Orangetheory Fitness Cost, Modifications, and More of Your Questions Answered

Today I have some of your top Orangetheory Fitness questions answered! A few days ago, I opened up the floor for questions about Orangetheory, and boy oh boy – ask and you shall receive! I grabbed 10 questions to knock out here in this post, which I hope is helpful to those of you who may be side-eyeing this type of fitness.

Spoiler alert: I share at the bottom of the post a couple notes about how much weight I’ve lost since I started as well as how long it took to actually love going. I thought some readers may find this information relatable. xoxo

What type of workout is Orangetheory?

Each Orangetheory Fitness class is led by a high-energy trainer and is split into three areas: the treadmills, the rowers, and the weight room. When one is on the treadmill, he or she decides whether they are a power walker, a jogger, or a runner, and then they work out accordingly. The rower segment typically consists of distance rowing (or rower-like sprints) split up by work with dumbbells or a medicine ball. The weight room has dumbbells, a bench, TRX bands, resistance bands, and an ab dolly.

The workouts are drastically different every single day, which keeps every day exciting and challenging.

How long is a workout at Orangetheory?

I believe it’s advertised to be an hour workout. Typically my classes consist of five minutes of warm ups, 48 minutes of working out, and then five minutes of optional stretching.

How does Orangetheory compare with Crossfit?

I dabbled with Crossfit several years ago, so I’ve been in a Crossfit box before and understand what it’s all about. My husband does Crossfit every day in our home gym, so we compare workouts almost every morning when we’re getting ready for the day. Though Crossfit and Orangetheory occasionally share similar movements and are about the same duration of time per workout, ultimately they are quite different.

For example, Crossfit does frequent pull-ups and uses a barbell with plates. Orangetheory does not. Jamie came to a Orangetheory class with me, and it completely smoked him because it was so different from what he’s used to. If I did one of his Crossfit workouts, it would smoke me because I’m not used to it.

What modifications can you make at Orangetheory if you’re less experienced?

As aforementioned, one is able to decide is he or she wants to be a power walker, jogger, or runner on the treadmills, and trainers usually suggest watching your heart rate to determine if you need to turn it up or take it down a notch. Your heart rate is in the orange zone (the fat burning zone) when it’s between 84-90%, so this is going to look different for everyone depending on one’s level of fitness.

I just joined Orangetheory yesterday thanks to your blog! Is going two times per week enough?

This depends on one’s athletic ability, but my personal opinion is that starting at two times per week is perfect. Orangetheory workouts will stretch you and leave you dripping in sweat in the best way! Around my fifth week as a member, I went two days in a row for the first time, and I was really struggling during that second workout. Eventually I started going three days a week, and now I go four days because this is what fits my lifestyle. I reserve my Saturday and Sunday mornings to lay low and ease into the day with my sweet fam, and then I’ll pick one weekday to take off and sleep in past 4:20 a.m. 😉

So, yes! Two workouts a week is perfect in the beginning, but I would encourage members to consider adding one day per week for every month you’re a member (if it’s your second month, bump it to three workouts a week, and then in your third month, bump it up to four workouts a week). Just a personal suggestion.

Do you find that you’re becoming a stronger runner after working out at Orangetheory?

100%, without a doubt. I am running faster and more comfortably than I ever have in my life. We had a benchmark mile run last week that I completed in 7:40. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be able to run a mile time like that. Might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but this milestone was huge for me not only physically, but mentally. My next goal is to run it in 7:15!

Could you confidently run a 10k with Orangetheory training?

I’m not sure. I participate in the 3G classes in the morning, so I see less treadmill time than the 2G classes. Because of this, I very rarely run more than 2.1 miles on the treadmill in a day. I do think that Orangetheory has trained me well enough that I could go out and run a 10k, but doing some longer-distance running on my own ahead of time (just to be sure) would be the smartest idea. 😉

Are you ever self-conscious about your stats being displayed?

Surprisingly, no. It doesn’t feel competitive or judgmental in any form or fashion at Orangetheory. Everyone cheers for each other and encourages each other. I don’t even know half of the names of the people in there, so there would be no reason to look at other peoples’ stats on the screen. I just focus on myself, as I think do most people.

What is the monthly cost, and how many classes can you take?

I pay $139/month for unlimited classes. I was paying $149/month, but my price dropped after a friend joined during a referral month. When I originally signed up, I paid $99 for eight classes but after a month decided I needed more than that and jumped up to the unlimited.

Is it worth the investment?

1000%, without a doubt, screaming from the rooftops YES. Many people gasp when I tell them that I pay $139 for the gym per month, but if Jamie and I realized that we couldn’t afford it anymore, we would look at cutting our expenses somewhere else. Different strokes for different folks, but for this folk (me), group fitness in a boutique gym like this IS MY JAM.

A couple super honest, vulnerable things to note:

First, I haven’t lost a single pound since I started heavily working out back in December (you may remember that I previously worked out at 9Round in Kansas before moving to Alabama and joining Orangetheory). It’s weird to me that this doesn’t whack me out more than it does because I’ve always been someone that only worked out to lose weight. I know that I would lose weight if I dieted, but I honestly just don’t want to do a specific strict diet right now – lol. I know that I don’t eat horribly, I only eat sweets or drink wine occasionally, and I am at a point in my life right now where I don’t want to focus every second on calculating my food.

I am the type of person that gets very irritated when I’m deprived of something, and I just so don’t want to be irritated about food right now. 😉 Of course I would love to lose 10-15 pounds FOR SURE, but for now I am doing my best to make daily good food choices, slightly indulge if I want a treat, not pour another glass of wine, and continue to bust my booty in the gym because I want to. I have never seen some of the muscles that are showing up in my body and I love it. I feel better in my clothes, and I generally feel like it’s so true when they say “Do hard work in the gym so you can be better outside of it.” So true for me.

Second, speaking of, it took me 3.5 months of showing up to Orangetheory time and time again to finally love it. I fell in love with 9Round in Kansas and mourned that feeling so (!!) much when we moved to Alabama. I liked Orangetheory, but it was a hard workout and I missed the feeling that I used to have where my day wasn’t right unless I started it bright and early at 9Round. I continued to show up at Orangetheory though even when I didn’t want to go most days, and now… I love it. So, so, so much. My body is used to waking up early, I know most of the friendly faces that workout beside me, I love the coaches, and in general I finally feel like I belong. But it took a while. So if you’re like I used to be and just really don’t like going to the gym and view it as a chore, find a gym with a community and just keep going. For months. Show up, commit for six months, and see what happens!

Let’s chat!

Are you a current or previous Orangetheory member? What do you love about it? What do/did you not? What type of fitness are you in love with right now?

More: Similarities and Differences between 9Round and Orangetheory Fitness | Why Working Out Has Strengthened our Marriage | A List of the Fitness Clothes I Actually Work Out In | The Best Time of Day to Work Out (10 People Weigh In)