Orangetheory Fitness, Jefferson Valley
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
It is not difficult to understand one of the reasons Orangetheory Fitness has its name.
Mount Kisco resident Fior Delacruz, assistant studio manager at the Orangetheory facility in the Jefferson Valley Mall, said last week that the studios all use orange light. “It’s just to have the ambiance,” she said.
Delacruz began her career with Orangetheory Fitness at the national chain’s Mount Kisco location when it opened two years ago, working at the front desk. She was promoted and moved to the new Jefferson Valley Mall location, which opened on December 28.
“My job responsibilities are to manage the club. To make sure everything is going smoothly, marketing and always having fun too,” Delacruz said last week. “I’m here to make sure everyone is inspired. I’m here to change people’s lives. But I’m also here to create a fun atmosphere as well.”
The Mount Kisco location was Orangetheory’s first in Westchester County, Delacruz noted. Orangetheory is a group of privately owned franchises with more than 1,000 studios in 47 states and in 19 countries, Delacruz said.
Workouts are one-hour, full body sessions, Delacruz said. All customers wear heart rate monitors, she said. “We focus on heart rate base interval training,” she said. “There’s five different heart rates that we focus on. Orange is 84 percent of our maximum heart rate. It’s proven that if you’re in the orange zone for at least 12 minutes in that hour you get the after burn effect of the workout. So that’s where the orange and the theory came in. You’ll be burning calories post-workout.”
Every class is overseen by a certified coach, Delacruz said. The coaches “motivate you, push you, make sure you’re okay and prevent you from over or under training,” she said.
There are various apparatuses used in the Orangetheory workouts, including Freemotion brand treadmills, which Delacruz said have shock absorbent that do not hurt people who use them. Orangetheory patrons can power walk, jog or run on the treadmills, she said.
Training sessions also include water rower machines in which people row with actually water, Delacruz said. “It’s smoother on your body,” she said. “It’s less of an impact.”
Weights and other equipment are also used in the workouts. “The workouts are different every day,” Delacruz said.
Customers typically do the one-hour workouts three times a week. The Jefferson Valley studio has an eclectic mix of clients, Delacruz said. “I’ve seen everything,” she said. “I’ve seen from 14-year-olds to 72-year-olds. I’ve seen people who have pacemakers.”
“Everyone’s working at their own pace. That’s the beautiful thing about Orangetheory because you are wearing that heartbeat monitor and that’s what sets you apart from every single person in this room,” Delacruz said.
Orangetheory Fitness is located in the Jefferson Valley Mall (near Sears) at 650 Lee Blvd. in Yorktown. For more information, call 914-359-5515 or send an e-mail to masm0993@orangetheoryfitness.com. The national Orangetheory Fitness Web site is https://www.orangetheoryfitness.com/.
