How to Freeze OrangeTheory Membership? Fully Explained!

OrangeTheory Fitness is one of the most revered gym chains in the whole world. With over 1,300 locations across the United States, it serves thousands and thousands of fitness enthusiasts, allowing them to take scientifically-backed fitness classes.

While OrangeTheory has an excellent customer retention rate, sometimes members have to opt out of their memberships.

In some cases, you might pick up an injury or need some time off from your regular workout routine. What do you do in this situation? Because one thing is clear, OrangeTheory Fitness is definitely not cheap.

If you are paying for a high-end studio, your monthly fee can go as high as $159. So, if you have to take some time off, you cannot simply let the gym charge you that amount even if you are not using its facilities, can you?

Fortunately, there is a workaround.

You have the option to freeze OrangeTheory membership temporarily. That way, you can simply take some time off from the gym without having to pay your monthly membership fee.

But is that really possible? And if it is, how can you put your membership on hold without incurring any extra charges?

In this article, we’ll cover all aspects of how to freeze your OTF membership.

Can I Freeze My OrangeTheory Membership?

Yes, you absolutely can! Members have the option to freeze their OTF accounts temporarily for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 60 days. Furthermore, accounts can be frozen only twice in the same year.

Here is the gist of the official policy issued by OrangeTheory:-

Members have the option to freeze their accounts for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 2 months for up to two times a year.

Members will be charged a nominal suspension fee during the freeze period. This amount will be charged on the regular autopay date.

The account will be reactivated automatically after the designated freeze time is over. From then, the membership will revert to regular monthly billing.

Different OrangeTheory gyms might have different procedures and standards for freezing their memberships and the associated suspension fees.

Long story short, you have the option to pause OrangeTheory membership without facing a lot of difficulties.

Please note that the above-mentioned policy is the general one. There are some other considerations that members need to keep in mind, which we shall discuss in the subsequent sections.

How Long Can You Freeze OrangeTheory Membership

Generally, the longest you can freeze your OrangeTheory membership is 60 days or 2 months. However, you can expect some leniency from your home gym in case of special circumstances.

For instance, the gym may allow a member to freeze their account for longer periods in case of pregnancies. Similarly, other medical conditions might also compel the gym to bend its policies a little.

In many cases, members reported that for long-term injuries and medical issues, their gyms simply re-evaluated the freeze after every 60 days and then extended the period.

So, if you have a genuine reason and appropriate documents to support your claim, then you can freeze your account for as long as it takes to recover and get ready for your next workout.

On the other hand, if you just want to take a casual leave and take some time off, then you can only freeze your account for up to 60 days at a time. Once that period is over, your membership will be reactivated automatically, irrespective of whether you show up to your classes or not.

How Much Does It Cost to Freeze OrangeTheory Membership?

Typically, you have to pay a small suspension fee for the months during which your account will remain frozen. In most cases, this fee is consistent at $15 per month across all OrangeTheory Fitness studios.

However, some of the more premium studios might have slightly larger suspension fees because of the extra services and facilities they provide.

However, members should note that they are not liable to pay any suspension fees if they wish to freeze account for medical or military reasons.

It’s a standard OrangeTheory Fitness policy that if you provide them with relevant documentation to show that you need to freeze your membership due to a medical emergency or for a military-based reason, then you don’t have to pay anything.

Simply provide the relevant proof to the management, and they will waive the suspension fees completely.

How To Freeze OrangeTheory Membership?

At this point, we know almost everything about freezing our OrangeTheory memberships. But we missed an important point – how to do that?

Typically, you’ll have to go through a lot of hassle to do this at any other commercial gym. But OrangeTheory Fitness is known for providing a relatively good user experience.

So, their procedure for freezing your membership account is quite simple. Here’s what you need to do:

Freezing Account By Filling Out Physical Paperwork

This is the most widely accepted method of freezing your OrangeTheory account. Most studios ask members to show up and fill out the form manually because it’s the gym policy.

They won’t entertain the concept of sending out a digital form to be submitted through electronic means.

To complete the procedure, follow these steps:

1. Call your home gym. Tell them that you plan to freeze your membership account for a certain period and cite relevant reasons. They will mostly ask you to come over to fill out some paperwork.
2. Visit your home studio. The paperwork will likely be waiting for you at the front desk.
3. Fill out the paperwork as instructed.
4. The staff members will then scan the form and put it in their system.
5. If required, you will have to pay a freeze fee of around $15 immediately. Otherwise, it will be manually charged to your credit card on the regular autopay date.
6. If you show up with a doctor’s note or other relevant documents to support the claim that you are taking some time off due to medical or military reasons, then you won’t have to pay the $15 suspension fee.
7. Once the procedure is complete, you can walk out with the assurance that your freeze request is processed and accepted.

