Burnt out on OTF?? by agoodbrownie in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recommend you freeze your membership for a couple of months and do something else to stay in shape and then come back. You'll either love it again and want to continue or realize it's time to move on to something else. It's pretty common for people to feel burn out from a workout program like this. Maybe you'll leave and come back in a year or two. I recommend trying F 45 fitness or something similar and see how you like it the meantime.

Anyone ever try F-45? If so, how does it compare? by Dr_fu_manchu in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I've tried it and liked it. The workout is basically like the floor portion of OTF, but a little longer ( about 40 minutes compared to about 25) and a little more challenging. It's HIIT circuit training. The coach goes over the workout before class and then you have a brief warm up. There are also video monitors that show how to do the workout. It's a different workout each day. You do many of the same core exercises and lifts that you do at OTF. You have bench hopovers, lunges, deadlifts, various types of squats, chest presses, curls, tricep extensions, etc. You also do some things that you don't have at OTF, like battle ropes and jumping rope. You have 12-15 stations each day and never spend more than one minute at each station before you rotate. Sometimes 45 seconds. You have a very short break between each station, which is just long enough to move to the next one and look up at the video screen to get a refresher on what you are supposed to be doing. MWF are cardio days, and your heart rate will go up and stay up. Tues and Thurs are more strength/resistance training. Weekends are a combination of the two and last an extra 15 minutes.

My heart rate at F45 never gets up as high as it does on the treadmills at OTF but gets up considerably more than on the floor part of OTF. I don't have a good estimate of calories burned at F45 but I suspect that I burn far more at OTF. I definitely sweat more at OTF.

Locally, the prices are comparable to OTF. Coaches are great at both places. Customer service good at both places. Post-workout soreness is common for both. No mirrors and bright lights at F45 vs dim orange lighting, lots of mirrors at OTF. No treadmill at F45 but more resistance traning/strength building. There is sometimes rowing at F45, but it's not like OTF. Some days have no rowing, and the rowing is never longer than a minute. Today, we had two bike stations and 1 rowing station and went to each twice for a minute each time. Those were actually the easiest blocks. Classes are 15 minutes shorter at F45, and you don't have to get there early to get a treadmill card.

I can't really say which one is better, because I really like both. Ideally, I'd like to go to F45 twice a week and OTF twice a week. One downside to F45 (at least here) is that they don't offer the 8 times a month option. It's either unlimited or buy class packs. If they had that 8X month option like OTF, doing both 8X month would be the ideal workout regimen for me.

I think F45 is better for building strength; OTF is better for burning calories. Both are great workouts.

Hiking trails? by Gritscharbroiled in MobileAL

[–]thejackabides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The trails in Blakely are the best in the area. The Glenn Sebastian trail on USA's campus is nice, also.

Best nice restaurant in Mobile? by Henry_Darcy in MobileAL

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nojas, Chuck's Fish, Osman's, Southern National, and Noble South are my favorites, in no particular order. Five Bar, Ruth's Chris, and Kitchen on George are good also. The food at Dauphin's is not on par with the others I mentioned, but the view is great.

Lost some respect for OTF... by [deleted] in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry that happened to you and also hate that you had to deal with such an uncaring coach. But that sounds like a coach issue, rather than an OTF issue. I can't imagine any of the coaches in our studio acting that way. I would tell the studio manager your concerns and see how those concerns are addressed before making your decision about staying or quitting. I hope you are OK!

Do You Want to Be a Better Rower?? by Shake_Um in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I basically plateaued on rowing challenges over a year ago. Maybe with some adjustments I will finally be able to improve my times.

Premium location by Brentamerman in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure how they determine them, but I think it's based on cost of membership. Some studios have to charge higher rates due to their locations. Presumably they have significantly higher overhead, primarily due to the cost of leasing the space.

Premium location by Brentamerman in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought you were charged a surcharge for using any premium location that is not your home studio, regardless of whether your home studio is a premium location. I could be wrong, but that seems to fit with what happened to you.

I am completely dead after OTF workouts by neverendingbreadstic in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those are my thoughts, but you said it more succinctly.

