Toronto's two major fitness chains have now become one. In what is surprisingly NOT an April Fools joke, GoodLife Fitness announced today that it has acquired Extreme Fitness. The move adds 13 Toronto area clubs to GoodLife's portfolio which now stands at over 300 locations across Canada.

The move may suggest that GoodLife has largely run out of promising new locations to open in Toronto. It also means it now has a presence in areas such as the Danforth and the Club District but it's yet unclear what changes GoodLife plans to bring to these clubs (GoodLife has posted a FAQ here) and for how long they'll continue to operate under the Extreme brand and rate structure.

Extreme's marketing and business practices have drawn significant criticism on this site so it will be interesting to see how GoodLife plans to address current or past gripes.

This acquisition also means that GoodLife is really the only fitness chain with a significant GTA presence. Snap Fitness and LA FItness are both making inroads into the local market but so far their presence is relegated to a handful of locations.

It's also possible that this move was largely a preemptive strike against impending US competition such as the soon-to-launch Equinox chain. Acquiring Extreme's 13 locations prevents a US competitor from doing the same and therefore quickly establishing a Toronto foothold.

What do you think of the move? Is GoodLife's acquisition of Extreme Fitness good or bad for those of us looking for local fitness options?

Photo by Plane View in the blogTO Flickr pool