What’s up, fellow Obsessives?

I was telling my wife the other day that one of our coaches was leaving OTF to go backpack around South America this fall.

“That’s crazy,” she said. “My hot yoga teacher is doing the same thing.”

And that’s how we learned we’d both been taking fitness classes from the same woman for the past year without knowing it.

— Kevin

Only two more days to take the OTF Obsessed one-year survey and be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift certificate from Shop Orangetheory!

As a reminder, I’ll be sending all survey takers a summary of the results!

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It’s a common occurrence that I’ll be standing in my bathroom at 4 am while thinking “do I really want to get dressed and go workout this morning?”

And yet it’s my next thought that always wins out: “Don’t go back to bed. It’ll cost $12."

So I put on my workout clothes and head downstairs to start my day. I’ve only been charged once after almost eight years of belonging to OTF.

Ah yes, the Orangetheory late cancellation fee. The bane of our existence yet a greater motivator than a Hall of Fame football coach. My buddy Jeff said he wanted to read a newsletter about the penalty and, well, here we are.

So let’s get into it.

I couldn’t find any instance of OTF founder Ellen Lathem or other Orangetheory leadership talking about the penalty, but it’d probably look something like this.

Spaces are limited in each class, waitlists exist and parking yourself in a spot you have no intention of actually attending takes it away from someone who does. When you bail on short notice, it makes it harder for someone else to fill that spot. Multiply that by hundreds of studios and countless members and it could turn into a sizable problem. The fee keeps expectations honest for the OTF staff; if 25 people are signed up for a class, they know there will likely only be a few flakes, not a couple of dozen.

There’s also the not insubstantial revenue the fees also produce for each studio. Though there are other real reasons they exist, they certainly must help improve the tough margins of boutique fitness.

They sure do. And my research shows that OTF penalties on the cheaper end, though other brands are more lenient when it comes to time. My penalty is $12 within eight hours at my studios in the Chicago suburbs, while my friend Jeff pays an extra $2 for his outlet in the city.

Compare that to:

The Orangetheory cancellation fee is a perfect example of what behavioral scientists call a commitment device.

When I prebook my class weeks before, I’m making a promise to my future self that I’ll get out of bed and head to Orangetheory. But it turns out that my future self doesn’t have the same motivation when he’s looking at himself bleary-eyed in the mirror at 4 in the morning.

If it weren’t for Orangetheory placing that $12 commitment device on my reservation, I might otherwise head back to bed for two more hours of sleep.

But really, the science is simple: When you make backing out cost something, people back out a lot less.

I think this one is in the eye of the beholder. There are plenty of people who make valid points about the class times that never come close to being filled or that you shouldn’t be penalized for life, illnesses or traffic happening.

I personally don’t mind it. The possibility of losing $12 on top of my monthly membership fee has gotten me into more classes and helped me keep the best fitness routine of my life. And while my studio also gives our a free late cancel to those of us who go 12 or more times a month, I still don’t find myself ever using it.

Shoutout to Melissa M. for hitting class 3,000 earlier this month, an amazing achievement that two of her coaches marked by bringing in balloons.

“I really believe OTF is the right workout for me,” Melissa writes.

I would say so. Congrats on the amazing achievement!

Have a milestone, PR or big win to celebrate with everyone else? Hit me up at [email protected] to share!

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Note: OTF Obsessed is an independent fan-created newsletter and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially associated with Orangetheory Fitness.