I was apprehensive. This fitness center, gym, or studio had been open for a couple years and I was always curious.

It wasn’t till someone else in knew joined, that I started to consider it. After speaking to her in depth, I went to my free class, not sure what to expect.

Their set-up is different than anything you’ve tried. It’s a coached workout involving rowers, treadmills and a weight area. Most of the classes are an hour long. On occasion they offer a few that differ and maybe shorter on time.

What’s really special about Orangetheory is two fold; they track your stats via a monitor you wear and there’s no time for socializing.

At a gym, the distractions for me hinder my workout; someone you know comes up to talk to you in the middle of a set, you find yourself staring at people, or you just get annoyed all together.

That one hour I get to myself means a lot to me as a stay at home mom. I have a six month old two teenagers and my stepson who is over every other weekend. He will be here more in the summer which is a good thing, but I am busy.

I actually have a Peloton bike and love it, however, since the baby, it’s hard to get time to get on it when no one is around. Usually my baby is up early or if I tried to get in it any other time there was too much activity in the house. The kids will come up to me for stuff in the middle of my workout.

So, needless to say it’s been beneficial for me to leave the house and do my workout-coached.

As a former fitness instructor, I believe it’s important to have someone to push you during an exercise program.

At Orangetheory, the plan is already in place, you just show up and listen. You move from either a treadmill, rower, or weight floor. Each station you spend time performing a routine. It’s never the same, and every time you come in you start off at different stations. For example, one day I started on the rower, the next day the weight floor.

Needless to say, this method of exercise is fun, unique and interestingly enough, something that you can stick with. The instructors and people are encouraging and create a positive atmosphere. I highly recommend it!