Written by Cortney Vaughn

Recently, I did this thing… I jumped on the Orangetheory bandwagon and I’m so glad I did. I’d been hearing about it for years and I must say, I was a bit intimidated. I had heard about the “orange” and “red” heart rate range and since my idea of a workout is taking my 9 pound dog on a walk, I was sure I would be flashing red the entire class… my assumptions were correct. But it gave me the drive to challenge myself and to do better next time. 

Let me start from the beginning though. On my ride down Clayton Road on my hot pink scooter, I felt really good about the class. I was ready to tackle it head on as I mentally prepared myself and visualized completing the class in my coordinating workout outfit.

Upon arrival, I was pleasantly greeted by Nick, who was so sweet and even more helpful. He walked me through the entire gym (which is super clean by the way) and the process. He had me hop on the scale, which also determines your body fat percentage. I suddenly regretted having that cream cheese filled Pumpkin muffin for breakfast and promised myself I would get a green juice from The Juice Bar next door when I left the class. And I did. 

Once the class began and the rap music started blasting, I was immediately at ease and felt right at home. The particular number that I drew had me first up on the treadmill. The thing I liked most about it was that the instructor accommodated everyone’s levels with ease. If you want to walk, walk. If you want to run like Forest Gump, you go girl. The whole point to this method is that you increase and decrease in both speed and incline throughout the round, and that helps to get your heart rate into the “orange,” which is ideally where you want to be. Some people were sweating into piles on the floor while others, like myself, were chatting with their workout neighbor. “ I feel like I’ve met you before,” I casually said to someone next to me who responded, “Oh! I work at Starbucks on Wydown and you come in all the time,” to which we fist pumped and kept walking. On the other hand, the girl to my left was a machine. I kept cheering her on and she told me how great I did for my first time. I silently chuckled because she was the one who was the beast, tackling every round as if it were some kind of championship battle.

The round switched and I was up on the rowing machine and free weights. I had only once before been on a rowing machine and I must say, it’s one of my favorite exercises! I personally have a left knee injury, so we accommodated that by leaving my leg out of the straps and held it straight out in front of me. Not that I needed the challenge as a first timer, but this added an abdominal element that helped alleviate the pressure on my bum knee. 

Next up was the floor circuit. Here we chose our desired weights and did squats, arm raises, and ab workouts, all of which were shown to us on a nearby screen. This was nice because it allowed everyone to go as hard as they wanted or increase the repetitions at a lower weight. The class ended with a group stretch and group praising, with individuals complimenting one another- it was nice. This was also a time when I realized that I knew three people in my class- I mean, after all, it IS St. Louis! They also prove you’re improving. Their OTbeat technology measures your heart rate and performance data after each class as evidence of a job well done. 

I’m definitely looking forward to returning. If you have yet to try it- give it a shot. It truly is a class for any and all levels!

Ladue Location

10277 Clayton Rd, St. Louis, MO 63124
314.272.0641

Chesterfield Location

1674 Clarkson Rd, Chesterfield, MO 63017

314.384.9025