I love running and doing strength workouts at home, but while I enjoy my own company I’ve been finding it a bit lonely, and I’ve been thinking about adding something more social to my workout routine. 

I know that for me to make a fitness activity routine in my life, it needs to be a few things:

1. Convenient. It needs to be something really easy for me to get to, that is close to home, or that I walk past often. It can’t be somewhere that I need to get a bus or drive to, because I just won’t get there.
2. Fun. I’m not interested in workouts which aren’t enjoyable. It needs to be fun, varied and engaging for me to continue to return to it.
3. Affordable. I know that the benchmark for this is different for all people. While I am happy to spend money on fitness, it still needs to be financially responsible for me.

As I thought about the possibility of trying out Orange Theory, I weighed up the criteria and decided that it definitely had potential. My local Orange Theory studio is a 5-10 min walk away, so very convenient. They have lots of classes that fit into my schedule, and the cost is controllable, based on how many classes you want to take per week/month. But would it be fun? I knew a little bit about Orange Theory workouts, in that they use treadmills rowers and weights, but no more than that. I did some research about the workouts online and read a few blogs that were all positive, and decided that the workouts was so varied that the likelihood of me enjoying them was high.

With that, I went online and I saw that Orange Theory offers a free first class, which makes trying it out completely risk free. I signed up for a class one evening after work, and decided to give it a go! By the time I got to the class, I felt really prepared. Orange Theory did a great job of welcoming me, and ensuring that I knew what I was doing. I had a calendar email sent to my inbox, and then an email with a list of instructions about when to turn up and what to bring.  I also had a call with the front desk to check in on what I was looking for and my fitness needs: it felt very caring and personalized. 

Orange Theory’s welcome email told me to turn up to class 30 mins before class. I was a bit surprised that I had to be there so early, but decided to go with it – and I’m so glad that I did! When I arrived at the studio, I was welcomed by the receptionist who had remembered that I had my first class booked. She toured the studio with me, showed me the bathrooms, showers, taught me how to use the lockers and gave me an introduction to the studio and how the classes work. They lent me a heart rate monitor which you wear on your left arm, and showed me how all the data comes up on the screens in the gym and can be used to inform your workout.

Finally, I was introduced to the coach for the class, Kelly, who was super welcoming. She was expecting me as the reception had shared my info ahead of time, and I also met the other new client who was joining us for her first class.  Kelly  walked us both through how to set up the rower and treadmill, explained how the stations worked, as well as the TV screens, and gave us the confidence that class was going to be great! Kelly made it clear that we could ask questions at any time, even if she was another station which was super reassuring. 

First impressions were strong! Now it was time to get working out!