Some members complain that it does not make sense for them to show up just to fill out a form when they can do so digitally.

However, most OrangeTheory gyms do so to ensure that they have a tangible record of members and their activity. So, in case of future disputes regarding billing or other issues, they can have the required proof at their disposal.

While it may be inconvenient, filling out paperwork manually does provide some extra assurance that you won’t face any issues in the future. In the case of e-filing, there’s always the doubt of whether or not the gym has accepted your request.

Freezing Account By Filling Out Online Forms

If your gym allows it, you have the option to fill out the paperwork digitally as well. But only some OrangeTheory studios support this approach. So don’t be surprised if they tell you that showing up at the gym is your only option.

Here’s how you can freeze your account using the online approach:

1. Call your home gym and tell them that you want to freeze your membership for a certain time due to certain reasons.
2. Tell them that you would prefer to fill out the paperwork online.
3. If they allow it, they’ll e-mail you the details, instructions, and the document that you have to sign. They might ask you to use a portal like DigiSign to ensure the authenticity of your signature.
4. After signing the document, you can submit it back.
5. Wait for the gym to call back and confirm the acceptance of your freeze request.

This method is the more convenient one. However, only some OrangeTheory Fitness studios accept online documents when it comes to freezing membership accounts.

OrangeTheory Policy for Putting Membership on Hold

Here is a run-down of the official OrangeTheory policies for freezing your membership accounts:

• Accounts can be frozen for a maximum of 60 days and a minimum of 30 days, not more than twice a year.
• A suspension fee of $15 has to be paid every month during the freeze period. In case of medical or military leaves, the suspension fee will be waived completely.
• Most OTF studios will usually allow members to extend their freeze periods beyond the limit of 60 days if they have some legitimate medical or military reasons to support their requests. In such a case, the freeze request will be re-evaluated after every 60 days.
• Filling out the freeze document (whether online or offline) is mandatory for all members if they wish to put their accounts on hold. Most gyms require members to show up and fill out the paperwork manually. Others simply send a digital document to members via e-mail.

Don’t miss:

Can You Use Your OrangeTheory Membership at Any Location
Does OrangeTheory Have Showers and Lockers
OrangeTheory Heart Rate Monitor: Do You Really Need It

Do I Need a Doctor’s Note for Freezing My OrangeTheory Membership?

Normally, you can opt to freeze your OrangeTheory account without providing any doctor’s note or other documents. But in such a case, you will have to pay a nominal pause fee of around $15.

But if you do have a medical/military reason and a doctor’s note, you can use it to compel the gym to waive your pause fee. In such a case, you won’t have to pay anything for the entire duration in which your account is frozen.

How to Reactivate OrangeTheory Membership?

Your account will be reactivated and revert to normal monthly billings after the suspension period is over.

However, if you want to reactivate your account earlier than anticipated, you can simply call your home studio and tell them that you wish to unfreeze your membership.

In such a case, your next billing date will be set from whenever your account is reactivated completely.

Why is there a Fee to Freeze OrangeTheory Membership?

OrangeTheory Fitness has a small (usually $15) fee that you need to pay on a monthly basis when your account is frozen. This is mainly required to avoid members pausing their accounts indefinitely whenever they want some time off from the gym.

The studio will still be operating when you are on leave, and you will still be on their system as a member. So, their capacity will be affected as they can’t take in any more members as long as they expect you to return at some point.

So, it’s only fair that they keep charging you a small amount to encourage your return. Moreover, OrangeTheory does not charge anything if you have valid medical/military reasons for freezing your account.

From this perspective, their freeze policy makes perfect sense.

Don’t miss:

Can I Buy a Used OrangeTheory Heart Rate Monitor
Is OrangeTheory Worth It
Orangetheory Prices

Winding Up

Freezing your account at any commercial gym is normally not that easy. There are lengthy procedures and tons of loopholes that you would need to overcome.

Fortunately, that is not the case with OrangeTheory Fitness. The global chain has a standard policy and fixed guidelines for facilitating the freezing process. Members can easily put their accounts on hold if they have to take some time off due to any reason.