ORANGETHEORY FITNESS: NOT YOUR ORDINARY GYM
I attended my first Orangetheory® Fitness class today. It was an intense—but enjoyable—one hour workout. I had read enough about it online to pretty much know what to expect. Still, it was quicker paced and more challenging than I had anticipated—especially for this older guy.
I’d been hearing about Orangetheory for a while as an alternative to a regular gym and regular gym group classes. Doing a bit of research, I found that Orangetheory Fitness is a privately owned fitness franchise based in South Florida. It has grown rapidly since beginning in 2010 to more than 900 locations today throughout the United States plus various foreign countries.
Two days ago I visited their website (www.orangetheoryfitness.com) and saw they offered a free one-hour class to newcomers. I picked the location nearest to me—Camarillo, which is a half an hour from my house, phoned and spoke with Heidi, their front office person. Heidi asked my age and weight (I found out this was to calculate my maximum heart rate) and told me to come into the facility a half hour early to fill out paperwork and get a short introduction.
This morning I traveled to the studio in the Camarillo Village Square shopping center. Inside is a front desk that looks into the actual studio through glass panels. After filling in the questionnaire and waivers, Heidi gave me a heart rate monitor, which I placed around my upper arm. (I also could have chosen one that strapped around my chest.)
Today’s class was to be given by Dane, the owner. Before class, Dane showed me around the studio. It’s compact—only some 2,500 square feet but with a high ceiling. It’s painted orange (of course) and appeared very clean and orderly. Against the far wall are 14 treadmills. In front of these are 14 rowing machines. And in the area nearest the entrance are benches and racks of dumbbells & weights. Dane showed me how to work both the treadmill and rowing machine before he began the class.
Classes are one hour long divided into 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength. I started off on the treadmill along with half the class. Every few minutes Dane had us change speeds and inclines in a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) sequence. The other half did time trials on the rowing machine alternating with different exercises using the bench, weights and elastic bands.
We only had 12 people in my class this morning, but each person had a spot on a machine or a bench so it wouldn’t have felt crowded even with a full class of 28. After half an hour the two halves of the class switched.
Orangetheory workouts are based on endurance, strength and power. The workouts change daily and each day has a different emphasis. The background music is appropriately stimulating.
How Orangetheory Differs
Orangetheory sets itself apart from other fitness trends with an approach called EPOC or post-exercise oxygen consumption. This is also called the “afterburn.” Most members burn 500-1,000 calories in 60 minutes. And keep burning up to 15% more calories for 24 to 36 hours.
With the heart rate monitor Orangetheory can monitor five interval zones
The five zones are gray, blue, green, orange, and red.
- Gray zone: 50-60 percent of your maximum heart rate. Very light activity.
- Blue zone: 61-70 percent of your maximum heart rate. This is your warm-up zone.
- Green zone: 71-83 percent of your maximum heart rate. Challenging but doable fat burning zone. You should stay in this zone for 25 to 35 minutes of your workout.
- Orange zone: 84-91 percent of your maximum heart rate. Uncomfortable zone, which creates EPOC.
- Red zone: 92-100 percent of your maximum heart rate. All out effort.
During the 60-minute workout, Dane continuously pushed us to hit our orange zone. This target zone stimulates metabolism and increases energy. Multiple intervals are designed to produce 12 to 20 minutes of training at 84 percent or higher of your maximum heart rate. This creates EPOC, so you can continue to burn calories after your workout.
All of these guided HIIT exercises are built off of a base pace, push pace, and all-out pace. Base pace is a conversational pace. You should be able to talk to the person next to you and be able to maintain that for about 20 to 30 minutes. Your push pace is when your heart rate starts to get to the orange zone. Your all-out pace is going to be at about 92 percent and above your maximum heart rate. Orangetheory is set up for different levels of fitness and is for all ages. Most fit seniors will be able to jump right into the exercises. For instance on the treadmill, folks can choose between power walker, jogger or runner speeds and inclines—and still meet their orange zone minutes.
You can watch your—and everyone else’s—progress on TV screens on the wall. Plus your performance summary is emailed to you after the class. I found that I had spent 13 minutes in the orange-red zones, had an average heart rate of 115 beats/minute and burned 574 calories (with more to come in the afterburn). I didn’t have my monitor turned on for the first 9 minutes (Hey, I’m a beginner at this!) so I probably had higher actual numbers.
I thoroughly enjoyed the class and felt I got a super workout and want to continue attending. Yet, I’m also training for upcoming triathlons and half and full marathons. Plus, I found the pricing a little steep for my budget so just signed up for the Basic—4 times per month for $79. They also offer Elite—8 times per month for $119 or Unlimited for $179 per month. Classes are offered 6 or 7 times per day weekdays, 4 times Saturday morning and 3 times Sunday mornings. You sign up for classes using their App.
If you get a chance, try out a free class at an Orangetheory Fitness studio in your neighborhood. It might be a perfect fit for you!