The Theory of Orange

I am a workout person. Am I in shape? I'm in shape-ish...I have a shape...I have strength...I have cardiovascular fitness. I have some chronic pain from shoulder and knee issues that have improved with a lot of intervention.

Since the reality of my shape is mostly due to the food I ingest, I consider myself a fit/ fluffy person. Don't get me wrong, I've changed a lot of things in my diet over the past few years and bit by bit those changes add up...for realsies. My weight is finally stable and that is saying a LOT. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs but I certainly self-medicate with salt, sugar, and fat.

I learned how to be consistent with working out at Human Form Fitness in Columbus, Ohio. You should check it out. Amazing community, cutting-edge resources, functional fitness and the best humans in Columbus!!

I learned the power of positive pressure and how I respond to MANDATORY sign-ups for classes. It is a huge relief to take that burden of choice off the table. I HAVE to go because I signed up....period. It helped me achieve my longest streak of consistency in my life....years of working out every week.

I am happy with the work I have done. I'm happy with how I've learned to love the temple of my soul and I'm committed to keeping up the good work.

Now that I'm in Orlando, a new part of my work is my membership at Orange Theory Fitness.

It is a chain and so you do miss out on the intimacy of small group fitness. The music is cah-ray-zay loud and every once in a while you hear some spicy lyrics. (I wear earplugs every class because I'm sensitive to sounds. Works like a charm). It also has DATA. I'm addicted to the feedback you get from your monitor throughout all your workouts. I'm learning a great deal about how my body feels while I'm working out and how that translates to my heart rate. Awesome too when you learn which exercises push you and which are easier on your system.


I'm competitive and everyone's stats are on the board so don't think I'm not looking at how others are doing and trying to chase them down. It is fun. Then I go home and mark down my stats in my planner and watch how my energy levels respond to my schedule and my nutrition choices. It is fascinating.

The weight exercises are challenging and bad form doesn't always get corrected so watch out. I modify for my jankey hip and junky shoulder and get it done. I do like how much core work they do. I can feel my little pickle barrel of a torso getting stronger

Right now, I'm liking OTF, (that is what us insiders call it), because you also get a greater number of studios which takes me to my next milestone.

I am now one of those weirdos that works-out while they are on vacation. And I LOVE IT!

It was scary to try it but I did it anyway. Part of the reason it was scary is that OTF has another layer of incentive. If you don't show up for class.....THEY CHARGE YOU MONEY. Hello, motivation!

So now I have exercised through Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years. We went to California for a week and our mornings were sacred. It wasn't a question of whether we were going to work out, it was a question of when it would happen.

I gotta tell you. Jet lag gets crushed when you are working out every day. Serious mood stabilizing effects. I really appreciate that.

So there it is. I am testing the theory of Orange and so far, I'm a believer.