Tell me about orangetheory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it for about a year and then got sick of it and moved on. The perks are the accountability - you will go and just shut your brain off. Downsides: it’s $189 a month, it’s mostly HIUT cardio which is bad for your hormones if you’re a middle aged woman (spikes cortisol) and the focus on weights is paltry- short segments on the floor and often a cardio component included even there. This sounds mean but when you attend OTF and look at the bodies of your classmates, it’s proof that it’s not a very effective workout for creating the lean muscled look most people want.

It’s fine if you’re a true beginner who just needs a new routine. Beyond that, I wouldn’t bother.

So it kind of sounds like Curves fitness…the circuit-based 30-minute workout fitness place for women in the 90s that popped up everywhere then went out of business. Lots of 40-65 year old women there who were essentially needing to get off the sofa or needed a change from sitting all day at a keyboard. But no one ever seemed to change their weight or body shape through the workout.

LOL flashback to the past. I had a former coworker who was doing Curves and Curves changed to some new format and she was going to stop going because she was getting "too muscley."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it for about a year and then got sick of it and moved on. The perks are the accountability - you will go and just shut your brain off. Downsides: it’s $189 a month, it’s mostly HIUT cardio which is bad for your hormones if you’re a middle aged woman (spikes cortisol) and the focus on weights is paltry- short segments on the floor and often a cardio component included even there. This sounds mean but when you attend OTF and look at the bodies of your classmates, it’s proof that it’s not a very effective workout for creating the lean muscled look most people want.

It’s fine if you’re a true beginner who just needs a new routine. Beyond that, I wouldn’t bother.

So it kind of sounds like Curves fitness…the circuit-based 30-minute workout fitness place for women in the 90s that popped up everywhere then went out of business. Lots of 40-65 year old women there who were essentially needing to get off the sofa or needed a change from sitting all day at a keyboard. But no one ever seemed to change their weight or body shape through the workout.

No, not exactly. It used to be a significantly harder workout but post pandemic they changed the routines and they became more accessible . I wouldn’t say they’re designed to be easy but there’s way too much room for people with shitty form to lift light weights absurdly fast, which is zero muscle engagement, and the coaches don’t correct. I think you can definitely get a good hard cardio workout out of it if you’re really going hard on the rower and treadmill but the weights portion is not long enough to build much muscle and the other 2/3 of the class being cardio doesn’t help with muscle building either, so it’s just not effective for people seeking that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it for about a year and then got sick of it and moved on. The perks are the accountability - you will go and just shut your brain off. Downsides: it’s $189 a month, it’s mostly HIUT cardio which is bad for your hormones if you’re a middle aged woman (spikes cortisol) and the focus on weights is paltry- short segments on the floor and often a cardio component included even there. This sounds mean but when you attend OTF and look at the bodies of your classmates, it’s proof that it’s not a very effective workout for creating the lean muscled look most people want.

It’s fine if you’re a true beginner who just needs a new routine. Beyond that, I wouldn’t bother.

So it kind of sounds like Curves fitness…the circuit-based 30-minute workout fitness place for women in the 90s that popped up everywhere then went out of business. Lots of 40-65 year old women there who were essentially needing to get off the sofa or needed a change from sitting all day at a keyboard. But no one ever seemed to change their weight or body shape through the workout.

No, not exactly. It used to be a significantly harder workout but post pandemic they changed the routines and they became more accessible . I wouldn’t say they’re designed to be easy but there’s way too much room for people with shitty form to lift light weights absurdly fast, which is zero muscle engagement, and the coaches don’t correct. I think you can definitely get a good hard cardio workout out of it if you’re really going hard on the rower and treadmill but the weights portion is not long enough to build much muscle and the other 2/3 of the class being cardio doesn’t help with muscle building either, so it’s just not effective for people seeking that.

