My Review of Orangetheory Fitness

Who Benefits from Orangetheory and Who Should Stay Away?

A few years back, Orangetheory was the hottest trend in the fitness industry. And for good reason.

Orangetheory is a series of group fitness studios that provide 60 minute HIIT-based classes. The goal of Orangetheory is to give its customers a high-intensity, calorie-torching, muscle building workout in a timely manner.

I’ve been to and tried different Orangetheory classes at studios all over the country. In this article, I will summarize my experiences with Orangetheory, provide my honest reviews, and make recommendations for who would most (and least) benefit from Orangetheory classes.

What is Orangetheory Like, and What Makes it Unique?

I’ve been to different studios in different states, and I can say with confidence there is a ton of consistency between every studio I’ve been to. Other than the names and faces, pretty much every studio is the same.

Orangetheory classes are 60 minutes long, and are broken up into subsections. These include:

• Cardiovascular Training: For the first half of the class, cardio training is performed between treadmills and rowers
• Strength Training: In the second half of the class, weights and strength equipment are provided on the floor to help you build strength, power, and muscle

One of the benefits of Orangetheory is that their workouts can be performed by anybody of any fitness level. Each cardio workout can be performed at a “walker,” “jogger,” and “runner” pace, and strength training resistance is chosen by the individual.

Each customer receives a heart rate monitor at the beginning of the class that connects to an overhead TV monitor, where you can see what your heart rate is, and what “zone” you’re in. There are different zones, which represent exercise intensity in relation to your predicted max heart rate.

The goal of Orangetheory is to maintain most of the workout in the “orange” zone, or about 84–92% of your max heart rate. According to the scientific principles that back all Orangetheory workouts, this zone is the most optimal balance of providing a challenging workout, burning more calories during a workout, and creating Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) so that you can burn calories after the workout ends. The heart rate monitors help ensure you’re not doing too much or too little.

Each workout I’ve done at Orangetheory has started on the treadmill, alternating between base paces, push paces, and all out paces. This challenges my cardiovascular fitness just enough to be difficult, but not too much as to completely wear me out.

The next part of the workout either follows or intersects with the treadmills, and is done on the rowers. Rowing machines are done either for power or for endurance.

Finally, the strength portion of the workout is either power based, strength based, or conditioning based. It involves a circuit style workout of 4–6 exercises, cycled through for the given number of reps, for a set period of time.

What Do I Think of Orangetheory Workouts?

Personally, I think Orangetheory workouts are a lot of fun.

They’re very challenging during the moment, but they don’t leave me absolutely gassed for the rest of the day.

Having a good instructor helps. The instructors are very well-trained; they go through a very rigorous onboarding process, and each workout is scripted and rehearsed from the beginning, so it’s impossible to be put off by a bad or clueless instructor.

The ability to self-pace helps a lot. I am a strong runner, a strong weightlifter, but poor rower. Being able to challenge myself is a nice perk of taking these classes.

Not having to think during the workout is really nice. Rather than sticking to a program or writing my own workouts, having the studio write and enforce the workout takes a huge mental barrier off of me during the workout.

While I do like Orangetheory workouts, and I find them enjoyable, I must also acknowledge they’re not entirely for me (at least based on my goals and where I’m at in life right now).

I think the biggest drawback about Orangetheory is that they’re not the best if your goal is to get stronger, build muscle, or in general prioritize weightlifting or strength training. The strength portion of their workouts claim to prioritize strength and power, but due to the nature of their HIIT and circuit style structure, there’s no way that strength, power, and hypertrophy are maximized in an Orangetheory class. They’re certainly better than nothing, but they’re not the best if your goals are strength and muscle related.

I also currently have a part-time career as a soccer player, so my training is focused on becoming a better soccer player. While Orangetheory is great for conditioning and improving cardiovascular fitness, the demands of soccer (high-intensity running with frequent stop/starts and changes of direction) aren’t properly addressed in an Orangetheory class.

Who Benefits, and Who Doesn’t, From an Orangetheory Class?

Orangetheory has become one of the most popular and successful group fitness studio chains in the United States, and for good reason. Their classes are challenging, beneficial, and fun.

Those who would benefit from Orangetheory the most include:

• Anyone looking to improve their cardiovascular endurance and conditioning
• Anyone who struggles to write their own workouts, and likes to have their workouts written for them without any planning or thinking involved
• Those who need a good full-body workout
• Those who only have a limited amount of time to workout in their schedule
• Those looking to lose weight
• Beginners and those who are new or just getting back into exercise
• Those who enjoy the social aspect of exercise and want to make friends or be a part of a community

Those who would benefit the least from an Orangetheory class include:

• Those whose goals revolve around strength, hypertrophy, or power
• High-level athletes
• Those who would rather do their own thing
• Those who don’t have a lot of money to spend on a gym membership (their packages are fairly priced and reasonable, but certainly not as cheap as a traditional gym membership)

Overall, Orangetheory is a great fitness company, and provides a lot of benefit for their customers. I always enjoy when I do go to one of their classes, even if their programs don’t entirely align with my goals right now. There’s a strong chance that once my goals shift, I’ll rejoin and frequent their classes.

Definitely check out their classes and see for yourself if Orangetheory is a good fit for you and your goals.

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