With a CrossFit gym or spinning class on nearly every corner, it’s plain to see that boutique fitness rules Westchester. Add to the mix Orangetheory, an increasing popular new take on whole-body workouts that combines cardio with muscle-building resistance training and is set to open its first county location on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains this November.
“Everybody in the class wears a heart rate monitor so you can see your results in real time,” explains Paul Blanchard, co-owner of the new outpost along with business partner Alan Damashek. “It’s half cardio and half strength and power, and midway through the workout you flip to whichever you did not start on. The workout is different every single day of the year.”
Blanchard notes that the program is based around the concept of high intensity interval training (HIIT), in which high heart rate and lower heart rate actions are combined in the same workout. “On the cardio side of things, we have treadmills, two bikes, and a strider,” he details. “So people can choose their cardio, but the intervals change each class. The beauty of the class is that it’s based on your specific fitness level.”
Blanchard adds that the key to this varied workout lies in reaching what the company refers to as The Orange Zone. “The goal of the activity is that you spend 12 to 20 minutes at 84 percent of your max heart rate,” he describes. “So if you spend that period in the Orange Zone, you burn the most calories from fat and create what is called the after burn. You burn more calories at rest over the next 36 hours. It’s incredible.”
The strength-training side is focused on low-impact activities, including TRX straps (which are not unlike long elastic bands), bosu balls, rowers, ab rollers, dumbbells, and small benches. “You are always doing some form of strength and power, whether it is burpees or dumbbells, and every day the floor work is different,” says Blanchard. Each class also boasts a screen to display the participants’ optimum heart rate as well as a professional coach.
Pointing to the 400-plus Orangetheory locations currently across the United States, Israel, Mexico, Canada, England, Australia, and the Dominican Republic, Blanchard can only surmise, “It is just a crazy explosion of this workout, because it is just so smart and people achieve such amazing results.”
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