Exercise
Move over boring old gym – alternative workout and boutique fitness crazes have been popping up all over the nation. One of the ones I’ve had my eye on and been the most excited to try is Orangetheory Fitness and luckily it’s not just for big city dwellers anymore – it’s coming to the Triad!
About the Orangetheory Fitness workout:
Get ready for the most effective workout you have ever experienced. The intensity is based on your heart rate, so Orangetheory Fitness is for anyone – whether you are new to fitness or a professional athlete. Each class is different, and every session is energetic. The results? More energy, visible toning and extra calorie burn. We call it the “Orange Effect,” and it is the x-factor to a totally new you.
Orangetheory Fitness uses the science of Heart-Rate Based Treadmill Interval Training, the efficiency of Indoor Rowing for increased power and the proven concept of Weight Training Blocks to create the fitness level and body you have always desired. Workout and Weight Loss plateaus are a thing of the past…really!
Orangetheory Fitness Greensboro is opening this summer! I had a chance to interview the owner Tom and here’s what he had to say about OrangeTheory and what makes it different.
Me: What should a client expect at their first class?
Tom: Every person who walks through our studio doors should expect to be greeted by one of our friendly staff members. We love meeting new people and we want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our studio. All first-time visitors to the studio should plan to arrive 30 minutes early so they can get fitted for and entered into our OTBeat heartrate monitor system, fill out the required paper work and to learn the basics of the workout. Before class starts. Participants will put on either a chest strap with our OTBeat heart-rate monitor or our OTBeat wristband heart rate monitor that can track your heart rate and progress throughout class. During class, participants workout to upbeat music and will be led through a variety of exercises by one of our professional fitness coaches. The coach leads the class through a motivational series of high-intensity interval training exercises on the treadmill, water rowers, with TRX straps and free weights. One thing we repeatedly hear from our members is how much they love being led through the exercises and not having to fumble through a gym with scary equipment on their own. The coaches make the whole workout easy to follow and fun! Just show up, follow their instruction and be done with your workout in one hour! After the workout, participants receive an email summary showing their performance and statistics from their workout, which helps monitor progress and results!
Me: What do you need to wear or bring to class?
Tom: We recommend wearing comfortable workout clothing that you can move around easily in. It is required to wear close-toed shoes for safety reasons. We also suggest bringing a water bottle to stay hydrated as well as a sweat towel if you want one. We have water bottles and sweat towels available for purchase in case you forget! We provide lockers to store any bags, jackets or other items. Our studio will also have showers, so participants are welcome to bring any shower items they desire to use after a good workout!
Me: Is Orangetheory Fitness scalable to different levels?
Tom: Absolutely! We routinely train all fitness levels. One of the main things that makes Orangetheory Fitness so unique is the individualized attention our expert trainers provide members with. They work with members and guests of all ages, sizes and fitness levels to maximize each workout, while also having fun. Yes, working out can be fun! Our workouts are designed to give all participants a great workout, but we always encourage everyone to go at a pace they feel comfortable with. The technology we use in the studio helps both the participant and the trainer monitor performance throughout each class, so participants can see their heart rate and calories burned in real time and adjust their intensity accordingly as needed.
[Tweet “What you need to know about #Orangetheory #OTFGSO”]
Me: Are there alternatives/modifiers for injuries or different fitness situations?
Tom: Yes! Every exercise we do has an alternative. Our smaller class sizes allow our expert trainers to closely monitor each participant’s form and assist them with any adjustments that need to be made. At some of our other studios, we have members with knee, back and hip trouble and they are still able to get a great workout with the adjustments and guidance provided by our trainers. We simply ask that any injuries or special situations be shared with the trainer ahead of time before class starts.
Me: What will your local package options be and will you have childcare options?
Tom: There are several different membership options and class package options to meet anyone’s needs. From now until our grand opening, we will have special discounts for our Founding members, so come lock those in soon before they’re gone! We do not have any long term commitments; we just have a 30-day notice so you can adjust the membership that works best for you. For specific details, please stop by our studio preview location in the Westover Gallery of Shops or give us a call at (336) 346-2977. We do have childcare discounts worked out with some great local drop-in childcare locations! We will offer several classes during the day for parents of school-aged children, as well as evening and weekend classes, so everyone can come get in the Orange Zone when it’s convenient for them.
