Fitness Clubs
Xtreme Couture
Xtreme Couture is immense. During my visit, friendly staff gave me a tour of the 33,000 foot studio, telling me that it's the largest of its chain in the world. Getting a tour was easy: I simply sent a message through the club's website for their free 7 day pass and printed it out.
Looking around, I see ads on the concrete walls. This is new to me, but rather than looking out of place, it almost feels more authentic.
Every room I entered was incredibly well-stocked and would have stood as a mini gym on its own, including the cardio lounge, strength machine and free weight section, mini yoga studio, and the industrial Crossfit area with tractor tires against the wall.
I'm given a schedule and see that they offer almost 40 fitness classes each week. These include spinning classes, kettlebells, crossfit, Zumba and several kinds of yoga, including an MMA inspired style.
As for martial arts, Xtreme Couture has classes for BJJ (gi and no gi), wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Krav Maga and MMA. Like the fitness side, martial arts have dedicated areas, including a boxing ring, a variety of punching bags, a HUGE mat area for grappling and even an octagon.
I manage to squeeze into the boxing class that night. My one complaint would be that it doesn't feel very beginner-friendly. I felt like I should already know what I'm doing to get the most out of the class, which I don't, since I haven't boxed before.
The class begins with shadowboxing, and when I ask for pointers, I'm told "stand in front of that mirror, and pretend to box". Not super helpful.
Later in the class, we do partner drills and I'm paired with someone with, somehow, less experience than me.
Unhelped, I get punched in the face twice while we work out the drill, the instructor ignoring us as he watches two students duke it out in the ring.
Despite this, I still had a good time overall and wouldn't hesitate to go back.
After class, I'm offered a 15 month membership for $388.16 (tax included), which works out to $26/month, if I sign up immediately instead of taking them up on their 7 day pass.
Even if I had accepted the free week, the price only jumps to $468 +tax ($528) for the year, working out to $44 a month, which still leaves all but the most economical gyms far behind.
They also offer a cheaper option for those just interested in the fitness classes, that can be upgraded to an mma membership as time goes on. While I initially set out to explore Xtreme Couture as a martial arts school, I would really consider them if all I wanted was a fitness gym.
For those into MMA however, this is the place to be. You're simply going to be hard-pressed to find anything close to the variety of training available here.
Writing by Dan Cosgrove. Photos by Jesse Milns.
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Cheers.
Janine
Wow- sounds like such a great place...
I like these new reviews on the fitness centres..good writting...but would like to add that more information be added about how busy the place was/hours etc.Maybe seek out some places abit more north rather than east/west.
One thing the author didn't mention is that they're renovating over the next little while and will have even more space.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=868855246
They do have childcare. I don't have the exact hours in front of me, but I think it's morning and evening during the week, and 9-5 on Saturday. That might not be right, but it's close.
Cost is included with membership.
" The stone that the builder refuses shall be the head corner stone"
Bob Marley
Here's some (not all) of the issues. THINGS JUST DON'T GET FIXED. The display of 4 out of 5 bikes they have are broken and haven't been fixed in over 6 months (I don't think they plan too). The MMA instructors went from guys like Mark Hominick and Chris Horridecki to guys that barely know what they're doing. I even saw a former student (mediocre student at best) teaching the classes. The soap dispenser has been broken and instead of fixing it, they have an industrial size soap box sitting on the sink. They have missing weights for over a year and still don't have it (80 lb free weight). Things just seem to break and never fixed. It's only a matter of time before they pass the threshold of their members patience. I actually think they've reached it due to the fact that I always see the price of membership decreasing every time I pass by. They don't even have a scale to weigh yourself...What gym doesn't have a scale? It's like a boxing gym not having punching bags
This gym is a prime example of a facility trying to hang on to stay afloat. It's either they can't afford to maintain the gym or they just don't care any more, both reasons to me are unacceptable...
If you're looking for a MMA gym, don't be fooled by the "Couture" name. He's either an absent part owner (Highly doubtful, but you should ask yourself ) or they just paid to have his name put on the the gym (highly likely). Go in, take some classes and you'll see what I mean...Maybe I'm wrong. Actually I hope I'm wrong as I have respect for Randy Couture, or had anyway
What was once a promising MMA training facility is no more than run down space with broken equipment with a somewhat pretty façade. You can put lipstick on a pig but...
