The most important part of a workout is not necessarily the physicality– but the science behind it.
Orangetheory Fitness is more than a gym. It is a one hour, full-body workout ran by certified coaches. Which is scientifically backed in order to produce the best results for one’s workout. It integrates technology with high intensity interval training workouts through the use of their specialized five-zone heart rate monitors.
The fitness franchise is privately owned and began in Boca Raton, Florida in 2010. It has expanded to over 1,000 studios in the U.S. and over 2,000 worldwide.
“The College Park location was actually the 1,000th in the United States to open, and has been having great success,” studio manager Carly Cannon said. “It’s great to see young adults so motivated to stay active, as that can be hard in a college environment.”
The science behind the workout program is how Orangetheory Fitness sets themselves aside from other gym franchises. According to the Orangetheory Fitness website, Ellen Latham, one of the creators of the franchise, ran a Pilates studio before and noticed her clients still had personal trainers on the side because they wanted to burn fat.
She developed a workout, which as stated on the website, “metabolically charges the body” involving the five-zone, heart-rate-based, interval training.
Picture credit to Rachael Lansing
The five zones are significant to the Orangetheory workout: zone one is very light activity, zone two is warm up, zone three is challenging but doable, zone four is known as the orange effect, which is the most important, and zone five is all out effort.
The orange zone, zone four, is emphasized to be the most important, as the workout is designed so that one spends at least 12 minutes in it. When one is in the orange zone, their heart rate is between 84% to 91% of their heart rate maximum. This is when the results are created, as the body is pushed to its limit.
The Orangetheory Fitness College Park community is filled with enthusiastic, driven people.Certified coach, Rachael Lansing, became a member of the team this year.“I just love being someone my members can come to and rely on as well as pushing them to their full potential,” she said. “It’s all about helping them reach places they never thought they could, and seeing them succeed no matter how small the feats.”
Picture Credit to OTF College Park Instagram
Clients of the community have noted the difference in Orangetheory’s philosophy and procedure compared to other gym franchises as well, specifically in College Park too.Junior Alana Tauber was struggling to find a workout routine while balancing academics, social life and her job. She said that Orangetheory’s structure has been the most productive way to work out while juggling it all.“Having that one hour dedicated to exercise by great coaches, and being surrounded by a great community helps me to push myself,” she said. “Also, as a student I have found it hard to motivate myself, so having coaches at Orangetheory helps a lot.”
As the business continues to grow, the community does as well. Thousands of people are coming out to try the scientifically-backed workout as it has proved to be one of the best methods to burn fat.They are creating not only a successful workout at Orangetheory Fitness, but a community as well.
Picture credit to Rachael Lansing