Me: What made you choose to open an Orangetheory Fitness?
Tom: My wife joined as a founding member in Phoenix Arizona, and she encouraged me to take a class. We have both been in the medical industry for our whole careers and we really appreciated the science behind the workouts and how effective they were. It is our goal to help change people’s lives for the better, and I love that Orangetheory Fitness allows us to do that. I’m amazed by the science and research that has gone into developing these workouts and I’m inspired by the stories of members and trainers from other Orangetheory Fitness locations across the nation. We are excited to officially open our doors in Greensboro soon!
Me: What makes Orangetheory Fitness different from other group exercise classes?
Tom: First and foremost, the science behind the Orangetheory Fitness workouts makes it so much more than just another group exercise class. The workouts change every day and are specifically designed to give each individual maximum results all in just 1 hour. The technologies we use take all the guesswork out of working out. Secondly, our studios are committed to our members and our communities. We engage with members through in-studio programs and contests to make our team feel like a family and to invest in their lives beyond a one-hour workout. We also feel passionately about being a part of our towns and cities, and we often attend local events and festivals, where we love to see our members out and about. We plan to get involved with local nonprofits and silent auctions as well to give back to our community.
Me: What do you hope clients get out of it?
Tom: a. First off I hope members will achieve their personal health and fitness goals, for some people that means weight loss and for others it’s toning up, improving their endurance or gaining strength. Whatever it is, we’re excited to meet people where they are and work with them to help them reach their goals. It is all about changing habits and creating a healthy life style.
b. I also hope members develop a routine where they enjoy the camaraderie with other members and really look forward to the time they spend at Orangetheory Fitness. It’s important for me that members see us as their allies to cheer them along, push them in classes and celebrate with them as they succeed!
Me: How often do you need to go to class to get the most benefit?
Tom: We recommend attending at least three classes a week to see maximum results for most people. If weight loss is the goal then we like to see our members three to four times per week. Classes will be offered seven days a week, so there’s lots of class time options to choose from.
Me: What is your opening date?
Tom: We are planning to open in the end of June or early July 2016, but stay tuned for an exact grand opening date and party details!
For more information about Orangetheory Fitness Greensboro, feel free to stop by our pre-sale location at 1410 Westover Terrace, suite 100 B or give us a call at 336-346-2977. We’d also welcome you to visit our Orangetheoryfitness.com/Greensboro website or Facebook.com/OTFGreensboro.
I can’t wait for the Orangetheory doors to open – now who’s coming with me?!
charity
This post is sponsored by Arm & Hammer™ Truly Radiant™.
Do you have a moment or experience that you’ve been through that you constantly go back to in your mind? A moment you replay or strive to live up to again or just relish in the memory of the enjoyment or satisfaction?
I do. A few actual. Clearly the birth of my son was a pretty awesome experience in my life, but if I look beyond that, my highlight reel always pauses at the finish line of my first triathlon.
Honestly, completing any triathlon for the first time probably would have stuck with me for awhile, but this one was different because of what I’d been going through at the time and everything that lead up to that monumental finish.
If you’ve been reading for awhile {awhiiiiile} you already know my story. It’s the reason this blog exists, so I’d have an outlet to vent and whine and virtually cry without annoying my family anymore than I already had.
Years ago, out of nowhere, a large bruise appeared on the top of my foot. Instead of fading, it grew and grew, and became more and more painful. The pain spread across my foot, getting worse and worse. As I hunted for an answer, it spread to my other foot. I continued to knock down the doors of a thousand different doctors as it spread to both my hands. I’d reached a point where it consumed my life; everything hurt and simple tasks became nearly impossible. It hurt to walk, to write, to button my pants. But mostly, it crushed my mental resilience. I was depressed and just short of hopeless.
For whatever reason, months and months into the journey, I reached into the deepest depths of my last little bit of mental strength left and decided if I couldn’t physically make myself better I was going to do everything I could to conquer this obstacle in a different way.
I’d been a runner all my life, in some shape or form. I was always active and enjoyed exercising and physical activity. This had brought it all to a halt and that was just one of the many reasons I had a hard time dealing with it – I had no mental outlet left. I couldn’t just take off and run and let the endorphins sort things out for me.
