3 Workout Outfits Designed Specifically for Plus-Size Women

No woman wants to spend an entire sweat session adjusting her bra straps, hiking up her leggings, and smoothing out her shirt. But for women who wear plus-size clothes, finding high-quality gear that wicks sweat, looks cute, and stays put can be a challenge. We hunted down performance pieces that will keep you comfortable, dry, and moving throughout all of your workouts—no matter your size.

RELATED: How to Stay Warm (But Not Too Warm) On Your Winter Runs

Intense gym session

Photo: Brian Henn

Even though it’s cold outside, you’re definitely working up a sweat in the gym, and you need all the high-performance gear you can get. This short-sleeve top is antimicrobial, so it fights odor-causing bacteria. Plus, it’s lightweight and breathable, allowing you to have a smooth workout. The leggings feature no-chafe seams as well as a flattering compressive fit so you can feel comfortable and hugged-in throughout.

Top: LIVI Active Antimicrobial Wicking Tee ($40; lanebryant.com)
Pants: Xersion Print Capris ($48; jcpenney.com)
Shoes: New Balance 711 Mesh ($75; newbalance.com)
Bottle: bobble Infuse ($15; bestbuy.com)

RELATED: 6 Running Tips to Keep You Safe This Winter

Post-workout errands

Photo: Brian Henn

During the wintertime, you might get uncomfortable when you leave the gym in your sweaty clothes—once that moisture comes into contact with the cold air, you get cold and shivery. Instead of packing an entire second outfit, you can slip on breathable, moisture-wicking gear that will perform throughout your sweat session and keep you dry afterward. With sweat-wicking leggings and a tunic, all you need to do after you workout is throw on an extra-warm down vest and tech-enabled gloves so you can stay warm and toasty.

Top: Ava & Viv Leisure Tunic ($30; target.com)
Vest: Down Vest ($59; landsend.com)
Pants: High-Rise Compression Leggings ($35; oldnavy.com)
Shoes: Crosscross Training Tennis Shoes ($30; gojane.com)
Gloves: TravelSmith Touch Sensore Fleece Gloves ($24; amazon.com)

RELATED: The Secrets to a Super-Happy Winter

Outdoor walking workout

Photo: Brian Henn

Whether you’re walking your dog or getting in a sweat session during your lunch hour, we know that you need high-performance gear. The 3/4 zip jacket provides some ventilation for when you start to warm up, so you can blow off just enough steam without compromising your warmth. You will also get double-duty out of the ear muffs, which are headphones in disguise!

RELATED: 3 Sports Bras for Big Boobs That Actually Work

Top: Tasc Achieve 3/4 Sleeve ($54; tascperformance.com)
Jacket: Tek Gear Mockneck Jacket ($48; kohls.com)
Pants: Hanes French Terry Pant ($14; hanes.com)
Shoes: RYKA Sky Walking Shoe ($41-$71; amazon.com)
Headphones: UR Powered Faux-Fur Earmuff ($36; lordandtaylor.com)

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Health Warning Labels Might Help Parents Skip the Soda Aisle

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Health warning labels on sugary beverages — similar to those on cigarette packs — might make parents less likely to buy such beverages for their kids, according to new research.

Growing concerns about the health effects of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, which are linked to weight gain and obesity as well as tooth decay, have triggered efforts to reduce their use by children and adults.

In the new study, lead researcher Christina Roberto and her colleagues conducted an online survey of nearly 2,400 parents who had at least one child aged 6 to 11 years.

In a simulated online shopping experiment, parents were divided into six groups to “buy” drinks for their kids. One group saw no warning label on the beverages they would buy; another saw a label listing calories. The other four groups saw various warning labels about the potential health effects of sugary beverage intake, including weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.

Overall, only 40 percent of those who looked at the health warning labels chose a sugary drink. But, 60 percent of those who saw no label chose a sugary drink, as did 53 percent of those who saw the calorie-only label did.

There were no significant buying differences between the groups seeing the calorie-only label and no label, the findings showed.

“The warning labels seem to help in a way that the calorie labels do not,” said Roberto, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

The study was published online Jan. 14 in the journal Pediatrics.

According to Roberto, sugary beverages have as many as seven teaspoons of sugar in a 6.5-ounce serving, or nearly twice the amount of recommended sugar intake daily for children. Even beverages parents might consider healthy, such as sports drinks, may have high sugar levels.

About 66 percent of kids aged 2 to 11 drink sugar-sweetened beverages daily, the researchers said.

The study findings make sense, said Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. “Just as we see with public health efforts to decrease smoking with warning labels, warning labels about sugary drinks will be effective with some parents but not all,” she said.

“Based on the study,” she added, “it appears some will take the information to heart, but about 40 percent still chose sugary beverages in the study. That is still a big number. Nonetheless, it adds another layer of educating and influencing parents to try to make healthier choices for their children.”

