Honest Review of Orangetheory Fitness – Spoiler: I LOVE IT

Well, this is definitely one of the most overdue posts for me, friends. I’m not here to make excuses, but I do have good news: this post will be a review of FIVE months at Orangetheory Fitness (OTF)! Woohoo!

Five months is a long time and there is a lot to say; however, I tried to make it as short and informative as possible. With that said, let’s head into the post!

WHAT IS ORANGETHEORY FITNESS?
In brief, it is a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) class that incorporates the use of the treadmill, rower and weight stations to help maximize your calorie burn and get you feeling stronger every minute. Your heart rate is monitored throughout class up on the boards or, if you’re on the treadmill, right in front of you. No two classes are ever the same (more on that later in this post) and it’s a class that will definitely keep you challenged — in the best way!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS (WITHOUT EVEN ENTERING THE PLACE):
I definitely judged a book by its cover here. Most Orangetheory Fitness locations are in strip malls and, well, that wasn’t exactly that appealing to me at first. I thought: how could I make such a change for my own health in such a blah looking place? I’m supposed to get my best health on next to a burger joint and liquor place? Didn’t seem like an ideal location (no offense). Not only that, but the logo always reminded me of Cingular Wireless (anyone remember them?), or HubSpot (for my blogger friends)), so I never gave OTF much thought / a chance.

BUT I WAS DESPERATE:
I really needed a place to workout. And not just any old place, I needed somewhere that I could walk in and be instructed. Sure, I could join a regular ol’ gym, but at a regular ol’ gym, that may mean hiring a personal trainer. Now, I’ve used personal trainers in the past before, but they are pretty expensive. Not only that, but I came to realize that unless this personal trainer was coming to my house or I was going to their private studio, I personally didn’t see the need to pay for a monthly gym membership (I’m pretty active otherwise) AND their services (because the gym is where we’d be meeting anyway and access to said gym costs $$$). It was simply not in my budget.

ORANGETHEORY WAS IN MY BUDGET.
And I didn’t even know it. Turns out, each location is independently owned, so there may be a slight difference in pricing from one location to another, but the OTF place I went to was charging about $120 a month for 8 classes (~$15 a class) at their “middle tier” membership package. And their first class is free.

SO YOU OBVIOUSLY DID A FREE CLASS; HOW DID IT GO?
It was awesome! I was a little intimidated before my first class since it seemed intense, but it honestly wasn’t!! I was afraid to commit to a membership, but I said “what the hay” and did it — I could always cancel, right? But I signed up and, five months later, still on it!

GIVE ME 9 REASONS WHY YOU LOVE IT:

(1) REAL-TIME PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK. You wear a heart rate monitor that tracks how many calories you’re burning, what percentage of your max heart rate you’re at, as well as simply telling you your current heart rate as you’re performing the exercises on monitors in the room (and even at your own treadmill screen)! I love that it’s all color coded (as shown in OTF’s official image below so you know when to push more or slow down a little :)):

(2) FOUNDED BY A WOMAN. Orangetheory Fitness was started by Ellen Latham who just wanted to give her clients an even better workout, giving them the results they were seeking. Here is an interview with Ellen Latham (founder!) in Forbes. And this beautiful interview done by Tony Robbins where you can hear Ellen and her love for just helping people!

(3) EVERYONE IN CLASS IS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS AND HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS…. AND IT STILL WORKS! The class is led by certified fitness coaches (who, by the way, are amazing, but the more you attend classes, the more you’ll probably play favorites ;)); they manage the whole room while you’re working out, taking you safely from one “block” of exercise to the next. If you have specific needs, let them know and they will give you alternative options! There are always modifications if you have any injuries, pains, aches, etc.!

(3) TOTAL BODY WORKOUT: You don’t need to worry about working your arms one day and your legs another: in just 60 minutes, you get a total body workout. The workout plans are set for you and have been done so with extreme attention to detail. You’ll either be taking class during an endurance day, strength day, or power day (or maybe all three!), and your body will be tested as such. Based on your preference, you can either start on a rower or treadmill and you’ll eventually move to the weight room; just know you’ll be doing a mix of workouts!

(4) THE COACHES CARE: I’m not the best when it comes to weights, so I often feel a bit weird; however, if I am doing an exercise and it isn’t feeling quite right, I’ll raise my hand, the coach comes over and we do a quick 1:1 on finding something equivalent that feels good and is just as effective. I don’t know about you, but having this available is something I love!

(5) NO TWO CLASSES ARE EVER THE SAME. Meaning that you will always keep your body guessing! If the class repeats, then maybe it’ll be in like a year or two, but there are new workouts every. single. day. You didn’t have to come up with them. They are all science-backed. And all you have to do is simply show up!

(6) EVERYONE IS DOING THE SAME WORKOUT AROUND THE WORLD! Every OTF location does the same exact class, anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world! So if you’re in NYC, someone in Dallas is doing the same exact workout for the day — even someone in Mexico, Canada, Peru, the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Spain!!! — we’re all connected by the same workout!! I personally love that!

This connection is probably why we’re 80k strong on the Orangetheory Meme Instagram Account (found here) — the struggle (but laugh) is great.

(7) THE MUSIC IS PUMPIN’.

(8) THE COACHES MOTIVATE YOU and remind you why you came in: for a positive change. Need someone to believe in you as you’re about to give out? You got it.

(9) ORANGETHEORY FITNESS WORKS! :).

Give it a shot! And if you do (or have any other questions) let me know in the comments below!

As always, stay happy & healthy, friends!

xx,