I had to find a way to replace those endorphins, so I got the ridiculous idea to sign up for a triathlon – it would force me to try new things like biking and swimming. I’d figure out the running part later.
Low and behold, months later, I crossed that finish line. It may not have been the most graceful or the most glorious of race moments, but it was pivotal to me. I learned I conquer anything if I put my mind and will to it, even if my body didn’t want to make it easy for me.
Now when things get tough, I look back on that moment and the journey that led up to it, and it’s easier to put things in perspective.
That’s my Truly Radiant Finish. What’s yours?
P.S. As you can see, this post is sponsored by Arm & Hammer™ Truly Radiant™. Through the end of 2015, they’re commemorating #TrulyRadiantFinish moments and allowing women to give back at the same time. They’ve partnered with City of Hope Cancer Treatment Center to launch a social media initiative encouraging women to share their radiant moments using #TrulyRadiantFinish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and will donate $1 to City of Hope for each use of the hashtag. So get sharing your truly radiant moments so they can get donating!
They also have a line of TrulyRadiant products, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a rinse, to help give a “truly radiant finish” in your every day life. I didn’t think teeth cleansers would interest me but I actually really like the toothbrush and toothpaste. The brush has a spinny head that feels cool when you brush and the toothpaste is kind of baking-soda—y in a good way {not too strong a taste, but refreshing}. So there’s that.
Again, this is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Arm & Hammer™.
Apps
I’ve been loving wearing my fitness trackers {I have the Garmin Vivofit & the Fitbit Charge}. I’ve had one of them on since the day I got the first one. Honestly sometimes they really piss me off because I thought I was a lot more active than apparently I really am, but that’s exactly why I also continue to wear one – it’s great encouragement and a constant reminder to get up and move just a little bit more. It’s made me realize how important just a daily walk around the block is when I don’t have time for anything else. Those steps add up!
While I love scrolling through the numbers on my wrist and analyzing the data in my app, sometimes all that information still seems to be a bit lacking. Ok, so I know my average number of steps and can see how my sleep is from day to day, but what does all that really mean? Move more? Sleep more? All of the above?
That’s where the app AddApp comes in – it analyzes your habits for you. It meshes information together and spits out an understandable, tangible insight. Not only does it take data from certain fitness trackers, but also works with other apps like Apple Health, MapMyRun, Runkeeper, Strava and more.
Once you’ve added the services you want to sync, the app eats up all the data and spits it out in nice little succinct “insights”, such as the number of steps you average, how many hours of sleep you tend to get, and how many calories you’re burning from activities. It will also analyze the data a bit more and send you little notes and tidbits, like you haven’t logged any steps for awhile, you haven’t been recording nutrition information, or that you had a particularly low number of hours of sleep one night.
Having the data rolled up into succinct little bites of information is super helpful {alhtough I certainly didn’t need my phone to tell me I didn’t get enough sleep on a particular night – I knew that without any technology clueing me in!}. It’s yet another reminder to get up, get moving, and take care of yourself.
Download AddApp and start getting your insights so you can make sense of all the data you have at your disposal.
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of AddApp.
Products
I never put much thought into wearing a fitness tracker. I had a basic FitBit briefly but it didn’t engage me enough to keep wearing it and I hated the color so I rarely actually put it on. I figured I was active enough and counting steps wasn’t really on priority list. Then I got the Garmin Vivofit {which I received through my partnership with Verizon Wireless & FitFluential – I don’t have to blog about it but I want to because it’s cool}.
I strapped it on and prepared to watch the steps start counting up, up, and up…
Only they didn’t. I’d have mornings and moments filled with lots of fun, activity, and steps, then I would barely cross over to my goal by the end of the day. Other days the number of steps I ended with was just abyssmal. It was a bit of a wakeup call – I know how bad sitting and not being active is, yet here I was pretty much being a lazy bum in denial. While I’m not perfect about it, sitting the actual number of steps I’ve taken at any given moment is definite motivation to get up and moving.
So about the Garmin Vivofit specifcally: here’s my basic list of Pros & Cons to make it easy for you to skim through. {Here’s the vivofit I have.}
Pros
No need to charge battery – it’s a watch battery that’s predicted to last about a year. This means you never have to take the tracker off, stop tracking activity to charge it, or remember to put it back on, and no charger to keep track of. This is a huge plus in my book.
