If you’ve hung around this blog for any amount of time, you would know that my health is something I’ve struggled with.
Since having my kids, three kids in four years, I’ve unwillingly kept on all the baby weight, which has caused some other health issues. Most recently, that complication manifested itself in severe obstructive sleep apnea.
But when you have three very active small kids and a very active business, it’s hard to make time to get yourself better. Everything else seems to take automatic priority over your health.
After the sleep apnea diagnosis this summer, I knew though, it was time to stop messing around. I want to be healthy. I want to be active. I want to be able to play with my kids and not get winded. I want to be around for a long time.
So it is time to stop the excuses and prioritize my health.
But where to start?
When you have SO much weight to lose and so much to try and change in your life…the task of even starting seems so overwhelming.
I recently discovered OrangeTheory Fitness and I was instantly intrigued. Having had oodles of wasted gym memberships in the past, I have been hesitant to sign up for another gym, even though I have the best of intentions. My husband often jokes that everything at the gym is just so heavy, but beyond that, I usually find myself totally LOST at a gym! So many machines…how do you use them, which is the best for my body, how many reps do I need to do…the list goes on and on and more often times than not, I would find myself overwhelmed and leave after a 15 minute jog on the treadmill.
But OrangeTheory is different. It’s a whole new kind of gym experience. It’s a 60 minute group personal training workout that targets your heart rate, to ensure that you keep calories burning for up to 36 hours post-workout. Led by skilled coaches, no two workouts are ever the same, with the coaches changing up the combinations and giving you instructions on what to do next.
THIS IS PERFECT! You literally show up, strap your heart monitor on and just go! All you have to focus on is your heart rate being in the certain zones and follow along. Absolutely NO more excuses!
Being a group class, no larger than 24 people, each of you are equipped with an OTBeat wristband to monitor the five-zone interval training sessions to ensure you’re getting the most out of your workout. This is a fast, full body workout!
Your time is split between cardio, on the treadmill and rowers, to weight training, with free weights and TRX suspension training. This is all led by their skilled coaches and backed by science.
The result is the Orange Effect: more energy, visible toning and extra calorie burn for up to 36 hours post- workout.
I’m not going to lie, I was nervous to go for my first class. REALLY nervous! Like I said, I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in years and the idea of group fitness training scared me.
What if they are all WAY better than me? What if I’m the only really-out-of-shape-overweight person there? What if I can’t keep up?
Well, those fears were very quickly dissolved as soon as I stepped into the class. What I loved about this was that everyone in the class were at different levels of fitness, all at various stages in their health and fitness journey. And because it’s still personal training, in a group setting, you are able to stick to your own pace, while keeping a close eye on your heart rate.
This was truly a gym experience like no other and one that I can tell from the very beginning, I will love. Being in the group atmosphere really works as a BENEFIT to encourage you to keep going! You have this comradery where you feel as though you are all in this together, no matter if you are running on the treadmill or barely fast-walking.
After just a week of this new fitness training, I can tell that I am well on my way to a whole new life. This is something I need. This is something my body has been longing for. This is something that is going to change my life.
Stick around for updates on this journey! And don’t forget to check out OrangeTheory Fitness and join OTF nation!
Love & Blessings,
