Orange theory fitness?

Love it! I joined exactly one year ago. I do 8 sessions each month, occasionally, I pay for one more.

It's is excellent for all fitness levels. It is always intense, but it is personal. You will be working with only YOUR heart rate, no one else's. You will be doing what you can do. Unlike in a gym, you are so busy and working so hard, there's very little to no time to notice what anyone else is doing.

This is group personal training, so a trainer will be coaching you through out. Your first visit and even some to follow, if you are not an athlete already, you will be encouraged to tone things done a bit until you learn the drill. There are certain things that happen every session. You will do cardio (treadmill, but at least my location and my dd's have bikes and a glider), you will row, and you will go to the floor. The floor has the TRX straps, free weights, ab dollies, benches, mats and other equipment. Often, there are exercises that do not use anything (mat work on the floor or on the bench).

Every work out is different. You never repeat the same work out again. There are strength days, power days and endurance days and days that are a mix of all of those.

I love that it is heart rate based and based on science. You want to work in the orange zone for a certain number of minutes in each class. So, the entire class is not spent in that heart rate zone. I follow my heart rate on the big screen, listening to the coaching on when to work to get my heart in the orange zone, when to pull back to green, etc.

At my local OTF, the range of fitness is astonishing. I have rowed next to an actual Olympic rower and I have rowed next to a 70-something year old overweight woman who says she has never really worked out in her life before. I was SO out of shape when I started. I had barely exercised in the previous 2 years and had slowed down my exercise for at least a year before that. I did some of the free weight exercises with 5 lb or no weights. I am now using 12 to 15 lb weights most of the time now. I did not complete multiple rounds on the floor most of the time (for ex, you might do 10 reps of 3 different exercises and do them 3 times.. I would do 1 and a half if I was having a good day). It took me a full minute to row 150 meters. I now do 200 meters in less than a minute consistently. Just few examples.

I did gain weight the first month probably because all that exercise was increasing my appetite. I lost 10 lbs in the next few months without changing anything else. Sadly, I had late this spring and then this summer (that one kept me out for 6 weeks) and then was sick this fall repetitively (something like 5 courses of steroids since September) and have regained probably 5 pounds. Despite that, I am far more toned than I have been since my 20's and have lost inches everywhere.

Oh and I still take breaks now and then if I need to bring my heart rate down or catch my breath! I just try to keep moving... might walk in a circle or slow down my pace. It's all OK. When I started, I was burning 550-650 calories a session. Once I started to become fit, it was more like 500 a session. Somehow, more recently, I am back to 550+ per session.

They will tell you about the afterburn as well. That's the whole reason to be working in the orange heart rate zone. It's really high intensity interval training, which is the most effective form of exercise.

Can't recommend it enough. Aside from ballet, I don't think I've stuck to anything consistently for an entire year.

Oh, and when the studio is brand new, they have a week of free classes that first week they open so the coaches can learn to teach the classes. Your first class is also free. Each site also has special rates for those that join in the first month or two when they open. They rates go up after that.

I've been going exactly for a year now 8 times a month. I average 400 calories a workout. The rate is different per region. I pay $147 a month. The only nice thing I can say about it is that it's done in dim lighting with orange light bulbs so everyone looks flattering. I also like my coaches, I see the same 2 people every week.

I pay $89 a month for 8 sessions but that's as a "premiere" member. I believe newer members pay $99, but it might be more. You can also buy class packs. I think it was about $200 for 10 classes for my daughter. The packs expire in a year (originally it was in 3 months, but they changed that nationwide).

The orange zone is 84-91% of your max heart rate. You wear a monitor. Your age, height and weight are plugged into their system to calculate max HR. The goal is to be there for 12-20 minutes of the work out. The reason is something called EPOC, which is excess post-exercise oxygen consumption which means you will contain to burn calories at a higher rate than you would otherwise for 24-36 hours after class.

I like having the 8 a month. Once I have my work schedule, I figure out when I can go for the month and I can commit to those days (I sign up for them on line). I know there are months when 8 is a struggle so the unlimited might end up as a problem for me. If I go up the unlimited, I do lose my current rate if I were to go back down again.

Another thing that is kind of fun is that every OTF does the same work out each day. So if my dd goes early in the morning where she lives, she does the same thing I do at noon. We have fun comparing notes and complaining!

I was hooked at my trial class. My daughter already is an athlete (she's a ballet dancer) and is has been transformative for her as well.

Most locations can have as many as 24 people per class, with half starting on cardio and have starting on the rower/floor. I have found over time that I prefer 2 particular coaches and I try to go to their classes. At our location, the coaches make an effort to get to know everyone. I really like that they correct form. It's one of my pet peeves about exercise classes at gyms in general. They also give alternatives for exercises for people with injuries or at different strength levels.

Something else I like is that I am rarely sore in the same places from class to class because the work out is always changing. I am actually starting to see definition in my arms which is just crazy. My dd pointed out that I don't have bat wings at all anymore. They've disappeared!

I've been going for about 2 years now and I love it. However, it has become so difficult to get into a class with all the new years resolutionists, that I am considering freezing my membership. I am also on the 8 class for month for $89 rate.

There are so many positives to going but to me the negatives are starting to outweigh those - specifically on booking classes. You cannot book past your billing date, so you have to fill out a card so they can book your classes for you. I don't think this makes it a first come, first served situation and I rarely get into classes the first half of the month.

You're lucky you are able to get in. If I wait until my billing date, classes are already full. And to make it worse, Erin Andrews came to my studio all last week (i guess she was in town for the superbowl), so now we have a bunch more new people.

The good news is that I just called the studio, and they were able to force me in to the classes I want, so I'll hold off on freezing my membership for a while

Do you need to buy a heart rate monitor?

You are at one of the NYC locations? 

Most suburban locations have only 12 of each station, so there can be 36 with a tornado type work out, but a normal day is 24. I've been to a few now and they were all about that.  There are times we have less than 12 for a class at noon! 

I am so glad this was posted. I went to my free class yesterday and very much enjoyed it. I signed up for the basic membership (4 classes a month) and booked out 3 already. I am fine with my weight, but know I need to tone and build lean muscle as I age.

The class was really what I was looking for. The ability to combine cardio and strength, and mix it up. No time to get bored, like when I was running. Lots of different things going on throughout the class, but unlike a gym, I don't have to create my own workout or motivate myself. Your mind can't really wander because you have to pay attention to what the instructor is saying is coming up next. And just when I am like... Ugh, I need a break, there it was. But I never felt intimidated by the fitness levels there. Some folks were really, really athletic and others were just like me... ordinary folks with ordinary fitness levels.

Like melissa said, you can slow down or take a break whenever you want. No one is bothered in the least, and in fact no one is even paying attention to what you are doing except the instructor who, unless she knows you well, checks on you to make sure you are doing ok. I felt like I could work at my own pace and level, and still was motivated to push a little past my comfort zone. I am a little sore this morning, but nothing I can't live with.

I also really like the fact that each day's classes are different. Nothing is ever the same, so if I opt to add a class or upgrade my membership, I can go and not have the same routine. I am looking forward to next Saturday's class.

Definitely try the free pass if they offer it. The hour passes a lot quicker than you realize, and since you can reduce the intensity at your own discretion, you don't have to feel like  you are about to die after the hour is up.