Orange Theory Fitness Class Review and Recap

Hello again fit friends! Today I’m comin’ at ya with another workout review. I was recently invited to attend a fitness class at Orangetheory Fitness in Dallas, Tx as part of the Dallas Fitness Ambassadors.

Orangetheory Fitness offers 60 minute workout sessions that consist of alternating cardio and strength training intervals. During a session you’re able to wear a heart rate monitor to track your heart rate which tells you the intensity level of your interval allowing you to maximize your metabolic burn. They call it the “Orange Effect”.

“The physiological theory behind the Orangetheory workout is known as “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption,” or EPOC. By providing you with a heart-rate monitor and POD, we can monitor your 5-zone interval training sessions that we call the Orange 60. During the 60-minute workout, you will perform multiple intervals designed to produce 12 to 20 minutes of training at 84% or higher of your maximum heart rate, which translates to Zones 4/5. This program design produces workout “afterburn” effect, which is an increased metabolic rate for 24 to 36 hours after the workout. When combining the amazing workout with EPOC, our clients burn an average of 500 to 1000 calories.”

~Orangetheroy

When you’re aware of how your heart is working you can manipulate your workout intensity to suit your needs. This not only helps with fat burning, but it’s a great way to build endurance and learn to reduce your resting heart rate. A healthy heart is an athletic one!

My love/hate relationship with heart rate based training started more than a year ago when I decided I would begin training in “Zones“. It was all so confusing in the beginning and I still struggle with it today. So much of zone training comes down to the science of determining your resting heart rate and your maximal heart rate. They have about a million formulas out there to determine these numbers and that’s what really threw me for a loop. Today, I have good numbers to work with and I always workout with a heart rate monitor, which takes the guess work out of it. That’s why I loved Orangetheroy. They provided me with a heart rate monitor when I arrived, pre-calculated my zones for me, and my heart rate was displayed on the screens hanging in the workout area where I could easily see them. I didn’t need to think about it at all.

Orangetheroy breaks down their workouts into three categories: BASE: which is a nice easy or recovery pace – this is commonly referred to as the “green zone”, PUSH: Which is a moderate workout meant to get your heart rate going and burning those calories – this is the “orange zone” or target zone, and ALL OUT: which is meant to really challenge you as well build strength and stamina – this is the “red zone”. How easy is that? At any time during your workout, you can look up at the screen and even if you don’t understand the numbers or know what your heart rate should be, you only need to know three colors! The group instructor leads the session and tells you when you crank up the pace and where you need to be. All you need to do is keep an eye on the monitor and make sure you in the right, color coded, zone.

For our workout we were given an “endurance” session. I think they did it to us on purpose! Someone must have informed our instructor that we were”Fitness Bloggers” because they sure gave us the workout of a life time. We alternated between cardio on the treadmill, row machines, and strength workouts using TRX bands, Bosu balance trainers, and weighted medicine balls. I’ve done cardio and I’ve felt my lungs pushed to their max. I’ve also done heavy lifting so I know what that “hurts so good” burn feels like. I have never combined the two in such a way. When our workout was complete I felt like my heart was stronger, my lungs were bigger, and my muscles were fatigued. The following day I felt soreness all over my body but it wasn’t so much that I couldn’t walk or complete normal tasks. It was total two-for-one experience and I loved it! Most endurance athletes find themselves falling into the rut of constant cardio. I myself am a self proclaimed “cardio junkie” which is why I made a point of trying new things this year. I’m so glad that I did because I will be sure to make Orangetheroy a part of my training going forward.

A few days after our session I spoke with the store manager over the phone and he was kind enough to answer a few questions regarding their class schedule and pricing for me. What’s great about Orangetherory is that they offer a wide range of memberships. You can purchase the
Basic package which gives you(four classes a month for around $59. The Elite package comes with eight classes a month for $99 and the Premier package gives you unlimited access for $159. You can also add family members for a reduced rate or transfer your credit to any other Orangetheroy location. From what I gathered there is not real schedule of classes. ie cardio on Monday, Endurance on Thursday, etc. so to get the full benefit it is recommended that you attend at least a few times a week.

Overall I loved this experience and will be sure to return with my besties for another great workout. If you’d like to see more of my Orangetheroy experience, check out the vlog below:

Happy Running friends!