In November 2014, I attended a free trial class at Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) in the Lowry Town Center and immediately fell in love with their workout classes. Rather than committing to a membership from the get-go, I opted to purchase a couple of 10 class packages as a trial to ensure that it was a workout routine that would work for me. It was, and I became an Elite-level member in the Spring of 2015. Mrs. Snark and KidSnark are also members.

OTF offers several different memberships: 10 class package, 20 class package, 30 class package, Basic membership (four classes per month), Elite membership (eight classes per month) and Premier membership (unlimited classes). On the Basic and Elite memberships, you can attend additional classes beyond the limit but pay an additional charge for each class over the limit. And you can attend any OTF studio in the country.

The OTF workouts are a heart-rate-based, full-body, group fitness class that combines cardio (treadmill, bike or strider), rowing, and strength training using weights and bodyweight. The classes are led by an OTF Coach who demonstrates all the exercises and explains what each workout area should be during every phase of the class.

The classes are generally one hour in duration, although they do offer an occasional 90-minute class and two specialty 50-minute classes (Treadmill 50 and Strength 50) where the workout is entirely on the treadmill or in the weight room. The classes rotate almost daily between being Endurance, Power or Strength focused, so the exercises that you do vary from day-to-day which keeps things from getting boring and/or repetitive.

A typical 60-minutes class involves a 4-5 minute warmup period followed by two 23-minute sessions on the treadmill and rower/weight room for a two-group (2G) class or three 14-minute sessions on the treadmill, rower and weight room for a three-group (3G) class. There is a 60-90 second break between each workout area switch to wipe down the equipment with sanitary wipes and to return weights to the proper areas. At the end of class, there is an optional 3 to 4 minute cool-down/group stretch in the weight room led by the Coach, and the Coach will generally provide updates on anything notable – holiday hours, Hell Week, Transformation Challenge, etc.

The exercises in each workout area are designed to take you through different heart-rate zones as described below per the OTF website:

Heart Rate Zone 1 or the Gray Zone (50-60% MaxHR): This is the light activity zone. Aim to be here during warm-ups, cool-downs and active recovery periods.

Heart Rate Zone 2 or the Blue Zone (61-70% MaxHR): This is the “slowly start jogging, power walking or rowing zone.” You’ll start to feel your breathing increase and talking becomes just a bit harder.

Heart Rate Zone 3 or the Green Zone (71-83% MaxHR): This should be what we call “Base Pace” and active recovery between intervals. It’s a challenging but doable pace.

Heart Rate Zone 4 or the Orange Zone (84-91% MaxHR): This is an uncomfortable zone achieved with Push Pace and All Outs. You won’t spend long periods of time here.

Heart Rate Zone 5 or the Red Zone (92-100% MaxHR): You might hit this zone during an All Out effort. If you do get here, it should only be for a super short period before returning to the Orange or Green zones.

It’s essentially interval training and it works. If you do everything that the Coach tells you to do then you walk out of the studio with a wet head and feel good about yourself. And over time, you will find yourself getting stronger and maybe even losing some lbs.

The vibe in the studio is high energy with music blaring and the Coach giving encouragement and calling out folks who are really pushing it. The demographic of the membership is varied from Millennials to Boomers. And I would guesstimate that the membership is 65% female and 35% male. Some members are in great shape and others – like me – not so much. It doesn’t matter; it’s not a competition.

There is flexibility to change the workout to your liking. If you’ve suffered an injury that makes certain exercises painful or too challenging, then the Coach will offer alternative exercises. I have taken this flexibility to the extreme due to a torn rotator cuff that I suffered in January 2023 and issues with my feet. So, the workout that I do each session is completely different than what everyone else is doing, but it works for me. I’m certain that other members in the class are like … what in the heck is that noncompliant knucklehead doing? And Coach Jackie has even given a name to my workout routine: Mark-ing It Up.

Group fitness classes are not for everyone, but the OTF classes work really well for me and many others. In fact, I recently completed my 1200th OTF class.

If you haven’t tried a class, then you should call the studio and see if it works for you. There is absolutely no pressure to become a member – it either works for you or it doesn’t. And if you opt to do a free trial class then tell them that Snarky Mark sent you.