The Secrets Behind Orange Theory

I joined Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) this year back in April when I was roped into their 'first-class-is-free' strategy. I had heard many things about their classes and I figured there was no harm in going once, as I always shoot for things that are low risk high reward. I will say I was pretty intimidated since I only ever went to Planet Fitness (PF) to walk on the treadmills and do some random weight activities. After all, the only thing I was looking for was some type of guidance.

I remember my first class – how they explained to me all the heart rate zones, what my goals should be, and how to use the rower machine. I definitely didn't understand it all and ended up being sore for the next week. What I did take away from it was that I could see myself coming back and creating a better routine. I started with the Elite membership which granted me 8 classes per month. I liked that tempo. I could go twice a week and I thought to myself: 'hey, if I wanted to workout other days I could just go to PF and do the exercises I learned from OTF'. Unfortunately that did not pan out. Slowly but surly I was able to work myself up the heavier weights, and faster speeds. Since September I am now on the unlimited membership and I go 3-4 times per week. I also ended up (finally) cancelling my PF membership in October. Even though I'm only a newbie here are some things I have learned so far:

Pre-booking

OTF has a policy where you cannot cancel a class within 8 hours of its start time. Therefore, if I book in advance then I am committed to going and have some type of accountability. If I were to cancel they would charge me $15 for the class. Luckily I haven't needed to cancel yet.

Consistency is key

Since I do go 3-4 times per week there can be some good days and some bad days. For example I had a cold 2 weeks ago so I didn't go at all for 7 days. Then when I was feeling better and went back, that class kicked my butt. The first time for everything is always hard. When you keep going it gets so much easier.

Results take time

You don't need to see your golden number on a scale to make yourself happy. In fact, I stopped weighing myself a long time ago. So if any of my elderly family members are out there and are about to ask me 'have you lost weight?', I simply might go bananas. No, Aunt Mary, I'm not sure. HOWEVER, I do feel stronger. I see myself in the classes moving up to heavier weights. The watts on the rowing machine are getting higher which causes my distance to be higher as well.

Low risk, high reward

This just might be my favourite saying. A while ago I realized I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself. Some things I would do were not even that important. So naturally I adopted the phrase 'low risk high reward'. It applies to so many things in my daily life. Even for OTF I say to myself, "you never regret a workout". I may be tired before going, or not be in the mood to go, but what am I gonna do? Cancel? Nope! I can take it easy that day and know at least I did something. It's only an hour of my time. What would I be doing otherwise? Watching Gilmore Girls? Exactly. Get your butt off the couch.

Splat points are not just a gimmick

I've heard this said so many times that splat points are just fake marketing tools so the coaches make more money if you hit the 12-20 goal for splat points. Listen, I don't know if that's true and frankly I don't care if it is. If I can leave the class and know to myself that I worked hard and felt good while doing it, then there is nothing wrong with that. Yeah, it's good to have your heart rate up anyway, so what's the problem?

I am in no way an ambassador for the company, nor do I want to sell you on anything. In fact, I'll take suggestions from anyone, and I'll try out what other people say. All I want to get across is that health and fitness is important. If you want to try a new class or change your lifestyle habits, I hope you have good intentions. Take my opinions for what they're worth, and good luck!