I see OT as more like a gym with a prescribed workout rather than like a personal trainer type situation. The coaches aren’t able to help with form. So, if you already know what you are doing/need, it’s really great to have the class motivation and a sortof preset workout plan. But if you are new to exercising, it’s definitely not where I would start—particularly on the lifting portion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it for about a year and then got sick of it and moved on. The perks are the accountability - you will go and just shut your brain off. Downsides: it’s $189 a month, it’s mostly HIUT cardio which is bad for your hormones if you’re a middle aged woman (spikes cortisol) and the focus on weights is paltry- short segments on the floor and often a cardio component included even there. This sounds mean but when you attend OTF and look at the bodies of your classmates, it’s proof that it’s not a very effective workout for creating the lean muscled look most people want.

It’s fine if you’re a true beginner who just needs a new routine. Beyond that, I wouldn’t bother.

So it kind of sounds like Curves fitness…the circuit-based 30-minute workout fitness place for women in the 90s that popped up everywhere then went out of business. Lots of 40-65 year old women there who were essentially needing to get off the sofa or needed a change from sitting all day at a keyboard. But no one ever seemed to change their weight or body shape through the workout.

No, not exactly. It used to be a significantly harder workout but post pandemic they changed the routines and they became more accessible . I wouldn’t say they’re designed to be easy but there’s way too much room for people with shitty form to lift light weights absurdly fast, which is zero muscle engagement, and the coaches don’t correct. I think you can definitely get a good hard cardio workout out of it if you’re really going hard on the rower and treadmill but the weights portion is not long enough to build much muscle and the other 2/3 of the class being cardio doesn’t help with muscle building either, so it’s just not effective for people seeking that.

I see OT as more like a gym with a prescribed workout rather than like a personal trainer type situation. The coaches aren’t able to help with form. So, if you already know what you are doing/need, it’s really great to have the class motivation and a sortof preset workout plan. But if you are new to exercising, it’s definitely not where I would start—particularly on the lifting portion.

See this is weird thing about it though. It’s not good if you’re new to weightlifting because it doesn’t teach you good form and progressive overload. But it’s not really good if you’re more advanced with weights either because it’s a short amount of time on the floor with limited movement options and no machines - only what you can do with dumbbells. So you’re not going to continue growing much or building more strength, especially given how much of the floor is programmed to ALSO include cardio (all the burpees, skater jumps, power pushups etc). Just a kinda weird in between workout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it for about a year and then got sick of it and moved on. The perks are the accountability - you will go and just shut your brain off. Downsides: it’s $189 a month, it’s mostly HIUT cardio which is bad for your hormones if you’re a middle aged woman (spikes cortisol) and the focus on weights is paltry- short segments on the floor and often a cardio component included even there. This sounds mean but when you attend OTF and look at the bodies of your classmates, it’s proof that it’s not a very effective workout for creating the lean muscled look most people want.

It’s fine if you’re a true beginner who just needs a new routine. Beyond that, I wouldn’t bother.

So it kind of sounds like Curves fitness…the circuit-based 30-minute workout fitness place for women in the 90s that popped up everywhere then went out of business. Lots of 40-65 year old women there who were essentially needing to get off the sofa or needed a change from sitting all day at a keyboard. But no one ever seemed to change their weight or body shape through the workout.

No, not exactly. It used to be a significantly harder workout but post pandemic they changed the routines and they became more accessible . I wouldn’t say they’re designed to be easy but there’s way too much room for people with shitty form to lift light weights absurdly fast, which is zero muscle engagement, and the coaches don’t correct. I think you can definitely get a good hard cardio workout out of it if you’re really going hard on the rower and treadmill but the weights portion is not long enough to build much muscle and the other 2/3 of the class being cardio doesn’t help with muscle building either, so it’s just not effective for people seeking that.

I see OT as more like a gym with a prescribed workout rather than like a personal trainer type situation. The coaches aren’t able to help with form. So, if you already know what you are doing/need, it’s really great to have the class motivation and a sortof preset workout plan. But if you are new to exercising, it’s definitely not where I would start—particularly on the lifting portion.

The coaches at my OTF definitely help with form but I’m not in the DMV. Locations vary—I went to one in AZ when we were visiting family and there were a couple of women looking at their phones constantly during class which would never fly at my home studio.