I Burn for Tacos, Craft Beer, and Date Nights. #KeepBurning #OTF

When you first sign up for Orange Theory Fitness they ask you, “What Do You Burn For?” I wasn’t sure what to write down, or what it really meant so, I went with ‘Family.’ In my head, I was like, yea, I burn for my family. I want to live a happy, healthy, and fulfilled lifestyle, and I want to be around for a very long time for me and my family. At the time it seemed very legitimate and like a “Nailed It”, moment. While it is still a legitimate reason, I now understand what “Burn For” truly means, and if you’re an OTF goer like myself, you know what I’m talking about. #KeepBurning

I do still “Burn For my Family”, but I also “Burn For”, tacos, craft beer, date nights, late-night snacks, pizza Friday’s, Ice Cream, specifically Two Roosters Ice Cream, Mitch’s famous Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Honey, and Banana Toast, and Lasagna at Christmas time. I’ve realized now that every time I come in here and Burn, it’s not so I am never allowed to treat myself, it’s to work off those times I treat myself. I absolutely am head over heels for Orange Theory Fitness and everything it stands for. For as long as I can remember, I’ve owned a gym membership. I’ve been going to OTF since August of 2017, and have had more progress in my health and weight in 4 months, than 4 years with a normal gym account.

I have never been a fan of group fitness and always thought the people who took those classes at the gym were absolutely crazy. It was like a nightmare for me to even think about being trapped in a room with 30 other sweaty and smelly strangers, getting yelled out by another stranger.

I joined the OTF location in Holly Springs specifically because one of my very dear friends, Racheal, got a new job there. She had been training me in her personal time for a few months, and when she was offered this amazing job opportunity and accepted the position, I was so proud of her but also a little sad. When she informed me so was no longer going to have time for our sessions I was heartbroken. She kept telling me to stop in and see her, and I kept telling her I was trying to save money and that I didn’t have it in my budget to join a gym.

I finally caved and decided to accept the OTF offer by taking 1 class for free as a trial. Well, the rest is history. I was hooked. It was exhilarating, challenging, awful, fantastic, personal, sweaty, adrenalin pumping, and terrible all at the same time.

Now, don’t go taking “awful and terrible” out of context. It was both of those adjectives because of how it made me feel afterward. Again, don’t go taking that out of context. I am a person who needs to feel something from a workout. I need someone pushing me, making the decisions, controlling the music, challenging me to do better, run faster, and try harder. I need someone paying attention to me and making sure I’m not slacking off; what I need is a coach, and that is exactly what Ginger from Holly Springs OTF does for me. She knows when I’m not giving it my all and she calls me out every time. She doesn’t even have to say anything, all she has to do is stand behind me when I’m on the treadmill, or in front of me when I’m rowing, looking at her stopwatch, and I know she’s standing there because she knows I try harder when she’s around.

I feel all these emotions and more after a workout, and it’s the greatest feeling in the world. I feel tired, exhausted, relieved, and proud of myself. Sometimes I even feel like laughing and crying at the same time. It’s incredible how 1 hour out of my day can make me feel like a better person. Sometimes I’m literally bending over backward to try and accomplish the task at hand, and other times I’m rowing like I’m trying to qualify for the Olympics. I’ve honestly never been happier with a gym. When I used to go by myself to the gym, I would lift a few weights, hit the treadmill, and call it a day. With OTF I’m inspired by the people in the room, I’m pushed by my coach, and listened to by the incredibly knowledgeable staff they have on hand.

Explaining to my boyfriend, Mitch, what a “Splat Point” is, has been hilarious. He now asks when I get home, “How’d your splat points go?” So sweet that he cares, or is pretending to care, that’s why he is so great. I could continue on about my love of OTF and why I joined, but hopefully, you get the picture by now. I want to be and feel like a good, stronger, better person, and I get that by attending twice a week here at OTF. This is not a paid or sponsored post. The only thing I am getting out of this post is the satisfaction of inspiring someone else to feel like anything is possible. It doesn’t have to be with OTF, it just has to come with you trying to achieve something you don’t think you can do. Once you do something that you didn’t think you were capable of doing, it’s an unexplainable feeling. My “FitFam” here at Orange Theory makes me happy and I’m so proud to be a member. I look forward to my workouts again, something I haven’t done since my basketball and soccer days as a teenager.

Another major reason I #KeepBurning, is because I am a cook. I run a food blog that allows and requires me to constantly be in the kitchen cooking, creating, and trying out new recipes. Some of them healthy, some of them,…not so much. I am also the General Manager at the Hibernian Pub on Glenwood Ave. in downtown Raleigh, NC, which sometimes requires late-night shifts with late-night meals. Always knowing when my next OTF class is going to be, keeps me grounded and has helped me to make better decisions when it comes to those recipe developments and late-night snacks! In particular, my new favorite On The Go snack was just posted on my blog, and you can find it here –> Gilly’s Power Up Feel Good Snack Boxes!

One more HUGE shout out to my coach Ginger, and my dear friend Racheal, for encouraging me every day and always helping me to reach my fitness goals. I love you guys! (Shout out to Trevor and Lis who are also very awesome people at the OTF in Holly Springs, NC!!)