Orangetheory® Fitness, the fast-growing fitness franchise that is sweeping the globe, will open three new studios across the Montréal area in 2017, taking its regional total to four. The chain, recently called one of the “Best Workouts” by Elle Canada, is making the Québec market a big priority and expects to see major growth into 2018 and beyond.
The exponential growth in Montréal reflects the brand’s rapid expansion across Canada with the first studio having opened in Edmonton in 2012. Today, there are almost 50 locations across Canada, with open rates up a whopping 300 per cent from 2015 and by the end of the year, there will be more than 80 open studios. In 2017, Montréal will have studios in the Pointe Claire, Town of Mount Royal, Boucherville and Rosemère neighborhoods.
‘The rapid growth of Orangetheory Fitness in Canada continues to beat our expectations. Last year, we exceeded our studio opening goal by over 20 per cent. This year, we anticipate opening 162 per cent more studios over last year’s openings,’ says Hifa Maleki, VP Franchise Development, and Operations, Orangetheory Fitness Canada. ‘A big part of our success is rooted in the passion our franchisees have for Orangetheory. More than 90 per cent of our owners is also studio members.’
This was the case for Sophia Stiperski and her husband, Jean Sebastian Carré, co-owners of the upcoming Boucherville studio. Stiperski, an 18-year veteran of Cirque du Soleil, and Carré, who performed with Céline Dion for the past 12 years, both found Orangetheory Fitness while they were working in Las Vegas.
“From our first workout at Orangetheory Fitness in Las Vegas, my husband and I knew we wanted to be involved somehow,” says Stiperski. “As performers, fitness has always been a huge part of our lives, but with Orangetheory it felt different like we found a new family. When the time came to decide what was next for us, the answer was clear – we wanted to bring this amazing experience home to our family in Quebec.”
The passion for exercise and first-hand experience with Orangetheory Fitness as a studio member is a common thread with all the Montréal franchisees. Their collective experience ranges from Healthcare to Technology to, not surprisingly, Fitness. All were drawn to the chain’s unique combination of fitness and technology.
Designed to appeal across the spectrum from fitness newbie to workout junkie, the Orangetheory Fitness workout is a dynamic trainer-led group class. The goal is to achieve 12 to 20 minutes of training at 84 per cent or more in the participant’s maximum heart rate range. Tracked by heart rate monitors worn during the workout, this level of intensity is called the orange zone. Training in this zone produces an “afterburn” effect, increasing metabolism for up to 24 to 36 hours post-workout.
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