I'm old. Is Orange Theory for me?

[Anonymous]

I'm 65. My health insurance will pay for a couple of Orange Theory classes each week. There's one near my home in D.C. Never been in. I see a lot of young people go in and out. My body weight is normal and I walk and hike a lot for exercise but have low upper body strength and not great endurance at target heart rates. Is this for me?

[Anonymous]

I did it pre-Covid. Plenty of older people there! I am not athletic at all and was pleased to find that after a couple of months I went from walking during the treadmill portion to jogging . They met me where I was and I really liked it.

[Anonymous]

If you have the money, inclination and motivation, you can do whatever tf you want. Seriously, give it a try and see for yourself. I'm 51 and imagine, that if I went, I'd need some lower expectations workout, like stay in the safe zone for 30 minutes and head on home for some coffee.

[Anonymous]

You will love it. I'm 60. Tons and tons of options. I get a great workout and have never felt better.

[Anonymous]

What health insurance? That's a great benefit!

[Anonymous]

Whenever I doubt what I can do at my age (50's), I look at social media accounts of older exercisers. Check out Joan MacDonald on instagram. Also google "iron nun".

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Definitely worth a try. I loved it. There weren't a lot of older people in my classes, but and it's easy to modify to make it work for your fitness level. I think the demographics of the class was more to do with the neighborhood

[Anonymous]

I am almost 60 and have been going for several years. Lots of older people in the classes. Easy to modify. Great insurance benefit (it's kind of expensive!).

I find there are more older people in the classes 8:15 on (I guess because either retired or more flexibility work-wise). Also, the class rotates between treadmills/rowers/floor. I find most of the good runners start on the treadmills, so if you start on the floor or the rowers, when you get to the treads there are a lot more power walkers, so you won't feel out of place.

[Anonymous]

Silver Sneakers is is an amazing benefit for older folks! Depends on insurance plan but many workout places welcome you! Age doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

The program is pretty hard on your joints. Be sure to walk instead of run or bike instead of tread. Go with light weights to start and don’t let the grouo/coaching pressure to finish sets control you. Coaches SHOULD show and encourage modifications but not all do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The program is pretty hard on your joints. Be sure to walk instead of run or bike instead of tread. Go with light weights to start and don’t let the grouo/coaching pressure to finish sets control you. Coaches SHOULD show and encourage modifications but not all do.

This is a fair point - if you have knee problems, you probably don't want to be pounding away on the treadmill. But you can do the bike instead, or walk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What health insurance? That's a great benefit!

I am wondering this too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The program is pretty hard on your joints. Be sure to walk instead of run or bike instead of tread. Go with light weights to start and don’t let the grouo/coaching pressure to finish sets control you. Coaches SHOULD show and encourage modifications but not all do.

This is a fair point - if you have knee problems, you probably don't want to be pounding away on the treadmill. But you can do the bike instead, or walk.

I’ve been to probably two dozen Orangetheory locations and the coaches have all encouraged participants to let them know about injuries or specific needs. Also, the floor demo always contains modifications. They are definitely a “meet you where you are” type place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am almost 60 and have been going for several years. Lots of older people in the classes. Easy to modify. Great insurance benefit (it's kind of expensive!).

I find there are more older people in the classes 8:15 on (I guess because either retired or more flexibility work-wise). Also, the class rotates between treadmills/rowers/floor. I find most of the good runners start on the treadmills, so if you start on the floor or the rowers, when you get to the treads there are a lot more power walkers, so you won't feel out of place.

I'm 61 and start on the treadmill every time. It's really the best way to get loose. I go to the 5am classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am almost 60 and have been going for several years. Lots of older people in the classes. Easy to modify. Great insurance benefit (it's kind of expensive!).

I find there are more older people in the classes 8:15 on (I guess because either retired or more flexibility work-wise). Also, the class rotates between treadmills/rowers/floor. I find most of the good runners start on the treadmills, so if you start on the floor or the rowers, when you get to the treads there are a lot more power walkers, so you won't feel out of place.

I'm 61 and start on the treadmill every time. It's really the best way to get loose. I go to the 5am classes.

I've been going for years too. I go to the 8:45 class and it's a mix of everyone. People 60+ all the way down to 20 somethings. I'm 50 and feel like I fit in perfectly. I always start on the treadmill because I like running, but I am by no means a fast runner. I'm ok with that.

OP you should definitely try it out. You can absolutely do it. Everyone goes at their own pace.