I Tried Orange Theory Fitness, And This Happened....

If the right people endorse it, I’m willing to try almost anything, especially if we’re talking about a new workout. As I get older my preferences are always shifting, and I like to be open to receive new experiences as they come to me. Brooke Ence I am not, but I do try to eat well and stay relatively fit. (Recently further embraced my inner city girl by biking to work...free commute and free workout amirite??) 

So if my best friend and one of my favorite bloggers both swear by OrangeTheory Fitness, guess what I’m going to try? I learned you get your first class free so I synced scheds with my bestie and went this week on Monday night (when it was roughly 15 degrees outside, it’s fine). I phoned ahead earlier that day to request a spot in the 5:30pm class (you almost thought I meant “am” didn’t you? HA.) The employee informed me that the class was full but I was welcome to be put on the waitlist, and even to show up just in case a no-show meant I had a spot. I added, “This is my first class, should I -” but she abruptly said “Your first class? Like first one ever?”  Yes. 

Via Chain Store Age

And miraculously, they were able to make room for me: “You know what, we’ll make it work.” “Wow, thanks!” She asked me to arrive 30 minutes early for a walk-through and getting my paperwork signed. Sweet!

I showed up, filled out a form, and was shown the lockers and how to properly lock up. The employees were friendly and helpful, and one of the girls proceeded to explain to two other first-timers and me, the theory behind OrangeTheory, noting its similarities to Crossfit and the variety of exercises combined in this one (floor, treadmills, and rowing machines.) She walked us through a typical class structure and had us sit on the rowing machines as we listened. I was impressed with their level of knowledge and how thorough they were, without making a whole overly-done song and dance about it. The instructor came over and introduced herself to us, saying she’d keep an eye on each of us if we needed any help or guidance. I felt well looked-after already.

Via Well and Good

As the start of class approached my friend later joined me and I saved her a spot next to me. The room, which remained empty in between classes, was dimly lit and glowed, fittingly, with an orange hue. It made for a very cool atmosphere, with the calmness of the dim lighting counteracting the quiet energy humming in the warmth of the orange light - almost as though to suggest a certain quiet before the storm.

And storm it did. The clock struck 5:30 and the doors opened, prompting a rush of men and women who filled up their water bottles and took their places at one of the three stations. My friend said she always started on the floor, which I started to protest (don’t we warm up before doing heavy lifting?), but then remembered that she’s been doing this for a year and a half, and I’ve been doing it for less than five nevers. So I decided to zip it and take her lead.

Was I glad for that, because she later explained that if she waited until the end of the workout to do the lifting, her arms and legs would be jelly and jumping squats quite simply were not going to happen. Word to the wise: pick good friends, then listen to them.

via Courier Post

Yipee! The music came on and I couldn’t wait to get started! That last cup of cold brew had kicked in and was coursing through me, probably leading me to skip to the music in between burpees (I’m not stalling? You’re stalling?) The playlist - which I thought was awesome, by the way, a favorable mix of brand new music and some choice older ones a la middle school hip hop - started thumping and with our instructor speaking directions into the mike we took off with the workout. What I found helpful was the screen on the wall that had digital animations that walked you through the workouts for each segment. Repeat swapping burpees and ski jumps for one minute. Do the same with pushups and lunges for the next. And so on. 

Our teacher walked around and distributed her instruction well, keeping everyone in good form and pushing us to push ourselves, particularly during the “sprints,” wherein we’d race toward maximum heart rate expenditure in whichever of the three sections we’d be. When I was on the rowing machine: “YES TAYLOR,” she growled when she turned to me, assessing my form. “Don’t let that bar drop too low!” and held out her arm as a limbo of measurement so I kept the rowing bar above a certain height. I loved this, relished it, because people laugh when I say this but it’s true: few things motivate me more than someone dedicated enough to my workout that they’re screaming at me to push harder, harder, harder! Achieve your best you!!

I hadn’t worked out in a while, so I took it easy on the treadmill because my legs already were threatening to buckle under the exertion by the time we walked to our next third. We ended up swapping out a lot between the treadmills and rowing machines the last two thirds of the workout. It kept things interesting and forced you to pay attention, to commit mentally to the workout just as much as physically. It also made it kind of fun, as each individual “station” within each section, if you will, was labeled numerically. So the girl on the #1 treadmill would come and tag team whomever was on the #1 rowing machine (me), and once she hit one mile or one minute or I hit 200 meters rowing, whichever one of us was assigned the milestone had to hop off and go tap out the other so we could swap machines. Phew! 

Ultimately, it was a kickass workout. These were my main pros:

• Friendly staff

• Good music

• Nice facilities

• Organized workout

• Badass atmosphere with favorable lighting to get sweaty

• Full-body workout

• Liberty to pace yourself
  

  The verdict? I’m getting my membership! You’ve sold me, Orangetheory. I’ll be seeing you soon!