MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A new fitness program in the Triangle wants to help you maximize your workout by making sure you're in the right zone at the right time. It's called Orangetheory Fitness. There's one location in Morrisville, and another just opened up in Chapel Hill. Eryka Delgaizo just started at the new location, but says she's already hooked.
"It fosters that comradery that we're all in this together, and just the quick intervals, it makes it seem like it goes by really quickly, and it's a lot of fun," she said.
The small group classes are somewhat unique in that they center around using and tracking heart rate monitors.
"Participants are wearing heart rate monitors strapped to their chests and throughout the entire workout they're actually seeing their results as they're working through five heart rate zones in real time," explained owner Kristie Shifflette.
Those zones are grey, blue, green, orange and red -- in order of exertion levels -- and as part of these classes you're constantly watching which zone you're in on TV screens in front of you.
"The goal of Orangetheory Fitness is to work primarily in the green zone, which is the aerobic fat-burning zone. The 'Orangetheory' comes in when we're talking about the fourth and fifth heart rate zone, your anaerobic, that's where you do your interval training," Shifflette added.
So, with the help of an instructor, you're guided through high intensity intervals, followed by brief cool downs for a total of 12-20 minutes inside the orange and red zones. And, by working out at different exertion levels, you're helping charge your metabolism for more of what's called an "after burn."
Instructors use this example: Say you're on a treadmill and you're running at a steady pace for an hour. You'll continue to burn calories for an hour or two afterward. But, in these classes, because you're wearing a heart rate monitor and you're making sure you get in the orange or red zone for that prescribed amount of time, you can continue burning calories for up to 36 hours afterward.
Instructors also say you can burn anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories in each 60 minutes session, and you can see those results first-hand.
"And after I walk out of here I get an email sent to my iPhone that tells me my exact workout summary so I can track it, see how well I've been doing, see how high my heart rate got up, so it's fantastic," Delgaizo exclaimed.
And, because your zones are geared toward you specifically, these workouts can be used by all ages and skill levels. At both the Chapel Hill and Morrisville locations you can go try your first class for free. If you like it you can sign up for a month-to-month membership or buy a punch card.
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Orangetheory Fitness - Morrisville
Orangetheory Fitness - Chapel Hill