If you would have told me at the beginning of 2019 that I would be obsessed with working out at Orange Theory Fitness, I would have told you there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell. I had a very basic gym membership and fitness apps that got me through my workouts. I had already successfully completed three marathons and multiple half-marathons on my own. On and on…

But here I am, exactly one year from the first time I took a class at Orange Theory Fitness in Park Ridge and I can admit - I was wrong. Dead Wrong! I am obsessed with OTF. Honestly, I work out there usually 5-6 days a week. And if my schedule allowed for it, okay and my legs too, I would be there everyday. (Honestly, so obsessed I looked into opening my own location but alas do not have that kind of money.)

Full disclosure: I received my first 6 classes for free last January in order to share my OTF experience on Instagram. But I didn’t even wait until my last free class to sign up for a full membership.

11 Reasons to Give Orange Theory Fitness a Try This Year:

ONE:: Personal training without the high cost.

Yes, OTF is more pricey than your standard gym, but it is WAY less than personal training sessions at that same gym. Since the classes are small - no more than 36 people, and usually more like 20 - the coaches are able to really work with each person. They correct your form, push you to run faster or lift more weights, offer helpful alternative exercises if you can’t do a particular movement etc… I have gotten more useful tidbits from the coaches at OTF this past year than I have from all the personal training sessions I’ve tried over all the years.

TWO:: The group dynamic.

Maybe it’s our human desire for connection, but I think these group class options are going to be more and more popular. OTF isn’t like a normal gym where you show up, workout and maybe talk to someone while sharing a machine. You take the class together, you compete against others, you work with them. And while each is doing his/her own thing, there is also a certain sense of team spirit that we are all doing this together. Their are high fives and fist pumps after a job well done on the treadmill or rower. That group dynamic always pushes me to give more for the hour I’m there.

THREE:: Works for any skill level.

I know some people are intimidated by the idea of Orange Theory because they aren’t super fit or able to run 8-minute miles. No problem. Honestly, every skill level is represented in the gym. You have power walkers going all out on inclines I never want to see on my runs. You have people lifting 60 pounds and people lifting 8 pounds. Each person determines what will push them that day and he/she locks in on that.

FOUR:: No judgment zone.

Unlike a lot of other gyms that claim they are a no judgment zone, OTF really is a no judgment zone. Honestly, everyone is so in their own zone that there isn’t time for shaming or side-eyeing another. A good friend of mine started going with me last month and she keeps commenting on how no one pays any attention to the fact that she’s struggling to do all the exercises while others sail through them. The coaches help her and no one bats an eye that she needs to curl 5 pounds. (UGH! This is reminding me of the time a trainer at the gym told me I was fat.)

FIVE:: Everyone knows your name.

No, it’s nothing like Cheers. But honestly, every single person on staff and all the coaches know my name. And no, it isn’t because I’m all in their faces telling them who I am. They know everyone’s name. I’m greeted by name when I walk in the door. The coaches use my name when giving me personal goals or instructions. When I lived in St. Louis I belonged to the same gym for three years and no one knew my name, not even the trainer who gave me the initial tour and filled out my paperwork. If you go to one of those mega-gyms, you know how true that is.

SIX:: See muscles you’ve never even imagined before.

This might be vanity talking, but I am loving all the muscles I’m seeing as a result of this year at OTF. I’m talking muscles I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, at least not on my body. My arms and shoulders have more definition than they ever did when I was just training for marathons. I can’t wait to see what another couple months brings to the forefront. I’m also excited to see how this impacts my half marathon time and training. I’ve got two I’m signed up for already this year, and have big goals in mind for my finishing time.

SEVEN:: Variety, aka it’s never boring.

One of my favorite things about working out at Orange Theory is that the workout are never the same. Yes, every day has some combination of time spent on the treadmill, rower and floor (aka weights and core), but the combination and specific workouts vary each and every day. This week, for instance, I have run at incline and flat road sprints. I have worked with the TRX straps, bosu ball, weights, and ab dolly. I have rowed 100 meters at a sprint, and 500 meters at a consistent pace.

EIGHT:: Pushes you more than you would push yourself.

Admittedly, it wasn’t until Hell Week (an OTF tradition that includes 8 days of intense workouts in the Fall) that I figured this one out. During Hell Week you push yourself more than other workouts. I managed to do 7 of the 8 days, which admittedly was insane. But what I learned that week was how much more capable my body is than I give it credit for.

After that week, I started pushing myself more during each workout. I picked up bigger weights, I ran at faster speeds, I mentally challenge myself each and every day to go beyond my initial thoughts about what I could do. For instance, yesterday we completed 12 sprints on the treadmill. Before Hell Week, I probably would have run each of those sprints at 7.5 mph and been happy with that. But yesterday I pushed myself to run each sprint a little faster than the last. I ended up running: 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 9, and 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, and 10.2. BAM! That last speed was because the coach came near the end and told me he wanted to see double digits on my last sprint.

If I was just working out at the gym, running on my own or even following the prescriptions of an app, there is no way I would push myself as hard. I would still have gotten a good workout in. I would still leave the gym sweaty and having burned a fair amount of calories. But I wouldn’t be pushing as hard. And I certainly wouldn’t be consistently burning 550+ calories per workout.

NINE:: Incentives to keep at it.

Let’s be honest, we all like free swag and incentives to complete a task. OTF excels at dangling these little carrots in front of its members to keep them motivated and pushing. For instance, if you completed 5 of the 8 days of Hell Week you got a free t-shirt. If you completed 8 of the 12 days of Christmas you got socks. (check out those socks in the pic!)

But beyond free swag, the app also keeps track of your workouts. Your milestones. Your best times, etc… So you are always looking at besting your best score. For instance, I have done the 500 meter row challenge three times this year. My worst time was 1:34, my best 1:28! But my crowning achievement is the 2,000 meter row, which I was able to knock 29 seconds off of my total from the first time to the most recent, coming in at 6:48!

TEN:: More Life

This is the Orange Theory motto, so you’ll see the phrase on a lot of things. And it’s totally true. Going to OTF gives you more life. I have been sick less this year than any previous year of my adult life. I even missed that killer bug everyone got this fall. I have had less migraines than ever before (this is due to a combination of things, but working out consistently plays a large role). I feel more energized each morning, and require less coffee to make it through the day. Heck I even got to take part in Orange Theory Illinois’ attempt to make the Guinness Book of World Record for largest HIIT workout.

ELEVEN:: No Cellphones.

I also love that there are NO cellphones on the floor. When you are there for your 45-minute or 60-minute class you are there to work and work hard. There is no pausing to send a text or check the weather. There is no one sitting on a machine, no using it while they scroll through an Instagram feed. There are no sweaty mid-class selfies or mirror pics. We are there to get at it. (Hence the reason all my pics for this are shots of my after workout results rather than mid-class.)