All About Orangetheory's Signature Workouts

Men and women all over the world have been getting fit under the orange lights since 2010, when the first Orangetheory Fitness was founded, according to MSNBC. Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) is a "total-body group workout that combines science, coaching and technology to guarantee maximum results from the inside out," as the Orangetheory website explains.  

On the Workout page, you'll find details about the science behind the workouts, the five heart rate zones, and the equipment you can expect to use. One thing you won't find on the website are the nitty gritty details about the studio's signature workouts. Although not affiliated with Orangetheory Fitness, the r/orangetheory subreddit does provide this intel. 

So what exactly is an Orangetheory signature workout? It's an exercise that involves an added challenge on the treadmill, rower, strength floor, or some combination of the three. These and other OTF workouts draw a lot of attention on Facebook, Reddit, and other social media platforms. This is likely due to the fact that all studios use the same workout templates, as TODAY explains. That means if studios in Australia are doing a signature treadmill workout on a Tuesday, Chicago studios are doing the same one, on the same day. 

From incline and speed challenges to partner rowing challenges, Orangetheory Fitness' signature workouts encourage members to push their limits while fostering camaraderie, community, and friendly competition.

To challenge members to run, jog, or walk faster, despite the hindrance of an incline or a ticking clock, Orangetheory offers Orange Everest and Catch Me if You Can. Orange Everest is an incline-based exercise, which — as OTFInsider.com explains — involves increasing the incline by 1% every minute, until you reach 15%. Then, as a reward for your hard work, you get to decrease the incline by 2% every minute until you get back to 1%.

Catch Me if You Can is the other treadmill signature workout that Orangetheory Fitness offers. Reddit user u/irjeffb provides the full breakdown, which consists of one primary goal: don't get caught (by the clock)! To achieve this goal, you must reach a certain distance at specific checkpoints, ranging from every two minutes to every minute. If at any point, you fail to reach the distance goal before the next checkpoint, you must exit the treadmill and perform other exercises for the remainder of the block.

The goal of both of these signature workouts is to cover as much distance as possible. Some studios, such as the one in Round Rock, Texas, give members the options to input their final distances into a challenge tracker. Then, they release a leaderboard on social media, showing the members with the top distances for that particular studio. You know ... for bragging rights.

The signature rowing workouts combine treadmill and/or strength floor exercise with rowing segments, according to r/orangetheory. Capture the Flag is a partner workout in which one partner performs a series of strength training workouts and runs a specific distance on the treadmill while the other partner rows. Then, they switch places until the end of the block. The goal is to capture as many flags as possible. Each flag represents a specific distance, ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 meters.

Inferno is a run-to-row workout that involves rotating between running and rowing specific distances, according to Orangetheory Fitness' Facebook page. Although a treadmill is involved in this signature workout, the goal, just as with Capture the Flag, is to rack up as many meters as possible.

Last is the Infinity workout, which PopSugar describes as a "three-part challenge." It consists of an equal amount of rowing, floor workouts, and treadmill work, according to r/orangetheory. The goal? You guessed it. Row as many meters as possible. And just as with the treadmill workouts, select studios, like the one in Leesburg, Virginia, post their leaderboards with the top distances.

These signature workouts happen only a few times a year, according to r/orangetheory, and are designed to challenge members, physically and mentally, while allowing them to connect with other members all over the world.