“The challenge will be getting something like this into policy,” Sandon said.

Efforts to change policies are under way. In California, the state Senate is considering legislation to require warning labels on certain sugary drinks. And the Baltimore City Council has proposed a similar measure.

“Not all research is supportive of the claims made on the warning label used in this study,” Sandon said. “Obesity and diabetes occur as a result of a number of factors working together — such as physical inactivity, high-fat high-calorie food choices, genetic predisposition, etcetera — not sugary drinks alone.”

The new report also comes on the heels of the latest U.S. dietary recommendations, which were released last week. The updated guidelines take specific aim at added sugars — encouraging Americans to get less than 10 percent of their daily calories from those sweeteners.

The American Beverage Association reviewed the study and issued this statement: “Consumers want factual information to help make informed choices that are right for them, and America’s beverage companies already provide clear calorie labels on the front of our products. A warning label that suggests beverages are a unique driver of complex conditions such as diabetes and obesity is inaccurate and misleading. Even the researchers acknowledge that people could simply buy other foods with sugar that are unlabeled.”

The organization added: “With our Balance Calories Initiative, we are working toward a common goal of reducing beverage calories in the American diet.”

Meanwhile, Sandon offered this advice for parents hoping to reduce their children’s sugar intake: “Fruit drinks are not the same as fruit juice, and fruit juice is not the same as 100 percent fruit juice. Choose 100 percent fruit juice instead of fruit drinks and fruit juices, as those have added sugars.”

And, she added, “As for sports drinks, those are only needed for physical activity lasting more than 90 minutes. If you are not sweating and active, you probably don’t need a sports drink.”

More information

To learn more about the sugar content of beverages, see the Harvard School of Public Health.

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Could Reducing Your Stress Levels Help You Lose Weight?

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Preliminary research may help explain how stress reduces your ability to lose weight.

In tests with cells and mice, University of Florida researchers found that chronic stress triggers production of a protein called betatrophin, which inhibits an enzyme involved in burning fat.

“Betatrophin reduces the body’s ability to break down fat, underscoring a link between chronic stress and weight gain,” study co-first author Dr. Li-Jun Yang, a professor and lead investigator in the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, said in a university news release.

The study was published in the February issue of the journal BBA Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids.

It’s not yet clear what effect betatrophin has on fat metabolism in humans, and animal research results don’t always turn out the same in people. But these findings suggest that reducing chronic stress might help people lose weight, according to the researchers.

The study authors pointed out that mild stress can boost people’s performance over the short-term and help them get through tough situations. But chronic stress can be harmful over the long-term.

“Stress causes you to accumulate more fat, or at least slows down fat metabolism. This is yet another reason why it’s best to resolve stressful situations and to pursue a balanced life,” Yang said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about stress.

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Coffee Flour Is Here and Will Caffeinate Your Morning Muffin

Photo: Getty Images

You’ve probably heard about all the research on the health perks of your morning brew. But the latest buzz is about coffee flour, which may be even better for you.

Its body-boosting secret? A large dose of the antioxidant chlorogenic acid (CGA), according to the flour’s inventor, Daniel Perlman, PhD, a biophysicist at Brandeis University.

CGA, found in raw coffee beans, is thought to be responsible for some of java’s most impressive benefits. But much of this powerful nutrient is broken down when the beans are roasted at high temperatures.

Perlman has figured out how to make tasty coffee flour from green beans that are just partially baked (at lower temps for less time) so they retain nearly all of their CGA, the Boston Globe reported.

RELATED: 4 Recipes for Coffee Lovers

Pearlman scored a patent on his process last month, and hopes a food company will license the flour—which contains three to four times as much CGA as roasted beans. He told Eater a number of companies have already tested it in bakery products.

And yes, coffee addicts, it offers a caffeine fix too.

“This flour contains 2.5% caffeine by weight,” Pearlman explained to Eater. “So if you were to put four grams of this into, say, a breakfast muffin, it would be the equivalent of drinking a cup of coffee.”

Just don’t count on a post-espresso kick: “I would expect [the flour’s caffeine] to be absorbed a little more gradually than the caffeine in a cup of coffee, so [it would offer] a more sustained release and longer-term stimulation,” he said.

Coffee scones with a subtle but long-lasting buzz? Yes, please!

RELATED: 5 Trendy Ways to Get Your Coffee Fix (And What to Know About Each)

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Low-Cost Mosquito Mesh Good Alternative for Hernia Repair in Poor Countries: Study

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Hernia repair with mosquito netting may be a viable alternative in countries where commercial mesh is too expensive, a new study says.

Synthetic mesh is the preferred method for repairing groin hernias, because it carries a lower risk of infection than stitches, the researchers explained.

But this operation is performed infrequently in poor countries because surgical mesh is too costly, said study author Dr. Jenny Lofgren, who’s with the department of surgical and perioperative sciences at Umea University in Sweden.