These are all opinions so my advice to any that reads this is, if you're looking to train in MMA, look elsewhere. If you don't believe me, get a week pass and try some of the classes...
I guess the reason why I left is because they just don't care... or that's what it feels like. But hey, I'm just one person, if you're curious to measure the accuracy of my accusations, I strong;y suggest you go in and find out for yourself.
Randy has nothing to do with the ownership of the gym. They paid for the rights to use the name, that is about it.
The instructors have been fairly good and consistent on the grappling side. They took away two day classes with a good instructor and lost a UFC fighter but there is still a good set of experienced grappling coaches. The striking side, has been inconsistent. They still advertise Hominick and Horodecki but they haven't been around for years. They have a new guy from Croatia who seems decent (and used to train with cro cop or something) and one of the thai coaches is certainly legit.
I still believe for the price that this is one of the better options, especially if your goals are more fun/fitness/hobby oriented in the GTA. Your complaints about maintenance and failing equipment are valid but most gyms don't even have any equipment or nearly as much, nor do they offer yoga/kettle bell/fitness classes included. I have been to the majority of gyms in the area and all of them charge a lot more, have less equipment and space and do not offer the same fitness options. I'll take that over having a soap dispenser that doesn't work (soap on the sink top instead), a few broken machines, some missing weights.
If you want to lift weights, you could most likely find a cheap gym to do that, which would have most of the equipment, nice change rooms, etc. If you want fitness (kettlebell, yoga, spin class) classes, maybe a YMCA or something would have all that cheaper than Xtreme Couture (not sure though).
If your goals are specific to trying to have some fights, boxing matches, sport BJJ, wrestling, etc. I think you could be much better off at another place that offers those specific classes more often. Generally you will pay more and give up access to the fitness options and amount of equipment though. I feel like if you want to get into boxing and have some bouts one day you should seek out a boxing gym. If your goals are to be competitive in BJJ, maybe seek out a gym that has more BJJ classes, etc... (Xtreme is focused on no gi grappling, even though they have one of the most well respected gi practitioners in the area teaching gi)
Terrible gym if you want to actually learn and excel at martial arts. Joined up last year and I found that this gym only cares about memberships and not about the quality of instruction.
Most of their quality instructors have left and the trainers that are still there are barely qualified to teach beginners.
Also there's a douchieness vibe to the gym which is funny because of the so called "MMA Fighters" are pretty over-rated.
If you're gonna join get yourself a tribal tattoo, a faux-hawk and a Tapout shirt to fit in.
Joined just under 2 years ago. At first, was part of muay thai classes under one instructor. Eventually moved to another due to time constraints, and my choice of his style. On that day I learned that this gym has a fairly meat-head mentality - the first instructor took major offense to me for switching, never asking why, and just started ignoring me even when I tried to say hi. I don't mean that one incident made me come to this conclusion; this behaviour persisted for just over a year time frame where I finally decided to stop trying to say hi to him. Politeness doesn't seem to get you far in this gym.
This is the kind of vibe I ended up feeling from most of their staff, especially when other staff members also started ignoring me for no reason. I guess I hurt the feelings of a group of them. They just seem incredibly irritable.
I ended up training under what I think was one of their 2 best striking coaches. Had a very good year-long history with this coach and this gym. Then when I went on vacation, the manager actually phoned me up constantly (while I was out of the country) and when I finally picked up, proceeded to work a deal with me knowing I was on my vacation/honeymoon. He refused to hold it until I got back. This should have given me a hint but silly me kept going on with the deal - the price I was getting was half a year membership fee for a year long term... fairly enticing, but he didn't mention to me that they not only fired my trainer but also the only other coach that I would have considered training under (and from what I've heard it was for some rather stupid political reasons, not limited to pay). Quite the sneaky screw move.
To these guys, fighting arts are interchangeable. I ended up with a second 15-month contract and a huge headache about how one muay thai trainer is another muay thai trainer is another... This place has no respect for the style of any striking art, or to make it more general, the varierty of styles falling under different martial arts. No one just learns 'kung fu' or 'karate'; they learn one of the many forms/styles/branches. As a result, I was left with the worst meat-headed, monkey-punching trainers around. There was no technique, just horrible fitness-mma that looked like it was taught by street thugs. To make things worse, the only real option I had at this point was to join the classes of the original coach that ended up hating me for switching out of his classes. There is no way to ensure that a) I'd get the attention I need to excel and b) ensure that I wasn't on the tail end of a prank meant to hurt (I'm also surprised I had to think this far into it).
