I was given a free class at Orangetheory in exchange for a review.
If January is all about making resolutions, then Spring is all about exercising. I love this time of year, because everyone is working so hard to get fit. At the beginning of the year, I had a goal to get back into running. Sadly, that hasn’t happened yet.Sometimes it’s just so hard to make time to work out. I definitely needed to get some pep into my step to get ready for summer!
It’s dark because I took the 5 am class!
A few years ago, I tried an Orangetheory class in Morrisville. It was amazing. This time I attended a class at the North Hills location, which has only been open since January.
I had such a great time pushing myself. In case you’ve never heard of Orangetheory, it is heart rate based interval training. The exercises are designed to get maintain a target zone that stimulates metabolism and increases energy.
As far as what you do in the class, you choose a method of cardio. I chose the treadmill. Your instructor does a warm on for about five minutes and then moves into the different intervals. You’ll move between your cardio and the rowing machine, and then you’ll move to the floor for weights and a strength workout. During the class, you wear a heart rate monitor. The goal is to get your heart rate into the orange and red zones for 15-20 minutes.
After the warm up, we moved to the rowing machine, went back to the treadmill, did the rowing machine a second time, and then went back to the treadmill for one final push. It felt so good, because you basically get a little rest in between the big push sections. That method of exercising has always been enjoyable to me, because I find that my workouts last longer if I give myself intermittent rest periods.
After we left the treadmills and moved to the weight and floor exercises, I was so tired. I kept pushing myself but just couldn’t go any further.
Well, friends, it turns out I made a total rookie mistake before my class. I didn’t eat breakfast. I literally felt like I’d expended every ounce of energy in my body. I took a break, got a cold bottle of water, and the lady who’d helped me register offered me a glucose tablet. It was nice of her, because I was truly feeling embarrassed to end my session early. I did make it 40 minutes in, which is great considering I haven’t been consistent at exercising this year.
After the class ended, I checked out my stats with my instructor. The heart rates are displayed on a bar graph, and the goal is to have the bars kind of form a pyramid shape. Well, even though I couldn’t finish the class, I had formed the pyramid with my heart rate and hit my target heart rate minutes! I was so excited, because all of the hard work had been worth it.
Now, I do have to share the strangest thing about Orangetheory. The workouts are so intense, you will literally be sore for days. And you’re not completely sore all at one time. Each day, another part of your legs or arms will be aching from the workout. It’s so funny, because I was actually looking forward to feeling sore after this workout. I know that’s a weird thing to say, but it feels like your body is still burning calories.
If you’ve never tried Orangetheory, I highly (highly!!) recommend it. I honestly don’t think you’ll be disappointed. It was the perfect way to jump start my spring fitness goals.
