Many members who come to Orangetheory (OT) come maybe 10 – 15 minutes early. There are some members who come 30 minutes early, like Kelsie, excited for class to start. She arrives at the studio ready to go and to chat with friends and staff.
Prior to joining the OT Orenco Station tribe, Kelsie ran for about two years on her own but hit a wall in her training. She didn’t feel well during and after her runs because she had no strength – Kelsie wanted to fix this.
“I love that it is attainable for everyone. It is possible for everyone to get a good workout no matter what their skill level is.”
She wanted to improve herself as a runner and luckily learned about OT at a 5K she ran. “I saw an OTF tent at one of my 5Ks, talked to the staff for a couple of minutes, and had a feeling I would love it. I’m not very self-motivated, so knowing that there was going to be a coach made me feel like it was something I could be successful at,” said Kelsie. This catapulted her to try her first class at Orenco Station.
Kelsie remembers feeling exhausted after her initial class, which had a familiar feel to her. Growing up, she figure skated competitively and also competed in track and field as a jumper in high school. The coaching aspect in class and having her pushed to her limits felt similar to the sports she loves. At that moment – she was hooked immediately. Kelsie said, “I love that it is attainable for everyone. It is possible for everyone to get a good workout no matter what their skill level is.”
When she first started coming to class, she burned for her running. While still true, Kelsie burns for more now. She burns for stronger muscles, heavier weights, and accomplishing more now than what she thought possible from a year ago.
“I absolutely love that the workouts are ever changing; it keeps things interesting and keeps me on my toes. I also think that we have the most amazing coaches here at Orenco and their positivity keeps me so motivated to finish every workout strong.”
She started OT last year with a goal of improving her running game and now has more goals she wants to reach. Kelsie wants to lift heavier weights, run faster and longer than before. She said, “Persia recently taught me how to utilize the bike for a very good workout, so I would like to try to incorporate this into my workouts every once in a while as well.”
Since joining, Kelsie has reached a milestone and can now perform multiple sets of push-ups and sit-ups where she could only do one or two of them before joining OT. Her running has definitely improved. She felt drained after running a 5K in the past, but had completed a 10K in May and will run a half marathon in September.
As an endurance athlete, the runner in her loves endurance classes but she also holds a special place in her heart for endurance, strength and power (ESP) days because she had it as her first class. “I absolutely love that the workouts are ever changing; it keeps things interesting and keeps me on my toes. I also think that we have the most amazing coaches here at Orenco and their positivity keeps me so motivated to finish every workout strong,” she said.
Kelsie loves coming to the studio seeing it as a home away from home. The place has a family vibe every time she walks through the door with all the hugs and smiles that she receives from staff. She appreciates all the support from other members and coaches during class especially when she feels like she’s not able to finish the last 15 seconds of an all-out – and the life advice and injury support from AmyJae and Jess.
Keep Burning Kelsie!