“In these settings, the surgical quality is compromised due to the lack of resources,” said Lofgren.

“The mesh that is used in high-income settings to reinforce the abdominal wall, and to minimize the risk of recurrence of the hernia, is not affordable to either the health care systems or to the patients,” she explained.

However, her team found that sterilized mosquito netting appears as safe and effective as commercial mesh, at a fraction of the cost.

A hernia is tissue that bulges out through a weakened part of the abdominal wall. Hernias commonly occur in the groin and navel or in sites of a previous surgical incision, according to the American College of Surgeons. Surgeons use mesh to push the bulge back into the abdomen and keep it in place.

Each year, roughly 20 million groin hernia repairs are performed around the world, Lofgren said.

Hernia repair using mosquito mesh could be introduced in many countries at very little cost, Lofgren said. “It would require investments towards training of staff and quality control, but the cost per surgery does not have to increase.”

For the study, published Jan. 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lofgren and colleagues randomly assigned about 300 men with groin hernia in eastern Uganda to surgery using sterilized mosquito netting or commercial mesh.

In the year after surgery, one patient who received mosquito netting had a hernia recur, compared with none who received commercial mesh.

The recurrence rate of less than 1 percent with low-cost mesh is similar to recurrence rates reported with commercial mesh in rich countries, the study said.

Complications after surgery occurred at similar rates — about 30 percent — in both groups.

Dr. Mike Liang, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, said commercial mesh costs around $125 per operation, compared with $1 for mosquito mesh.

“More expensive products and services do not always result in improved outcomes,” said Liang, who was not involved in the study.

In Africa, Liang said, elective surgery to repair groin hernia is uncommon. “This leads to a higher rate of emergency surgery and its associated complications,” he said.

“While questions remain regarding longer term outcomes of using sterile mosquito mesh, this study can help to shift perceptions about performing elective groin hernia repairs in poor countries,” Liang said.

Dr. Elizabeth Kavaler, a urology specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said most surgical mesh material is inexpensive to produce.

“The cost of the material is usually in the branding, packaging and marketing of the kit in which it comes, not so much in the cost of the mesh itself,” explained Kavaler, who played no role in the study.

Lofgren’s team concluded that use of sterile mosquito mesh in groin hernia surgery is an affordable innovation. “There is a great need for a variety of such innovations in order to improve surgical quality to underserved populations around the world,” she said.

More information

For more on hernia repair, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Did Painkiller Crackdown Cause Heroin Epidemic?

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Top U.S. drug researchers are challenging a leading theory about the nation’s heroin epidemic, saying it’s not a direct result of the crackdown on prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin.

The commentary, published in the Jan. 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is unlikely to resolve the debate, as other researchers disagree with the authors’ conclusion.

What they likely will agree on is that heroin’s popularity is soaring — with more than 914,000 reported users in the United States in 2014, an increase of 145 percent since 2007, according to background notes with the commentary. This has led to a spike in overdose deaths — more than 10,500 in 2014.

Some researchers and health officials point to recent limits on prescription painkillers as a likely cause of the heroin scourge. But the commentary authors said that the rise in heroin use began before states launched restrictions on narcotic painkillers to prevent abuse.

“The prevention efforts don’t seem to be pushing people to heroin. We think there are other factors,” said commentary lead author Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The common link is that heroin and narcotic painkillers (also called opioids) are in the same class of drugs and have similar effects, he said.

“It’s the initial exposure to opioids that’s pushing them to heroin,” added Compton, whose team reviewed a host of data on narcotic painkillers and heroin.

In the past, abusers might have begun with heroin and then turned to the prescription narcotics, Compton said, but now the pattern is reversed.

“It’s a new pathway, going from pills to heroin,” he said. “There’s a reluctance to make that switch [to heroin], but once they begin down that pathway, they discover that heroin is readily available, quite pure and in many locations cheaper than prescription pills.”

Meanwhile, the profile of the typical U.S. heroin user is changing. Heroin is more popular among women and wealthier people than in the past, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Indeed, some hotspots of the heroin epidemic — towns in New England, for instance — are mostly or entirely outside big cities, the findings show.

Heroin use has grown along with nonmedical use — and abuse — of prescription painkillers such as OxyContin (oxycodone) and Vicodin (acetaminophen and hydrocodone). Death rates from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed since 2000, with nearly 19,000 deaths reported in 2014, according to the commentary.

In an attempt to curb misuse, some states have restricted painkiller prescribing practices. Also, some pills have been reformulated, making it harder to achieve a “high.”

While the commentary concludes that the ensuing painkiller supply crunch has not on its own caused demand for heroin to surge, other experts disagree.

Theodore Cicero, a drug researcher and professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, said the “main shortcoming” in the commentary is that “it doesn’t deal with the reality that some prescription drug abusers will switch to heroin if their drug of choice is not available.”

