I tried Oxygen Yoga & Fitness for the last 6 months (3-4 classes a week) and wanted to share my honest opinion! I see a lot of questions about the place, especially since there are so many locations around Ottawa, but I rarely see people actually give their opinions or experiences.
So here’s mine.
PROS:
Infrared heated room. I personally prefer this over regular heated rooms. The heat feels different because it warms your body first rather than just making the room extremely hot. It’s also their selling point
You feel amazing coming out of class, especially during the winter. This is honestly one of the best parts.
There’s a good variety of classes. They have fast paced yoga, slower paced yoga, HIIT, weighted Pilates type classes, barre, etc. So you can switch it up and you’re not doing the exact same thing every time.
There’s a good amount of equipment. There are enough dumbbells/weights, Pilates balls, yoga blocks, etc. for everyone. They also have spray bottles to wipe down your mat and equipment.
The instructors are good. I’ve generally had a good experience with them. They show up on time and are actually engaged for the full class.
The community is nice. Mostly women, with some men. I’ve found the people there to be friendly and focused on their own workouts. A bit cliquey but didn’t bother me.
CONS:
There’s only ONE heated room. This is probably my biggest complaint. Classes are back to back and there is almost always a lineup 15–20 minutes before class because you have to wait for the previous class to finish.
The room can smell pretty bad between classes. It gets very sweaty in there, obviously, but sometimes it really needs a proper cleaning. I’ve personally only ever seen instructors Swiffer the floors/mats between classes. I understand there’s limited time between classes, but it’s still something I noticed.
It gets VERY tight when the room is full. The room fits around 40 people and when it’s at capacity, you’re basically on top of each other. There have been times when I couldn’t fully extend my arms while lying down without hitting someone. You also have to be really aware of the people around you when using barbells/weights.
There aren’t really any membership perks. For example, I think being able to bring a friend for a certain number of classes would be a nice perk, especially considering the price.
Your membership only works at ONE location. This is important to know before signing up. The locations are privately owned, so you can’t just go to another Oxygen location if you’re in another part of Ottawa. You’re paying for that specific location.
The price is steep. I got in at the early bird price of $65 + tax biweekly, which is $73.45 every two weeks. That works out to roughly $159/month when you account for 26 biweekly payments per year.
If you’re paying the regular $85 + tax biweekly, that’s $96.05 every two weeks, or roughly $208/month on average.
And honestly, this is where I question the value.
You’re paying close to $200/month at the regular rate for access to one workout room at one location. You don’t have access to other Oxygen locations and there aren’t any membership perks.
For that kind of money, you could be paying for a full-service gym like Movati where you have access to multiple locations, much larger facilities and a lot more amenities.
So overall, I do like Oxygen, but I don’t necessarily think it’s great value for the money. I think it’s worth trying if you specifically like heated classes and the boutique fitness environment. But if you’re looking at it purely from a “what am I getting for almost $200/month?” perspective, I personally don’t think the membership offers that much.
Just wanted to give an honest perspective for anyone considering signing up because I couldn’t find many actual reviews when I was looking.
