Michelle Marie Health & Wellness

Orange Theory Fitness

Have you heard of OTF? If not, you will very soon. Orange Theory Fitness is a boot camp style workout studio that started out in Florida & Arizona and is quickly opening many different locations along the East Coast as well as nationally. OTF opened in Boston just under a year ago and is opening a second location a little closer to where I live in Natick, MA. OTF Natick is scheduled to open sometime this April or early May, but in the meantime, they are putting on events in order to get the community excited about the workout. This past Sunday I attended their 60 minute boot camp workout at Athleta in the Natick Mall.

What is the OTF workout all about?

The workout is an hour and is composed of three parts; a session of treadmill intervals, a session of indoor rowing, and a final session of weight and resistance training. What sets OTF apart from all other boot camp studios is their state of the art heart rate monitoring system. Each client wears a heart rate monitor during the duration of class. Each individual’s heart rate is projected on a monitor seen by everyone in class. Having this feature allows you to aim to keep your heart rate in the target zone for each exercise; this maximizes energy levels and metabolism which allows you to burn the most calories. This heart rate monitoring is great for accountability, group workout encouragement & support, and of course, motivation.

Whether weight loss or increased performance is your goal, this workout will provide you with great results!

How was the experience of the preview workout at Athleta Natick?

Obviously, OTF couldn’t bring in any cardio equipment to Athleta, so the 60 minute boot camp wasn’t like a traditional class will be at the studio. This hour was broken into four sections:  A tabata session, strength and toning session, jump rope and resistance band interval, and lastly a session of core and ab exercises. The 60 minute class was a great way to get to know the trainers and the overall style and atmosphere of OTF. It was a lot of fun, an awesome workout and the turnout was great.

Look for OTF studios near you and definitely give this workout a try. If you are local and interested in the new Natick location check out their social media sites!

This article also appears on Women’s iLab to inspire the next generation of female leaders.