Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Orange.

Orange who?

Orange you glad you tried a new workout?

Yes, yes I am. I spent the past weekend in Florida celebrating my grandmother’s 90^th birthday and hosting a baby shower for my best friend. While I was there, I went to my first Orange Theory class with my mom who attends 5 days a week and has been raving about it.

I joined my mom for a 5 a.m. class on Friday morning, and I absolutely loved it. If you haven’t yet heard about Orange Theory or tried it, here’s how the 1-hour class worked:

1. When you arrive, you receive a heart rate monitor (and a strap if you don’t have your own).

2. The first part of the class is spent on the treadmill. After a warm up in what they call your base pace, you alternate between your base pace, push pace and all-out pace to increase and decrease your heart rate. From a runner’s perspective, base pace is similar to your easy run pace, push pace is similar to your tempo run pace and all-out is similar to your speed work/interval paces. The idea is to get your heart rate into the orange zone during the push/all-out paces, which translates to 84% or higher of your maximum heart rate (zone 4/5) for 12 to 20 minutes of the entire class. During the class I attended, we would spend 90 seconds in push pace followed by 30 seconds in all-out pace, recover in base pace for a minute and repeat. We also alternated the incline on the treadmill from 1% to 5%. I did my base pace at 9:22/mile, my push pace at 7:08/mile and my all-out paces between 6:27 and 6:40 based on the grade we were running on. The total mileage I covered was just more than 3 miles.

3. The second part of class consists of strength training. Friday’s class reminded me of sets of AMRAP (as many reps as possible). We spent about 8 minutes per set and I was able to complete 4 rounds of each in the allotted time. The first round we did included weighted squats, shoulder presses and one-arm rows in plank position (I used 15-pound dumbells). The second round consisted of biceps and triceps using TRX equipment followed by plank jacks. The final round included weighted tricep dips, weighted one-leg abs and a 200-meter row.

4. During the entire duration of the class, you can see your heart rate information and zone on a screen in the room. The instructor tells you if you should be in the green zone or orange zone. If you are in blue or red, you are not working hard enough or working too hard, respectively.

5. The class ends with a short cool down and a review of your total results on the screen.

In reviewing my results after the class, I spent the majority of the class in the green zone (zone 2/3) and only about 11 minutes in the orange zone (zone 4/5). This demonstrated that I’m in good shape and could have gone harder on the treadmill in my push and all-out paces and lifted slightly heavier weights. Since I had already done speed work that week and was doing my long run the next day, I erred on the side of caution to ensure I didn’t negatively impact my weekly training. According to the Orange Theory folks, the workout is designed to create an “afterburn” effect, which increases your metabolic rate for 24 to 36 hours after the workout. People burn about 500 to 1,200 calories during the class.

What I loved about Orange Theory:

1. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing or how fast anyone else is going. The class allows you to compete against yourself and see your improvements over time. It doesn’t matter if you are as fit as a fiddle or have 100 pounds to lose; the class can help anyone achieve a variety of different goals. There were people of all shapes, sizes and ages in the class I attended.
2. Tracking your heart rate ensures you are not overexerting yourself (or not going too easy). You can push yourself and/or take it easier to ensure you’re exercising safely.
3. The overall environment and atmosphere was great. The instructors push you with high energy. The facility was extremely clean, streamlined and uncluttered, and the music was also awesome and high energy.
4. I really liked the combination of cardio with weight training. For those who hate the treadmill, the variety of incline and speeds make the time on the treadmill breeze by.
5. There are numerous locations, and packages include once a week, twice a week or unlimited per month.
6. Your results are emailed to you after each class, so you can review your stats and monitor your improvements/progress over time.

Things to consider about Orange Theory:

1. For endurance athletes, this isn’t a workout I could do too much during a given week given the running portion of the workout. Given my speed work and tempo run that is part of my weekly training, I wouldn’t want to push too far during the first 30 minutes of class to prevent me from being ready for my next workout. Once or twice a week would likely be good for those training seriously for marathons, half marathons or triathlons.
2. I’m not sure how they determine your maximum heart rate and zones. I assume they use the general calculation of 220 minus your age (e.g. for me, that would be 220 – 32 = my maximum heart rate would be 188). However, professional testing is the best way to determine this number. For instance, my max heart rate is 184, which would slightly affect the numbers provided by Orange Theory. This is just something people should be mindful of.
3. Orange Theory doesn’t show it’s prices online, so it is hard to determine if it fits into your budget without contacting them. It looks like they may offer 3 free classes for you to be able to try it out first, and you can book classes online (must have an appointment to attend).

So, will I try Orange Theory again? Absolutely. I’m going to plan an exercise date for Mr. rUnladylike and me to attend here in Atlanta later this month.

Here is what the rest of my workout week looked like last week:

• Monday: REST
• Tuesday:  5 easy miles
• Wednesday: 6 miles of speed work, including 5 x 1,000 meters at 6:44 pace with a 400-meter recovery jog between each; 1 hour of strength training at Barre3 (I signed up for a month of classes to help me incorporate more regular strength work)

• Thursday: 6.31 easy miles at 5:45 a.m. with my pal Elizabeth from Running For Bling
• Friday: 1 hour of Orange Theory that included 3 miles of running + 3 miles of easy running after class to hit 6 miles for the day
• Saturday: 10-miles along Clearwater Beach; I loved getting to see Beth from Discombobulated Running and Meghan from Little Girl in the Big World!

• Sunday: REST (should have run 4 to 6 easy miles but spent time with family and friends before traveling back to Atlanta from Florida)

Total miles of running: 33.3

More ways to connect with rUnladylike:

• Twitter: @rUnladylike
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runladylike
• Instagram: instagram.com/runladylike
• Pinterest: pinterest.com/JesicaD
• Daily Mile: dailymile.com/people/Jesica
• Follow on Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4066335

Have you ever tried Orange Theory? If so, what did you think? What is your favorite way to incorporate strength training into your weekly training schedule?