The joke about this gym is I paid to be here... I can't believe I actually paid to be part of a high school drama scene.
All in all - I got screwed out of a long membership (as cheap as it was, I moved on to a real dojo/gym meant for the martial arts of my choice), I ditched an old dojo to join something that is incredibly unstable, had horrible dealings with management where they basically worked any way into a deal, and wasted money on something I'm not using.
My recommendation would be that if you are okay with being independant with your workouts (i.e. basically you either are a teacher of martial arts just using the bags to practice yourself, or you just lift weights) then this gym may be the place for you. However, I've heard that they're also extremely crouded currently as they are selling cheap memberships by the dozen to avoid bankruptcy, but haven't enough cash to fill the gym with enough equipment for the volume of people they now get. Buyer beware even for the independant athlete/basic gym user.
If you are looking for fitness MMA, there is one good guy left last time I checked. You won't be learning any serious technique for fights, but you'll have good abs and quite the cardio I guess. But this is limited to the schedule, so good luck if you can't make the class - there aren't many other options.
If you'd like to actually learn something for martial arts, as in to train hard for the fighting/competing aspect, stay away from this place. There is no technique left, and their best guys were let go late last year. The turnover rate currently is so high it makes me wonder how they retain their students, if not for enrolling them into contracts or getting full pay up-front at the time of signing. I once was talking with another friend who is also really into martial arts. I said this place could be a decent starting point. His response was that you would learn the worst habits and incorrect techniques starting at a place like this - something I now truely agree with.
Note 1: This is primarily for the MMA side. I mentioned the volume of people in terms of the weights side because I know someone who still goes there and that is their primary concern. She has to schedule workouts outside of certain times to make sure it's just a 1hour workout and not 2 or more due to waiting for equipment. This is a typical problem for gyms but is usually doable; at this gym it's apparently past that point.
Note 2: If there is one or two good trainers in that gym, and I'm sure are (there always is one or two poor dying souls in this kind of a mess, and I know of at least one fantastic guy on the weight lifting side of things), then I apologize if I've offended you. I'm just speaking my experience and concerns.
Schedule had Horridecki in it but I never saw him once in the 1 year 2 months I did show up.
Most of the instructors that have taken over are NOT certified. This could get you seriously hurt with the wrong kind of advice (this is for MMA side. Not sure about their personal trainers but I know a few who are fantastic - I won't take that away from them).
Weight scale is consistently broken, when it's there.
When a hanging bag breaks, they don't actually replace it, just move the bags around to consolidate them. Problem here is also that they mix kicking bags with boxing bags - when a kicking bag rips, a super hard and worked in boxing bag is put in place. At half the length and with what feels like a cement bottom, these aren't exactly the safest and best to use for training kicks.
I'll stop there. I think I've said enough.
The striking instructors have changed and seem to be a rotating door. Currently they have a legit kickboxing instructor (out of Croatia and I have heard he used to train with crocop) and I am not sure about the thai boxing coach. You mentioned why Clifton left & they had to fire the other guy after he was insulting customers and all that stuff. Horodecki and Hominick have been gone for quite a while.
Im on the fence about the place. It get's very very very busy. I've gone at a different times in the evening. The after 5 rush is insane, 8:30-10 was also really busy. I did find 7-7:30 to be a bit better.
My biggest issue is with the messiness of the gym. Weights aren't put away. I know this is an aspect of all gyms, but it's borderline ridiculous. I actually spend a considerable amount of time trying to find sets of any given dumbbell weight. Weights being put away is definitely something that needs to be enforced. I've seen people nearly hurt themselves because weights were left laying around. I've scene olympic bars just laying around, randomly.
The other thing is that it's very crowded with equipment. I know that sounds kinda crazy. Who doesn't want a large quantity of equipment. The issue isn't too many pieces of equipment, the problem is that there is no logical organisation to it.
