Last week I visited Orangetheory Fitness in Chelsea for a preview class. OTF is new to NYC but the backed-by-science studio can be found across the country, bringing high intensity workouts to thousands.
[check out all that Orange]
The theory behind OTF is “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption” which means that you work to a certain capacity in class that leads to an increased metabolic rate for 24-36 hours, extra calorie burn even after the workout is over. I’d say this workout is a mix between Barry’s Bootcamp and Drill Fitness; it’s got the Barry’s style of treadmills and weights and its got Drill’s heart rate monitor style workout.
Let’s look beyond the science and talk about the studio and the class. The studio is located on West 23rd St (a couple of doors down from Peloton) and features one large studio and locker rooms with your basics, a bunch of lockers and 3 showers. I’d be a little worried about going before work because of the small locker room but I’m not sure what the early morning crowd will look like. The studio is very orange (as you might guess) and has loads of motivational quotes lining the walls. I really like the look and feel of the space. The actual studio has a row of treadmills, rowers and a weight area with TRX bands.
In class you wear a heart rate monitor that projects onto screens across the room. Your heart rate zones are assigned different colors and Orange is where you’re aiming to be for 12-20 minutes, Orange equals 84% or higher of your max heart rate (aka, it’s hard and you’re PUSHING IT!). The workout takes you through a variety of exercises. I started with a warm up on the rowing machine then went to the weight area where we were given different routines to follow. The routines were on a screen for us to reference as we went. It included weight moves, TRX, and moves with the bosu.
After weights, I moved on to the treadmill. We were given different ranges to follow (different options for runners, joggers, and sprinters) and we swapped between low intensity and high intensity accelerations. After a few minutes on the treadmill we were frequently switching off between the treadmill and the rower. The routine was run ¼ of a mile on the treadmill as fast as you can, then row 250 meters, continue this until time was called. Everyone was working at their own pace throughout the class.
While we went through all of these stations, our heart rate continued to be projected onto the screen and we were all aiming to get in the Orange zone. Getting into the Orange was not easy and I knew that I needed to hit that goal of being in it for at least 12 minutes. On the screen it showed you how many minutes you’d been in Orange and it wasn’t until I was on my treadmill sprint rounds that I was able to up my numbers.
[checking out the screens post-workout]
The workout was challenging at times and not as hard at other times, my heart rate was jumping up and down and I kept pushing for the Orange. What made this workout awesome was that you could see how hard you were working, even if you felt like you were putting in effort, if those numbers were not high, you knew you could push it harder. For example, by the end of my treadmill time I was tired and slowed my pace and it still felt like I was working but when I checked my heart rate it wasn’t as high as I wanted. Because of this, I knew to push harder to hit my goal.
The instructors were pretty good, they kept us motivated and while I wouldn’t say 100% of the instruction was clear, for the most part it was and I think I was lost a bit as a first-timer. I thought the instructors could have been a bit more hands on with form and repeating directions, sometimes I zone out and then have no clue what I’m doing so I like when routines are repeated multiple times to really let it sink in.
What’s cool is that these workouts are created, then tested to ensure that when doing it you’ll hit that correct heart rate zone. These workouts truly are backed my science and research.
Orangetheory recommends that you do the workout 3x per week. I wish I could get there 3x per week, it was a really awesome workout. I liked the variety and love that I was held accountable via my heart rate monitor. After class you’re emailed a recap of your workout, a great way to track progress.
Here’s mine:
OTF offers a bunch of membership options, pay per class, 4 sessions per month, 8 sessions per month or unlimited per month. Unfortunately the location and pricing is a bit out of my range but if Chelsea works for you, consider it. I could see this workout making serious changes to your body and strength. I also think this workout would be an excellent addition to race training as it strengthens and gets your speed up.
I would definitely try to get back to OTF and also plan to visit other studios when I’m out of town. OTF is in a ton of cities and if I find myself in one and in need of a workout, I’m totally going to go.