Shows when you’ve been sitting too long – A red bar bar appears above your step count if you’ve been still for too long. For each 15 minutes you remain still, a shorter bar is added. Walking around for a minute doesn’t make it automatically disappear either – it takes a bit of movement. {I desperately want to make this a con because it drives me crazy, but it’s the entire point of wearing one – to move more.} I believe the Vivofit 2 beeps to alert you when the red bar appears.
Multiple displays – with the push of a button you can choose to show # of steps taken, # of steps left to reach your goal, miles traveled, calories burned, time, or date.
Color selection – I have basic black but I love the bright blue and purple. {There’s also others.}
Easy set up – you literally put it on and it works.{It comes with two sizes of wrist straps that you can interchange.} Besides that you can just download the Garmin Connect app and sync it wirelessly through Bluetooth, or it comes with a piece to plug into your computer to do the same.
Can automatically set & adjust your goal based on behavior. – I might not have known where to start otherwise.
Can get wet – can leave it on in the shower and swimming.
Can’t “force” it to take steps – I can’t shake my arm off like T swizzle and make it think I took a bunch of steps.
Cons
A little bulky – It’s a little bit on the big side for my preference, but I’m not sure there’s a smaller one out there that also has a display. {?} I find wearing it with the display side on my inner wrist {technically upside down} is more comfortable, especially when sleeping. This means I have to choose to look at it, meaning I might not notice that evil red bar telling me I’m being lazy.
Poor sleep tracking – the sleep tracker only records how much you move while sleeping, and if you set your normal wake/sleep times it defaults to them no matter when you push the sleep button. While the amount of movement tends to correlate with my quality of sleep {i.e. lots of movement when the toddler takes over my bed}, it’s not always a perfect indicator and it doesn’t give me any information on how to improve this.
App leaves much to be desired – after the first few days of looking at things, I pretty much ignore the app. It’s nice to go back and look at the bigger picture, but besides that it doesn’t do much for me personally.
No backlight – not really a big deal but it’d be nice to be able to see the numbers when I’m going to bed or setting it to the sleep option {when I’m in bed and it’s dark} instead of just guessing.
Doesn’t always seem to predict movement/non-movement right – maybe it’s just smarter than me, but sometimes when I’ve been crazy active it still gets a red bar and when I’ve been lying around it doesn’t. Hmm.
So that’s it all broken down, but I haven’t taken it off since the minute I put it on, if that tells you anything. 
Get it here –>> Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band, $89 **Currently 10% off at Verizon!**
Do you wear a fitness tracker? What kind and do you like it?
fitfluential
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Don’t you love seeing pictures of people kicking @$$ and taking names on Instagram? I do. Seriously. It makes me think about getting up off my butt and trying to do some of those things and be one of those people.
We can’t all be like that, or at least we can’t all be like that all the time. I’m not in butt-kicking mode. That’s ok. I’m in repair mode. But people need to see that too. Everyone’s at a different stage in the game and everyone could use a little support and motivation.
Enter the #FFCheckIn.
Back up. <—- Fitfluential. Join it. Do it. Be it.
—> Fast forward. #FFCheckIn. Take a second to stop and check in with yourself, with your fan club, with your anonymous admirers, and yes, strangers. Reflect on your day, a moment, your progress, a failure. It doesn’t matter what; just check in. Then click on your own #FFCheckIn hashtag and see how everybody else is doing. Give some high-fives, words of encouragement, or just sneak a peak at what other people are working for.
It’s kinda corny, it’s kinda cool, and it’s totally relevant to what Instagram and social media is in terms of health and fitness inspiration.
*If you haven’t joined the club, you should. FitFluential isn’t just for bloggers. It’s for anyone interested in fitness and health. It’s a way to get all the cool fitness stuff and races and brands and expos to YOUR town. So if you’re in my town and you’re reading this, please go join. I want something cool to come here and not one of our bigger {and totally not as cool} neighbors for once. {You don’t actually have to do anything when you join – but you do get perks, giveaways, VIP access to stuff, etc. So for those of you always saying, “How do you get all that stuff?!”, that’s part of it.}
And just for fun, some other links for your reading and sharing pleasure:
Most popular fitness trends and diets of the past year.
24 things for 2014 {for my toddler}
The antibiotic downfall
