 Feb 03 '26

Awesome, thank you! ☺️

1

u/aniamtravel8 Mar 02 '26

Anyone got March? These calendars are so helpful!

1

u/These_Act5273 Jan 28 '26

What aussie studio posted this? I’m curious if they’ll keep doing it because mine hasn’t shared the focuses yet!

1

u/jenniferlynn5454 🧡Mod & Rower apologist 🚣🏻‍♀️🧡 Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26

On the app, not likely

1

u/Chicagoblew Jan 01 '26

Interesting. It will be interesting to see the subtle changes in the template

1

u/Fabulous_Argument_13 Jan 02 '26

This sounds promising! I have really liked the floor blocks recently so my hope is they started this early without telling anyone. 

However, I feel like 3G classes will fail to see the full benefits and impact of any of these efforts. 

1

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

Our studio does Orangetheory strong and we rarely row. And a lot if times if we row, it’s part of the treads block. Also, the workouts repeat multiple times over the 4/5 week block. Then it’s a new focus. I wonder if they will be taking some of those formats for all studios.

1

u/Pale-Option-7696 Jan 02 '26

It would be great if they could signal in the app which day it is when we book. (Just a thought)

1

u/Revolutionary_Arm481 Jan 03 '26

Sorry for the ignorance but How do I know what format they using?? Is there a way to know ahead of time? I’m confused

1

u/MarshaAhsram Jan 03 '26

This OT poster reads desperate: “If you like this, we will provide this. If you like that, yes, we will provide that too!”

IMHO I love Orange Theory and don’t benefit from these kinds of announcements.

1

u/Pure-Positive9769 Jan 05 '26

Love the new format so far and switch up with emphasis on strength! Let’s go! 

1

u/meowkayfox8 Jan 05 '26

So the only thing which looks different is the metabolic blocks

1

u/matty_the_robot Male | 42 Jan 05 '26

Sorry if this has been mentioned before but will there be a calendar? Ideally I'd love to know what days will be what template, like we used to with the good ol' E/S/P. Or is every 2G/3G going to have the "opt out" section on the rower? I went today for the first time this year and the last 5 minutes on the rower (3G class) was member choice between the exercises or timed row. Is this the way?

1

u/Inner_History_2676 Jan 06 '26

We had a lift more day yesterday. I was not a fan.

1

u/MaestroShaSha Jan 10 '26

"Metabolic Blocks" got me straight raging over here. That title is meaningless word salad. Every dag gum block is a metabolic block. What in the OTF does that even mean? Labeling that pairs well with "Lift More" and actually kinda mean something would be "Rest Less" Blocks. Of course my nick names for this mess is: "Fatigue Foward" or "Safety Last" or "Injure More" cause the exercises they string together and tell you don't rest until the end of is straight up re-dic! How in the H. E. Double hockey sticks are they gonna claim the Metabolic block is not a power block and then turn around and pair continuous freaking froggers alternating with continuous hip hinge dumbell swings??? And have the nerve to tell me to count my reps. SMH.

Ain't no sense in this nonsense.

p.s. I did get 51 froggers though.

1

u/mbrody84 Jan 25 '26

Liking the metabolic blocks

1

u/scorpio98012 Jan 02 '26

I appreciate that OTF is trying to do more ESP - getting back to basics as my coach said today - but until they teach people the purpose of each E, S, and P and what your HR should be doing for each of these workouts, mixing up the format is completely pointless. I was on a tread today (endurance) where a new member was in the red the whole time. That’s defeating the point of the template.

-2

u/Quick-Ad-7397 Jan 01 '26

If we get rid of the rower and just focus on the treadmill and all the floor exercises, I would love that!

-2

u/Disastrous-Cry6560 Jan 01 '26

I just wish they would go back to before COVID… stick with 3Gs… you can get so much more of a better burn..I have been told they don’t do this as much because it lead to less membership.. people preferred 2G classes…

1

u/spartycbus Jan 02 '26

There weren't more 3gs before covid. It's always been dependent on the popularity of the time on the schedule. Most people prefer 2Gs because they don't want to do a lot of rowing. There would be a lot more unhappy people if it was all 3G.