Hi Friends! Anyone else getting excited for the holiday weekend? I’m looking forward to an extra-long weekend and hoping for some great weather.
As you may know, this year I have been really trying to focus on my fitness and maintain an overall healthier lifestyle. I’ve been toying with idea of trying something new out to mix up my current gym routine, so I decided to give Orangetheory a try last week and wanted to provide a little review and everything you might want to know if you are also thinking about giving it a try!
What is Orangetheory?
First thing’s first, what is Orangetheory exactly? You’ve probably seen it everywhere, but how is it different than any other trendy workout that seemingly gained popularity overnight?
Orangetheory is different for a couple of reasons, but in short, it’s a 1 hour, full-body workout. Each day is a new workout, you’ll never have the same workout twice, and each day will vary focusing on either endurance, strength, power, or a combination of the two. You’ll never know what kind of day it is until you show up! Every class integrates running, rowing, and floor/weights, but how long you are on each and the order differs from class to class. The variety is something that was appealing for me.
How it works!
Heart Rate Monitoring:
Orangetheory’s workouts are based on the science of what they call “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption.” Essentially, the goal is to maintain a target heart rate that stimulates metabolism and increases energy, referred to as “the afterburn.” In layman’s terms, it essentially means that you continue to burn calories for up to 36 hours post workout. We’ll get more into that in a second when we get into the “zones.”
Base, Push, And All-Out Pace:
One of the coolest part of Orangetheory is that it’s truly as hard as you make it. You can power walk, jog, or run on the treadmill portion and there are three different levels of intensity:
Base Pace: This is kind of an active recovery/warmup pace–you can maintain it for a long time and if a friend was jogging next to you for example, you’d be able to hold a conversation.
Push Pace: This is pushing to yourself to the point that you are uncomfortable, you are too out of breath to carry on a conversation at length with the person next to you.
All-Out Pace: This is emptying all the gas in your tank–the hardest you’ll work all class. (Don’t worry, you never do this for more than a minute, and you always get to walk right after!)
Your trainer guides you through these different paces, and you always get breaks of walking every few minutes. Sometimes you’ll be running longer distances at push pace and base pace (on “endurance” days, for example) and other times it will be focused more on power and pushing yourself through short bursts of sprints. It really varies from day to day.
To go from pace to pace, runners and joggers will increase their speed, and power walkers will increase their incline. Yes, you can do the entire class at a power walk. (Keep in mind, you probably won’t burn as many calories this way, but you will definitely not be out of place if you want to power walk instead of run on the treadmills.)
Example: For my first class, my base pace was 5.8 mph, push pace was between 6.5-6.8, and my all out was between 8-9.
Zones:
Like I mentioned, one of the coolest parts of Orangetheory is that everyone wears a heart rate monitor. It automatically displays what “zone” you’re in up on a big screen. So you can see everyone’s heart rate zones throughout class. Think of similar to a spin class, but you aren’t ranked. The point isn’t to make you feel bad about yourself. It’s to help you keep track of your heart rate to ensure you’re burning a lot of calories post-workout, as well as motivate you to give that little bit of extra effort.
The goal is to be spending at least 12 minutes in zones 4 (orange) and 5 (red) combined to achieve the optimum “after burn” post-workout. (Don’t worry, this is definitely an easy goal to hit.) You’ll want to get into the Orange Zone with each Push Pace, and All-Out pace is where you’ll hit your red zone.
Splat Points:
The total amount of minutes spent in the orange and red zone are referred to as “splat points”–I.E. you get a point per each minute, so you want to have at least 12. In my first class I got 26 splat points! It’s important to additionally, remember that everyone’s heart rates are different. The zones are a guide, but are not an end-all, be-all–always judge based on how you’re feeling! I personally love the ‘splat points’ because it’s another way to gauge my effort and get a little competitive with the rest of the class!