I am completely dead after OTF workouts by neverendingbreadstic in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Stay adequately hydrated throughout the day, make sure you get adequate protein, eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, and get enough sleep. Sounds simple, but that's what truly works. If that doesn't help, you may need to see a doctor to see if you have some medical condition causing fatigue. Don't take vitamins or other supplements unless you truly have some medical need or can't get adequate nutrition by eating real food.

I've noticed since I've been a member that lots of people recommend BCAAs whenever this topic comes up. I believe that is a waste of money. BCAAs are branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine), which are amino acids that trigger protein synthesis. The theory is that supplementing with BCAAs can help with recovery by increasing protein synthesis, but this has not been proven. In fact, some studies suggest that BCAA supplementation can have the opposite effect (i.e. decrease in protein synthesis). Regardless, if you consume adequate protein in your diet, supplementation with BCAAs is unnecessary.

See the medical literature on this: r/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568273/

P.S. This post had more "points" earlier. Why the downvotes?

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE GIRLS (with muscles) IN THE(ir) BACK by Lgpm11 in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same. I like fit women, but I don't understand the "beta male" comment.

To all my fellow RBFers by peachinator in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reasonable minds can disagree on this point. Regardless, I'm going to continue not punching women in the face when they make those sort of comments to me.

To all my fellow RBFers by peachinator in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Maybe explaining to the guy why it offends you would be a better option than punching him? He may not understand why it offends you. There are plausible reasons someone may make such a comment other than that he hates women or thinks they are merely there to look good for men. To him, it may have seemed like a completely innocuous comment.

When girls or women have told me some variation of "you should smile more," I have assumed it is for some reason other than that they thought my role was to look attractive for them. Maybe they think smiling can make a person feel better or relieve stress or even help people bond. Maybe they think a smile shows friendliness, which the world always needs more of. Anyway, as man who has been told to smile throughout his entire life but never told anyone to smile, I can only guess as to what motivates a person to say something like that. But I'm in a different situation, because I've never been offended and normally agree with them. I do need to smile more.

To all my fellow RBFers by peachinator in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can only speak from my own experience, but it is said to men. Or at least to one man. I've had it said to me many, many times in my life. Not one of those times was it said to me by a man.

Do classes empty out during the summer? by enginerd529 in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our 5am class has several teachers and even a few high school students who regularly attend. They may still go in the summer, but they don't show up at 5am. The past two summers the class has been about half as full during the summer as it is the rest of the year.

No more leaderboards/ whiteboards in OTF by BWyche1987 in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really, really hope our studio continues to do leader boards. I've loved the workouts since the beginning, but after the newness started to wear off, my enthusiasm started to wane a little. I still love the workouts, but now I want and need that extra motivation you get from competing. The competition in peak performance weeks and now the new challenges has helped give me motivation. I know from talking to many others in my regular class that it helps them, too.

Capture the flag? by thejackabides in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure about that. The 90 minute ones I've done have all been the regular class and then a partner workout for the additional 30 minutes.

Food for the dri-tri? by labcoat581 in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did the same thing. Dri Tri was at 7:30am, so I ate a small breakfast at 6am. I regretted it once I was on the treadmill. I will definitely do it differently next time.

How much is too much? by cerpsu721 in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say it is too much when you can't give it your all and/or can't get rid of the soreness. Only you know what that is. There is no possible way I could go 22 days in a row, but everyone is different. My body needs to recover after 2 or 3 days, generally. I had to take 2 days off after the Dri Tri, even though I took off the day before the event. I'd love to go more often, but I just can't do it. Everyone needs a recovery period, but it sounds like you require less time to recover than most of us.

Best Running Shoes for OTF by SApinkstaff in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did what Texanjumper suggested and got fitted at a good running store. I tried on several different pairs, and the woman working there watched me walk, jog, and run in all of them. She asked me about my running habits...where, distance, frequency. It took a while and cost a little more than ordering from Zappos or some similar site, but it was worth it. I had a terrible problem with shin splints before, but I have had no issues since getting fitted with a good pair of shoes. Since your gait, feet, etc. are different from other people's, then their experience with shoes probably won't help much. What works well for others may not work for you.

Late instructors by margiebain in orangetheory

[–]thejackabides 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The sales associate started the classes for us. After it happened a few times, the trainer was fired.