Orangetheory Fitness Astor Place

Orangetheory is a HIIT style class that varies between the treadmill, rower and floor work (strength components). This may sound intimidating, but the team at Orangetheory Astor Place makes it manageable. The staff explained the workout in great detail (when we were signing our newbie waiver forms) so we knew what to expect. They gave us a full tour of the facility, introduced us to the Coach and outfitted us with our heart rate monitor bracelet. Did we mention that this white glove service came at 5:45am? Not one person who worked there was groggy or cranky; they were enthusiastic, kind and extremely happy to be there.

Your assigned heart rate monitor feeds info to flatscreens in the studio. The goal is to spend a good chunk of your workout in the Orange and Red zones (12 minutes or more) so you benefit from the “afterburn” (when the body burns calories POST workout – up to 36 hours!) due to how hard you worked out. Your data collected in class is also emailed to you. TBH the workout wasn’t the hardest HIIT class we have encountered BUT it was the most tech savvy. We also had fun & will definitely check out another workout!

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

The workouts vary each day & they have different names for them so you never know what you’ll encounter on any given day which keeps things fresh. The studio is awash in orange lighting and contains treadmills, rowers and stations for the floor/strength portion of the workout. You don’t pre-book your spot so if they want you to start on the tread, you get a treadmill card. Whatever number tread or station you start on will remain consistent as you rotate.  

In this workout, we did three blocks and started on the tread. When you run at OTF, there are three speeds – base, push and all out. There are laminated signs on the treadmills with suggested numeric speeds based on your level of running ability.. They also offer modifications for power walkers so if you don’t run, they have you covered! All of the running was done on a 1% incline, that is the OTF flat road. The first two rounds were endurance based, we modulated our speed and duration & mixed in some all out sprints towards the end of each round. The last tread block we did three push to sprint intervals with 10 dumbbell squats with a bicep curl at the back of our tread between each run. We were on our own for this last block, it was on us to push ourselves and keep our own time.

The floor blocks were pretty challenging and we were sore for the next two days! We started on the rower, once you hit 100 meters we jumped off and did 10 squats to overhead presses. It was a great way to warm up our bodies. The second time on the floor it was all about the Bosu ball — we did split leg lunges, up & overs, mountain climbers and crunches with a weight. The last round consisted of plyo lunges, TRX push-ups, and froggers. Our instructor gave us a demo for each move but in case we spaced out, there were flat screens around the room what reminded us what we were doing with demos of each move.

INSTRUCTOR

Kyle was a very friendly instructor. He was there to show us the ropes from start to finish. He was accommodating of everyone in the class no matter their fitness level whether they were doing their tread or floor block. He offered choices and variations so everyone got the workout best tailored to them within the Orangetheory Fitness model. Kyle was very observant during class and he would call out speeds and/or our HR bracelet stats on the flatscreen for encouragement. He was much more of a performance coach encouraging his team rather than a cheerleader which we enjoyed.

SPACE

Orangetheory Astor Place is spread across 2 levels. You check-in on the ground level and you can buy any of the OTF merch (clothing and water bottles). They even have this stuff called Rock Sauce for sore muscles!

Downstairs is where the action happens. Before you head into the studio there is another check-in desk where you get your heart rate bracelet for class and/or your treadmill card if you are selected to start at that station. In addition to the studio, there are keyless lockers, 2 toilets and 4 individual shower rooms. Literally rooms. There is not much space for much in these rooms unless you use the handicap shower room so you need to be strategic with your belongings.

The showers had generic shampoo and conditioner which were labeled but it was hard to see. If you are a product snob, you may want to pack your own. When you are done showering there is an area with hair dryers and amenities are in communal area just past the last shower room (right near studio). They has some good products available if you want to be adventurous. They also have OTF chapstick (love) and some OTF hair things (didn’t love…they were more like bracelets than elastics). They don’t have plastic baggies for sweaty clothes which was a bit tricky but we managed