Orangetheory Says I'm Fit
reflections from my first OTF class since 2019
On Sunday, Ryan and I went to our first Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) class since 2019. My friend was teaching some mock classes to finish out his OTF coach training, and I was excited to support him and revisit a former gym.
The first time I ever went to Orangetheory was when a much older “mentor” invited me to a class in 2016. After the class, he drove me back to my residence hall and invited himself up to my apartment, going on and on about his divorce and how he was trying to get back out on the dating scene. It was unpleasant. But the workout was fun! Then in 2017, I went through the entire OTF coach training and then backed out because I was too stressed about the sales component. A few years later Ryan and I started to regularly go to the OTF in Ballston.
I’ve written about my group fitness history before, but whenever I go to an in-person group fitness class I’m reminded how much I love the environment. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about this week, but after the OTF class on Sunday I knew it had to be about my deep and complicated love for group fitness classes. Ironically, I was considering a piece on how wearing Ryan’s fitness tracker has been, which fits well with the OTF theme.
First things first, I loved my friend’s class. He created a really safe and fun environment, and that is integral in being a good coach. I knew going into the class that I would have complicated feelings about the heart rate monitor. For those of you who have never been to an OTF class, a big part of the class is wearing a heart rate monitor which has its data displayed on a large screen for everyone to see. For many that is a powerful extrinsic motivator. My experience has been that the displayed data makes me feel a little self-conscious. But I have many friends who love OTF and feel passionately that the heart rate monitor is a positive component for them, so to each their own! And there are lots of people who don’t wear the monitor in classes at all.
I’m actually a big fan of heart rate training. My half marathon training has been heart rate-focused and it has been WAY better than speed or distance training. I have fewer preconceived notions of what makes a “good” heart rate, so I judge myself a lot less. When I run with Ryan’s fitness tracker, the only pieces of data on the screen are time elapsed and heart rate. I don’t know how far I’ve gone or how fast I’m going. It has worked really well for me.
I can tell my cardiovascular training is working because I hardly felt out of breath in the OTF class. We ended up running for 20-ish minutes on the treadmill and I felt so good! My heart rate, displayed brightly on the screen, was still high, but nowhere close to where it would have been if I hadn’t been running regularly for two months.
After class, Ryan and I were reflecting on our experiences with group fitness and agreed that we love in-person classes. I absolutely love Kara Duval and Lara Heimann, my virtual fitness queens, but there is something so magical about in-person group fitness. That is one reason why I have a Kara Duval or LYT Yoga retreat on my 30 before 30 list.
Some of my biggest barriers to attending in-person group fitness:
the cost (my climbing gym membership is $110 a month for unlimited access to ropes, bouldering, a full gym, and group fitness classes, whereas most group fitness studios cost at least double that a month)
the convenience (the group fitness scene in Crystal City is not great. I would need to drive or find a place in Foggy Bottom before or after work which seems like a lot of logistics)
the focus on weight/calories (this is not the case at all group fitness studios and I truly think it has gotten better, but I struggle to find a gym that doesn’t have aspirational weight loss built into their business model)
the social anxiety (long story short: I hate to be perceived)
With all of that said, I understand the appeal of in-person group fitness. I just haven’t quite figured out if the benefits are worth it for me. Sunday’s class brought me so much joy and reminded me of why it’s important to do classes like these occasionally. They are a reminder of 1) how strong you are and 2) how wonderful human connection and sharing a space with others is. While I am a rock climbing girl through and through, my short respite under the orange lights was worth it!