My exercise coach, Luis, reassures me, “Don’t worry.” He has a heart rate monitor strapped to my arm. “We work together to find the right intensity and set our own pace.”
Bewildered, I looked up the definition of a beast on my phone. What did I give myself up for?
I hadn’t set foot in a gym in over 35 years. The yelling male instructor, the harsh lighting, and the general air of fascism in his body at the time was disgusting.
Like many middle-aged women, I like endorphin-boosting exercise, but it needs to be gentle and non-competitive. I walk 30 miles a week, swim three times and do pilates. But if Lycra is involved, count me out.
But Orangetheory Fitness, a cult gym studio franchise founded in the United States and growing in popularity in the UK where it now has nine studios, claims to offer a different type of exercise class.
Community and inclusivity are the watchwords. Suitable for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Michelle Obama is a fan, and if you watch the Netflix show Queer Eye, you’ll see that the Fab 5 is where they bring clients.
Will this cure my gymphobia?
Orangetheory (or “orange therapy” as fans call it) runs hour-long circuit classes that are split between time on the treadmill and rowing machine and weight and strength exercises such as floor lunges and squats. To do. It’s a group class, but you go at your own pace according to your heart rate data.
All wear heart rate monitors on their wrists. This tracks her heart beats per minute and the data is projected next to her name on a digital screen in the room so you can see how many calories you burn and your average heart rate percentage.
The goal isn’t to run as hard as you can all the time, but to get your heart rate up, your metabolism up, and your cardio fitness up.
Sadly my family has poor heart health. My father and all my grandparents died of heart attacks early in life.
A family history of heart disease is defined as having a male first-degree relative with a heart attack by age 55 years or a female first-degree relative by age 65 years.
When I recently consulted a leading cardiologist, he frankly told me to tip less weekly, adopt a Mediterranean diet, and do more fat-burning exercises. Plump – This is dangerous for my family history.
So, does heart rate-based interval training in a 60-year-old scary gym make a difference?
Book an appointment at Orangetheory’s studio in Fulham, South West London. Expect a cult of orange. And yes, the lighting makes the whole room look orange, and the superfit coaches have a hint of Baywatch about them, but they’re kind, enthusiastic, and their biggest goal is to shape Pokey Midlife. It makes you feel that you should do it.
First, Lewis guides us through the five heart rate zones people go through during their workouts. Gray is when you are relaxed. Blue is an easy warm-up zone. Green – “endurance zone” – when you are having difficulty. Then there’s the orange zone where things start to feel uncomfortable. The Red Zone – the topmost zone – is achieved with maximum effort.
“It’s like my mother-in-law’s house,” jokes Sean Johnson, Orangetheory’s Regional Fitness Manager. “It’s fine to stop by, but I don’t want to stay long.”
The goal is to spend one-third (20 minutes) of your workout in the orange zone and the rest in the green zone. However, the level of effort required will depend on your body and medical history.
I have never done interval training before. The session starts on the rowing machine and I enjoy working out my muscles, abs and legs.
Lewis encourages us to put in more effort, get our heart rate up and move from the warmup gray zone to the green.
Soon everyone’s profile will light up in green, orange and red on the overhead leaderboard. Unfortunately, I’m not agitated beyond gray (aka relaxed pace).
Next, in knockout style, the group sprints to the other side of the room for strength training. While everyone else is spinning weights around their heads, I’m still trying to get my feet off the Velcro straps on his rowing machine.
I enjoy doing total body resistance exercises (stretching with wall-mounted resistance bands). It’s good that your profile has turned blue. Already at home he lifts 3kg hand weights, but combining weights and lunges is tough. I cried until my third rep and am shocked at how unfit I am.
Go to a treadmill where you can run, jog, or walk. I choose 4 mph power walking. The incline he upped to 10% (to get more incline) and finally got the first green zone reading and felt victorious.
Sean will then guide you through the results (regular members can get them in the app). After taking one high-energy, adrenaline-pumping class, he burned 308 calories and walked 3,000 steps in an hour. By comparison, he had to walk seven miles (14,000 steps in five hours for him) the day before to burn off that amount.
I was in the green zone for 16 minutes. My maximum heart rate was 131 beats per minute (ideally for my age he should be between 80 and 136). Power on slopes Her walking is less impactful, but strengthens the posterior chain (butt and gluteal muscles), Sean artfully says.
The day after the session my thighs are sore. Have your thighs ever moved like this? When I tested my blood pressure with an Omron home monitor, it went from Grade 1 high blood pressure to normal highs. I hate interval training, but I understand the point of getting out of your comfort zone.
Orangetheory focuses on “training for life”, not bodybuilding. It improves strength and coordination so you can climb stairs, shop, and carry other things that might slip later in life.
That’s right, I agree to return every week. And we will do it! Having reached the orange zone once or twice, I am no longer out of breath when climbing hills. I have a bad feeling that I’ve changed my mind.
- Orangetheory Fitness Studios across the UK offer free class trials. London membership options start at £109 per month or £199 for 10 classes, orangetheory.com
