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Home » Fitness » Why I Left a Career in Freestyle, Big Box Fitness for Orangetheory Fitness – HuffPost

Youve all seen the hashtags. #Base #Push #AllOut. The buzzfeed articles on Orangetheory Fitness. Your timeline and Instagram feeds fill up with the familiar post workout summary of how many splat points your friends all got. Then the follow up questions from their fellow Orangenation people. OMG was it a power day? No wait..endurance. It must be endurance. Because at Orangetheory Fitness, every one of their studios is doing the exact same workout on that exact same day. These are just a few of the reasons I joined the Orangetheory Fitness coaching team.

The one thing that has been constant about the fitness industry is that it is always embracing the newest of everything

Ive been in the fitness industry for just over 20 years and have to say Ive seen it all. I think Ive been around long enough to even be a part of most of it. Except slide. Im quite happy I wasnt a part of slide. The fitness industry is a very interesting industry due to its constant evolving and trending. There are celebrity trainers by the boat load and for every celebrity trainer with a DVD fitness program there are 1000 more trainers thinking they are going to be the next one. The one thing that has been constant about the fitness industry is that it is always embracing the newest of everything. Technologies and what will make the biggest difference in the world of fitness and health.

From spin classes that have video screens taking you on an imaginary outside ride through the hillsides of France to boots with springs on them that make you jump like a kangaroo. Then came the world of wearable technology. This is what Ill refer to as the start. NOT the game changer. But the start of it all. The Nike fuel band gave way to Fitbit and the Apple Watch. But when you think about it. Other then a pedometer what else do people use it for? Are they actually checking their heart rate throughout the day? Or in their workouts?

Ive taught everything from Bootcamp to Spin, PiYo to P90X. One thing I can tell you, my body has suffered. That just seems to be a byproduct of the world of inspiring, teaching, motivating and changing lives. Do as I say not as I do. The amount of abuse my body and thousands of other instructors has taken over the years. Even if as an instructor you subscribe, like I do, to the 30% rule of never doing more the 30% of the class youre teaching which usually rounds out to about 40 to 45%. But were usually teaching approximately 20 classes a week to make sure we can afford to do things, like live. Do that long enough and some of that living expense goes to things like massage and chiropractors to help heal what weve done to ourselves. Now, Im going to be honest with you. About 20% of the people we were helping in big box freestyle classes actually get results. Not that they dont want to. But they just dont know what their output is. Its not just that they dont know their output, theyre probably in a class with 40 or more people and one instructor that to be honest, cant watch all 40 at the same time.

Im no longer an instructor. Im a Coach

So why did I leave big box fitness, a position as a Master Trainer of a very large fitness company and brand and format? Well, to be honest. I like being on top. Orangetheory Fitness is just getting warmed up and at this point the sky is the limit. When I say I want to be at the top I mean with a company that is leading the change. For the first time in ever there is a workout that has FINALY put together the old with the new. Wearable technology that broadcasts each individual in the class heart rate percentage to a screen in the room which allows the coach to help the member get to where their heart rate needs to be. Along side good old fashioned (updated and top of the line) treadmills, water rowers and strength training all in a less then a one hour workout. As a coach I am able to do what Im passionate about and thats changing lives. Being a part of someones journey. Not that I wasnt before but I get to actually see their progress in real time. Day after day. Help them push to levels I've not been able to do before because theres a difference between someones Perceived exertion and Actual exertion. I also get to put my knowledge and experience and passion into each class and not feel like Im killing my body to do it. Any instructor reading this knows what Im talking about. Carrying KT Tape, ice packs and Aleve in my gym bag after teaching 9 classes in two days. Like I said, do as I say not as I do. Im no longer an instructor. Im a Coach. Because at Orangetheory Im coaching members to reach their best. To push one more rep out. To increase their speed by 0.1 miles an hour to show them that they are capable of doing it. Which makes them capable of reaching the goals they thought were just too far out of reach to achieve.

Being with Orangetheory allows me to do what I truly love. Help change lives

It is so hard for a group x instructor to know exactly what people are actually doing in class when it comes to their exertion. Thats why we call it RPE or a Rate of Perceived Exertion. We still use that in Orangetheory but its in conjunction with the heart rate monitors. Teaching members what they should FEEL like at each level. Then we add EPOC. Thats the Excess Post Exercise Oxygen where Orangetheory Fitness members get to burn more 15%-20% more calories at rest for 24 to 36 hours after class. I tell my members its the magic pill weve all been looking for except it takes just under an hour to swallow. This is the first workout that I know of that has science backing it. HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is one of the most poplar and effective systems a person can do. Adding a heart rate monitor to make sure you are where you need to be and at the right time isnt a colourful gimmick. Its the Game Changer. As you workout 3 to 4 times a week at Orangetheory and I get to watch the speeds of members on the treadmill increase because you see their heart rate is getting stronger is amazing. Working with groups of up to 14 people on the fitness floor doing strength training feeds my love of personal training and once again, allowing me to help them change. The water rowers are the thing that people love to hate. Its hard for so many and once again, Its part of the draw to Orangetheory Fitness. Because its the challenge members are looking for. They're looking for a change. That change is in themselves. They know its hard. But they also know that you are stronger with a challenge. They know that theyve already don't that comfortable thing. Its time for them to get uncomfortable.

I left big box freestyle fitness to join Orangetheory Fitness because its the way fitness is going. Its the way leadership in the fitness industry is going. I dont want to have my face on a DVD or infomercial. I want to be a part of someones journey. I want to see people smile when they know theyve done it. Orangetheory Fitness. With their pre-formatted workouts and constant monitoring of our members and their TRIBE like group of members and coaches are changing the world and I wanted to be a part of that. From what Ive seen so do the members. Theres a reason youre seeing Orangetheory Fitness pop up all over the place. IT WORKS!!! It works for members. It works for fitness professionals.

Just like change is hard for our members. It was hard for change in me. To give up what I had known in fitness for years. To leave making my own classes. My own playlists. It was hard. But I took the energy and effort in making the best classes ahead of time to making the best classes in real time. Being with Orangetheory allows me to do what I truly love. Help change lives. Not just others, but my own. I left big box to grow. I left big box to be the best.

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Why I Left a Career in Freestyle, Big Box Fitness for Orangetheory Fitness - HuffPost

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Home » Fitness » Why I Left a Career in Freestyle, Big Box Fitness for Orangetheory Fitness – HuffPost