Pros & Cons:
The Pros- let’s start with the good:
• It’s perfect for all fitness levels, you set the pace for the workout. Your heart rate, zone, and splat points are displayed on a large TV and on the screen on your treadmill, so you can gage how hard your body is working.
• You don’t need to be a fitness junkie to love Orangetheory. The treadmill portion of the workout is about 20 (ish) minutes long. Depending on your speed, it’s typically around 2-3 miles. If you are not a runner or jogger, they have the option for power walkers, which is great for people just starting back up on the fitness journey. For the floor section, the trainer shows each move in great detail, and there is also a large TV displaying each move and rep count. I never felt lost or didn’t know how to do something. The trainer also will correct form or give alternates for people with restrictions or injury!
• Emailed report- you get an email a few minutes after the class with a summary of your workout. I loved this!
• You can attend any studio anywhere! And your first class is free!
• Group class with a personal trainer feel. I personally loved being in a small group, my class was about 12 people (all extremely friendly) but I felt like I got 1-1 time with the trainer and she was assessing me at each station for proper form and weight.
The Cons:
• The only con, the cost. While its 100% worth it in my book, the cost may deter some people. It’s a membership based pricing structure and each location is a little different. The options we had to choose from were 4 classes per month, 8 classes per month, and unlimited. The studio we were at ran $59, $89, $159, respectively.
Would I go back? Did I get a membership?
You bet! After my first class I knew this was something that I wanted to be incorporated into my gym routine. I loved the atmosphere The positive people and fun music make the hour FLY by and got an awesome workout in.
For my Madison locals, I went to the Mineral Point location, and Tovi, the manager was awesome. He did a great job of answering any questions I had and wasn’t pushing on any one particular membership. Sarah was the trainer I had, and she was awesome! She did a wonderful job at explaining each exercise. she also was a great motivator, like mentioning I needed to try a heavier weight, she was right!
What I Wore!
Now for the fun stuff. I’ve recently found some great new workout pieces that I’ve been obsessed with (like buy it in all the colors obsessed)
For me, I sweat a lot, so shorts and a tank are what work best for me!
Tank– these tanks are my favorite, I’ve been using them for years and own them in SO many colors. They keep you cool and super lightweight. They are meant to be more ‘form fitting’ so for that reason I size up one size. Tee shirt version linked here.
Sports Bra– My all time favorite! Fits TTS. And another favorite, here.
Biker shorts– okay, everyone needs a pair of these, and I mean it! When Lululemon came out with eh 6” version I couldn’t wait to get them. I stalk their website for more colors (no shame). They are the exact same thing as the aligns, extremely soft, don’t ride up, and don’t make you have ‘sausage legs”. These run TTS.
Sneakers–
For me a good workout shoe that is stylish yet supportive and comfortable is crucial to my workout and staying on track. I am very particular about my sneakers, I am an Adidas girl through and through. While I love the look of Nike’s, they just don’t fit my foot as well as my Adidas sneakers.
For years I have been wearing the Adidas Supernovas, which I loved! But it was time to try something new. A few weeks ago, I picked up a pair of the new Adidas Ultraboost 19s and after a few weeks of wear testing and running them through various workouts.
I was immediately drawn to the tan pair, but after a few wears and falling in love with them, I decided to go for the gray too! For sizing, my normal size is a size 8, however in Adidas I am always a size 8.5. However, for this particular shoe I went with an 8. The 8.5 had too much room and my foot was sliding around. So my advice would be go with your ‘true’ size or half size down from your Adidas ‘true’ size. Also available here and here.
Accessories:
Towel– these are the best, cool you down while absorbing sweat.
Headband– again, another longtime favorite, stay in place without the headache some headbands can give you. These come in SO many colors.
Water bottle– easy to hold, nothing fancy.
OKAY! Done, if you have read this far, thank you and I hope this review was helpful! Please reach out if you have any questions. Have a happy Fourth of July!
Xo,
The Taylor(ed) Style Blog 