I know the reality is that this won't get resolved...but if they just took some time to layout the gym in a logical manner it would be amazing. If they expanded the weight lifting area to cut into the MMA mat about 10 feet it would make a world of difference. The MMA floor is so huge I don't think it would make any sort of impact on that end.
I'm starting to feel a sense of "buyers remorse" which sucks big time because my options are super limited for gyms in that area.
Finally the very last thing. I don't know about you guys, but to me getting in the gym for a workout is all about the workout. The amount of conversation and standing around near machines and taking forever to get off a machine because of this talking is unreal. I've never been at a gym and saw people socializing so much. Most of the time it's dudes just talking about girls and partying...the shit is ridiculous.
That is all!
I joined this gym primarily for the fitness. I was also attracted to the idea about training martial arts as well but I seriously have reconsidered after having some unpleasant experiences in the mixed martial arts area.
My first unpleasant experience occurred when I was by myself and I was throwing punches on the heavy bags. I saw one of the boxing instructors a tattooed guy with a moustache and politely asked him for some pointers. I expected a few friendly tips but instead he was quite rude and told me flat out he can't be bothered with me then he just turned his back on me. His attitude really put me off and I didn't go back to martial arts area again for a few weeks.
When I did go back I did my best to avoid the rude boxing instructor so I decided to try the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. And that's where I received my second unpleasant experience. he class had minimal instruction and the instructor did very little to get the students involved and virtually ignored the students for most of the class. I tried a second class and it was almost identical to the first with the the same lacklustre instruction though a different instructor.
I really felt let down by Xtreme Couture and I feel like it is not a really hospitable gym for guys who just want to train to get fit and learn a bit of martial arts.
I cancelled my membership and have joined a Good Life near my house. I still would like to learn Martial Arts so if anybody has any advice on a gym that is much more friendly and actually gets its students involved and actively participating in class I would love to hear some suggestions.
I found at Xtreme, you really have to be self motivated and take an interest in what you are trying to train on your own and with other students. The instruction is legit, I took some classes with Wagnney and he was quite involved. The no gi is more relaxed and I felt welcomed and any questions were answered but I could see how new people to grappling could feel like the instructor is quite passive/to passive. It certainly is not for everyone.
If you provide some answers to where you live/willing to travel to, budget, etc. some people would most likely give you some options.
It's like enrolling to a course called Bill Gates School of Business, only to find out that the instructor is the manager of a local McDonalds. With NO REFUNDS!
Again, there's a difference between not meeting someone's expectations and feeling like you got scammed and cheated, which is the taste you get after you join this gym. I felt as though they put on a show when joining but as soon as my payments when through I became just another number.
These are simply my opinion but if you are looking for a gym and want to challenge what I've stated, please do. Don't take my word for it and check the validity of my accusations yourself by getting a week pass.
Regarding your comments about it not being a MMA gym, sure. I'd point out that most MMA gyms have a similar structure though. And for good reason. I never got the point of an MMA class that takes people who are not good at striking or grappling and then trains both in one class. Starting out, most gyms have you train them separately then you can spar and do specific MMA training once you have a grasp of some grappling and striking. Most gyms do that....
Anyway Randy, you have a valid point and by no means was I trying convert a satisfied customer to share my views.
I just think that they have a poor operating model and it should be revised to try to keep their clients happy.
Dans le but de préparer de grandes échéances Internationales de boxe anglaise « boxe féminine », le Cameroun par mon canal : membre du conseil d administrations de la Fédération Camerounaise de Boxe, membre entraineur national des filles, père et entraineur de la boxeuse, sollicite la compétence de votre club pour l obtention d un stage de préparation pour ma boxeuse.
AZANGUE AUBIEGE YANNICKE, jeune Professeur d Enseignement Physique et S sportif « PEPS » de 24 ans est aussi Internationale en Tennis. Dévouée et ambitieuse, elle caresse le rêve de glaner une médaille d or aux Jeux Olympiques RIO 2016 en Boxe. Rêve qu’elle a déjà commence a mener au regard de son palmarès .Déjà plusieurs fois championne du Cameroun en catégories différentes et surtout championne d Afrique dans les 69 kg.
Dans l attente d une suite imminente veuillez agréer Monsieur l expression de mon profond respect.
Merci