Orangetheory Fitness Studio Review

Walking into an Orangetheory Fitness class for the first time feels a bit like walking into Cheers...where everybody knows your name. Except they don't know your name because it's your first time...but they know everybody else's names.

Overview

The point is, there's a feeling of community—a feeling that the people who attend are regulars, and in time, you could become part of their "tribe."

Orangetheory has almost 1,000 studios nationwide, with additional locations in 14 countries. The business model lends itself to such growth—individual owners can buy rights to certain markets and determine their own business plan within those markets. For instance, some locations are franchises, while others are owner-managed.

Also, since studios are relatively small, they're a quick build. Once a location is determined, it takes just a few months to get everything set up and ready to launch.

The Studio

On our visit to try an Orangetheory Fitness class in Round Rock, TX, we had the pleasure of sitting down to learn more about the company from the regional fitness director, Aaron Keiser.

Keiser has been with the company since 2011, which means he's witnessed many of the organization's changes as the company has grown. For instance, workouts used to be developed individually by trainers and written on whiteboards.

Another major change is the size of each facility. The original Orangetheory studios were much smaller, not allowing for a full 30 students per class. These days, the "15-pack" gym is the norm—meaning that the gym has space for 15 treadmills, 15 rowing machines, and 15 strength training stations.

This enables classes to handle up to 30 participants at a time, with 15 of them on the treadmills and 15 rotating back and forth between the strength training and rowing stations.

That said, not everything has changed. Trainers still lead each class to help explain the workout, demonstrate exercises, and motivate participants. This trainer-led atmosphere helps facilitate the positive experience of a really tough workout.

Workout Overview

Orangetheory workouts alternate their focus between endurance, strength, and power. Every studio around the world offers the same workout on the same day, but studio owners don't know until that morning what the workout for the day will be. We happened to attend class on an endurance workout day.

This meant the workout included longer intervals and repetitions with a greater focus on cardio work. Newbies were asked to arrive about 30 minutes before class to get set up with a heart rate monitor and to go through a preview of the class.

The studio provides you with a heart rate monitor, and your real-time data is displayed on television monitors throughout the center to help you track your intensity. Heart rate is displayed as a percentage of your estimated heart rate max based on your age, and calories burned is provided as an estimate based on biometrics.

At the beginning of class, the trainer tells you how many minutes you should accumulate working in the target heart rate zone, and those minutes are displayed on the monitor as points. This type of monitoring system takes the guesswork out of intensity and makes it easy for participants to go at their own pace without feeling pressured to do something that's beyond their personal fitness level.

Continuous Interval Training

The workout itself is separated into two segments: treadmill training and rowing/strength work. Half the class starts on the treadmills and performs a series of intervals based on Orangetheory's own rating of perceived exertion scale. The other half of the class starts on the rowing machines to warm up, then heads to the strength training area to do a series of exercises.

Each strength training station includes a step, a TRX suspension trainer, a medicine ball, a BOSU Balance Trainer, dumbbells of varying weights, and a few other strength training tools. Exercises are explained and demonstrated by the trainer and are also displayed on a large monitor.

We performed a series of eight exercises, then went back to the rowing machines, did a 700-meter row, then returned to the strength training stations to do another round of exercises.

After 30 minutes, no matter where we were in our workout, the treadmill group switched to the rowing/strength training stations, and the rowing group switched to the treadmills.

This type of continuous interval training for a solid 60 minutes is certainly challenging. As such, it comes as no surprise that such a program, if followed consistently, could garner significant physical benefits.

The Total Package

After attending a class, it's clear why Orangetheory Fitness has become so popular. There's nothing groundbreaking about the workout itself—it involves nothing more than treadmills, rowing machines, and strength training, all of which you can find at gyms across the country.

Because trainers are actively involved in each class, beginners have someone to ask questions of and follow along with. At the same time, technology and TV monitor readouts provide real-time feedback that boosts self-efficacy and confidence. And because most people tend to attend classes at the same time each week, friendships are formed and trainers learn participants' names.

A Word From Verywell

All-in-all, the business model is sound, and it's one that gets results. If you can afford to pony up the roughly $150 to $200 monthly membership fee (fees vary by location), then it's certainly a workout worth trying.