OrangeTheory Fitness: 1 Month Update

In my last post, I answered: What is OrangeTheory Fitness? In this post, I'm going to talk about my experience with OrangeTheory Fitness over the past month. To sum it up, it was amazing and brutal. I've had personal trainers before, and working out with them was nothing compared to what happens at OTF.

I have a history of being obsessed with the scale, so this time – for the first time in my life – I stayed off the damn scale and just focused on endurance. Building up to where I could attend a class without stopping (still not there yet, FYI). Building up to where I could increase my RPMs on the strider without stopping (got it!!), building up to where I can do all of the workouts suggested instead of modifications (still not there yet). Oh, and increasing weights (thanks to Coach Rin for calling me out when I use light weights, ehem).

There are many things I've worked towards. Some goals I've achieved, some I haven't, but the bottom line is: it's happening. I'm doing it and loving every minute of it (with the exception of today's tornado workout which was OMG).

What an OrangeTheory Workout Looks Like

Every OTF workout is different. Even when the class is the same, the coach makes a huge difference in how it all plays out. How hard you push and how you feel is 110% up to you. I've found that I do better when the coach is loud and yelling and playing awesome music. ;) When they're calm, cool, and collected, playing slower music, I don't push as hard for some reason!

Walk into class and you'll start on the treadmill, bike, strider, or rower (your choice!). I use the rower first, then the second half of the class I use the strider. It's easier on my knees, foot, and back than the treadmill is for now. Hopefully, eventually, I'll get to running on the tread again.

Like I said, every class is different, but this has been my experience. Whether it's a Power or Endurance day, you'll stay on the rower for about 5 minutes to warm up. Then, you'll head to the weight room. Up on a big TV screen, you'll see the moves you're going to be working on for the next 20 minutes or so. We've done everything from leg raises to double crunches to burpees. Sometimes they're bodyweight workouts, sometimes they incorporate weights.

Don't be nervous! There are always modifications available (like walking out with the burpees instead of jumping), and the coach will walk you through them before the workout begins. If it's not challenging enough, they'll also tell you how to kick it up a notch (like adding jumps to the burpees or weights to your lunges). My favorite workouts incorporate the TRX system. I actually bought one to use at home on my days off, because I love it THAT much.

After you finish your workout in the weight room, you'll head over to cardio where you'll hop on the treadmill, bike, or strider. With the strider, the goal is to kick the gears up while keeping a high RPM. With the treadmill, the coach tells you when to add some speed, incline, etc. It's awesome because they will be yelling to do a 30 second “PUSH” and you push yourself harder. Then, you'll hear that you need to do a 30 second “ALL OUT” and you go balls to the wall and add another gear or speed. After that, you usually get to go back to “BASE” pace or walk it out. It's nice to work with intervals.

The entire time, you're wearing a heart rate monitor that tracks everything for you. So up on the board, you'll see your “splat” points (you earn for being in the Orange zone), your heart rate, and calories burned. If you look up and see you're in the Green, you most likely need to push harder and get to Orange! When your chest is burning and you want to die, you're in Orange and at the right pace. Or maybe that's just me. ;)

Results with OrangeTheory Fitness

In the first month with OTF, I've lost 17 pounds, and that was with taking a week off because I was in the hospital with Sapphire. We ate fried chicken strips and french fries every day during that week, so losing 17 pounds while having that crap week is nothing short of amazing… especially because you guys know how difficult it has been for me to lose weight in the past! Next month, I'll update with measurements as well, so look for that!

Rachel also joined OrangeTheory. She and our friend Kristina took a free class together and fell in love. Rachel's first class as a member was this week. She likes working out together but I prefer to go to class separately. I feel like I have better focus when she's not there. She's so cute, I can't help but watch her. ;) I'll be posting about her results in my next blog post.

Stay tuned! Next week, I'll be interviewing Sunny from OrangeTheory! Email me questions you want me to ask.