You may have noticed that lately I’ve been going to the gym rather than doing home workouts. I hadn’t really intended to join a gym, but I’m so glad I did….for so many reasons!

When I first moved to Airdrie a couple of months ago, I found out that Oranj Fitness was about to open. I had never heard of the chain of boutique studios before, but I was intrigued to check it out! I met with Naomi, the franchisee, and she gave me a tour of the facility prior to its opening. We also chatted about the dynamic of the studio, the class offering, and every other amenity offered by Oranj. I honestly couldn’t believe how perfect everything looked and sounded!

I found myself signing up for an unlimited membership and before you know it- BAM, I was attended classes 5x/week. The icing on the cake? Free childcare came with my membership! LIFESAVER.

The app makes it really easy to book a class and book the corresponding childcare and BOOM, you’re all set! The girls working in the childcare are honestly the most amazing women ever. I have never left Wes with anyone before and EVERY SINGLE TIME they greet him by name and immediately get him interacting with toys. It took less than a week for him to get used to the new environment and now he runs to the studio from our car and blows kisses to the girls when he leaves.

Long tangent there, sorry.

ANYWAYS- I had arranged for the blog squad to take a tour and a private class last weekend and it went exactly as I expected: awesome.

The locker room provides just about every toiletry and has multiple sets of salon grade hair styling tools. There’s also complimentary towel service, a makeup remover station, HEATED FLOORS, and…..ah who cares THERE’S HEATED FLOORS.

There are three different studios, each of which host a variety of class types.

One room has the equipment for bootcamps, TRX classes, circuit class, kickboxing, etc. Most of the classes I take are in here 🙂

The other rooms facilitate yoga and a number of other classes. I regularly attend the Hot Barre class (they use radiant heat) and love how each space provides the perfect atmosphere.

So the girls and I were treated to a POUND class. The class uses lightly weighted drumsticks specifically designed for exercising and transforms drumming into a fun and effective workout.

We were led by Cheryl, an energetic instructor (and former drummer) who introduced the class as being for all fitness levels and coordination abilities.

The black light and disco ball transformed the room into a really motivating environment…especially since we were banging around drumsticks!

I have now taken her class two times and have left sweaty both times (she demonstrates all moves and gives options for all fitness capabilities) and woke up sore the day after- it incorporates a ton of muscles that I don’t normally use. Such a great feeling.

PS: Can’t forget to mention that there is a giant retail space in the front of the studio. They offer a variety of higher end athletic apparel and even have LULULEMON in stock! I am super excited about this because the next closest Lulu location is over a half hour away. #firstworldproblems

One major factor I noticed at Oranj is that they really foster the idea of community. All of the instructors make it a point to address each member by name, the community board allows members to post events or services, and well…there’s just so much more.

Oh! And there’s a smoothie bar. You can order your smoothie and have it ready for you once your class is over. How cool is that? COOL.

One last thing before I go- throughout December, Oranj is offering FREE classes on Sundays with a donation to the food bank. All you have to do is register online and when you show up for your class, the fee will be waived upon presentation of your donation. So awesome. 

A HUGE thank you to the wonderful people at Oranj Fitness Airdrie. We had an awesome private class!