I’ve lost my mojo at my local gym a little bit. I’ve been going to the same gym for 11 years and while it’s a wonderful gym with lots of group exercise classes and options, some things have changed with the schedule and my motivation has waned.
Very recently, an Orangetheory Fitness opened up literally minutes from my house. I had seen friends post about it in various spots nationally and this week our new franchise was offering free classes so I decided to check it out.
The premise with this workout is that you’re doing 60 minutes of a group class with a trainer who is walking around and working on getting your heart rate up to the target “orange” zone. You wear a heart monitor and your heart rate is tracked on a big screen in the gym.
We divided into two groups. I went with the group that went on the treadmills first. I was on the treadmill for about a half and hour running at various paces. The cool thing is that the trainer gave us settings and told us what inclines and speeds to do based on whether you were a walker, jogger or runner.
And of course obviously you adjust based on your age, fitness level and your own personal needs. This was very much high-intensity training – short bursts of fast runs with quick baseline runs to bring our heart rate down. The focus is keeping yourself in that target orange range the entire time, which is automatically calculated for you.
After we did about a half an hour on the treadmill, we did our second half hour on the floor, going back and forth between using a rowing machine to get our heart rate up to lifting weights and doing various circuit training.
The niftiest part of the workout was that I had a report emailed to me once it was over. And you have to figure this is pretty accurate given that they’ve inputed my age, weight and height?
I’ll definitely be checking it out again. I’m not yet ready to give up my regular gym because I’m not sure I can see doing this 5x a week but for a once or twice a week workout mixed in with other workouts, I think it seems like a cool option. If you’re curious about it now, see if there’s an Orangetheory near you.
So kudos for getting a great workout in and kicking ass to get there
I am into my 8th workout and I love it! I like the group session and while my fitness is not at the same Pont as other the coaches are always encouraging and not judhement. I gave joined the Ostklaen facility and have to tell you the ladies at the front desk are so very kind. Franceen
I have been going the last month 3-4 days per week trying to lose my last 5 to 10lbs of pregnancy weight and i love it! I feel so much more toned and firm! Try it if you have not yet! There is a wide array of fitness levels, ages, and abilities. Its great!