Orangetheory Puts the Squeeze on Fitness

ST. PETERSBURG – Motorists along 4th Street North could not help but notice the fluorescent orange bicycles parked sporadically along the road in recent weeks.

No, these were not free bikes to promote energy efficiency. The visual stunt was just one of the unconventional tactics Orangetheory Fitness to create a buzz about its new-fangled gym that purports to offer "the best one-hour workout" in the country.

The first Orangetheory franchise opened in Fort Lauderdale in 2010 and now sports eight locations in Florida and Arizona combined, and expects to have as many as 20 by the end of this year.

The idea is to make personal training affordable by offering it in groups with high energy sessions that push members to the utmost of their capacity for the greatest possible results.

Members wear heart-rate monitors. In one-hour workouts, they can on large HDTV monitors just how hard they're pushing themselves. The desire is to experience the “orange effect,” or being in the upper heart rate zone for maximum benefit.

Patrons receive a readout of their heart rates after they work out to track their progress. Members are screened beforehand to assure they are physically able to participate.

Orangetheory St. Pete opened July 15. It already has 400 members.

The owner of the St. Pete franchise is Terry Blachek, a veteran of the fitness industry. He is one of four founders of the Orangetheory franchise. He talked with Patch about this most unusual idea.

Q: Who came up with the concept?

A: Ellen (Latham) is the exercise physiologist, the exercise science person behind it. She originated the actual workout. She had her own studio that had Pilates, yoga, spinning and what she calls the "Ultimate Workout." We kind of pulled that out, created a partnership and created Orangetheory, and it's based on that ultimate workout.

Q: What's with the name?

A: It's based on a color concept where blue is cool, red is hot and orange is an energy color. We opened the Ft. Lauderdale facility and had all white lights, put an orange film over, and it looked pretty cool. We created a name around that, then wrapped the energy color around that, and of course we're from Florida.

Q: Explain the business model?

A: Orange Theory is affordable group personal training. If you went to any [other] fitness, club you're probably going to pay for one hour, anywhere from $50 to $75 one-on-one. We take the concept and put you in a group of 20 to 24 people with two trainers and you can do it for $10 to $15 per session.

Q: What makes it the "ultimate" workout?

A: Every person wears a heart-rate monitor so that during the workout you can see your heart rate up on the big screen. That's really the science behind the Orange Theory. If we get your heart rate to 85 percent in that target zone for 12 to 20 minutes during a 60-minute workout, you're going to have an increased metabolic range for the next 36 hours or an increased caloric burn. We call that the orange effect.

Q: What is a typical session like?

A: The class is one hour long. We use suspension training, free weights, benches, elastic straps, dumbbells. Twenty-five minutes of strength, twenty-five of cardio, about a five-minute warmup and a five-minute stretch and cool down.

Q: Why join?

A: You've got 24 people in a class, the music's booming and you've got two trainers, and people are laughing and having fun. What's most important is it's an engaging class and people are bonding with their peer group... We've been called the best one-hour workout in the country. If you're looking to change your body and be engaged and make some friends, this is the best workout for you.

Orangetheory St. Pete is located at 5032 4^th St. N., next to Bonefish Grill, and can be reached at 727-897-5566, or through Facebook or Twitter.