Limiting the supply “ignores how history tells us if there is a demand for a drug, that demand will be met,” Cicero said.

Kelly Dunn, a drug researcher and assistant professor with the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said the commentary correctly says that a variety of factors are contributing to the heroin epidemic.

One factor is the increased influx of heroin into the country, she said. Also, heroin is more pure than in the past, meaning it can be snorted like cocaine instead of only injected. As a result, a wider range of people are willing to try it, she added.

Dunn said it’s too early to know whether the crackdown on prescription painkillers is responsible for the heroin epidemic.

Still, “there’s widespread acknowledgement of this problem,” she said. “It’s reached a tipping point when everyone realizes this is an issue. There is this general understanding that if a drug is more available, it’s more likely to be used.”

Dunn said what’s needed is balance. “You have to make sure you find the balance between having painkillers for those who have pain and need them, and having them so widely available that they’re abused,” she explained.

The commentary authors said both epidemics need to be addressed from a unified perspective and with comprehensive measures.

More information

For more about heroin addiction, visit the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Studies: 2 Ways Obamacare Is Saving Money

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The Affordable Care Act is working as intended, extending health care coverage and ensuring that hospital care is financially compensated, two new policy papers contend.

The reports, published Jan. 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine, say the landmark legislation — often called Obamacare — is saving money in different ways.

One paper reports that Medicaid expansion under the health care law has made sure that hospitals do not have to eat the cost of caring for the uninsured.

Uncompensated emergency room care has decreased 15.5 percent more, on average, in states that chose to expand Medicaid, compared with states that rejected the federally funded Medicaid expansion, the study authors said.

“It seems like Medicaid expansion is having a really big impact on uncompensated care,” said lead author Katherine Hempstead, director of health insurance research for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The other paper found that childbirth among young women (aged 19 to 26) is covered more often now by private insurance than Medicaid — an indication that many are remaining on their parents’ insurance as provided for under Obamacare.

“The young adult provision appears to be associated with a significant decrease in public coverage and a significant increase in private coverage, which is contrary to what many people might think about the Affordable Care Act,” said senior author Dr. Aaron Carroll. He is associate director of Children’s Health Services Research at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

Both papers focus on specific aspects of the 2010 Affordable Care Act related to health coverage.

The health-reform legislation expanded Medicaid coverage to include adults with incomes at or below 138 percent of the poverty line. That currently is $16,242 for a single person, and $33,465 for a family of four.

The law also allows young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance up to age 26.

The Medicaid expansion was expected to reduce uncompensated health care provided by hospitals, by making sure that as many people as possible were covered by some form of health insurance, Hempstead said.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in August 2012 that states could opt out of the Medicaid expansion.

To see whether the Medicaid expansion made any difference, Hempstead and her colleagues compared 11 states that accepted the Medicaid expansion to 10 that rejected it.

The investigators found a large increase in Medicaid-paid hospital care in the expansion states between 2013 and 2014, both for inpatient and emergency room care, Hempstead said.

At the same time, hospitals in expansion states experienced a dramatic reduction in the amount of health care they wound up performing for free because the patients couldn’t afford to pay, she said.

For example, the average decline in uncompensated emergency room care in expansion states was about 30 percent, compared with about 9 percent in non-expansion states, the researchers reported.

Hospitals in Medicaid expansion states also experienced an average 33 percent decline in uncompensated inpatient care, compared with a 7 percent decline for hospitals in non-expansion states, the findings showed.

“It seems like it’s pretty advantageous for hospitals if you expand Medicaid,” Hempstead said. “Not surprisingly, hospital associations are huge advocates of Medicaid expansion, and this really shows why.”

The legislation’s young adult provision also appears to be working, according to the second paper.

Prior to Obamacare, more than 60 percent of births among young adults aged 19 to 26 were covered by Medicaid, the authors said in background notes.

But by January 2013, private insurance payment for childbirths in that age range had increased by 10 percent, while Medicaid payments had experienced a decrease, Carroll said. There also was a slight reduction in the number of young adults paying for childbirth out of their own pocket.

At the same time, young adults 27 to 29 not covered by the Obamacare provision continued to rely on Medicaid to pay for childbirth, the researchers found.

“Getting all of these births off of Medicaid coverage relieves the public burden on the states,” Carroll said. “It’s one way the Affordable Care Act may actually have shifted the expense of childbirth from a public burden to a private burden.”

More information

For more on the Affordable Care Act, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Fewer Childhood Cancer Survivors Dying From ‘Late’ Effects

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Fewer childhood cancer survivors are dying years later from lingering effects of the treatment that conquered their cancer, a new study finds.

Experts called the report, published in the Jan. 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, “very good news.”

“The findings substantiate what experts in the field have hoped would be true,” said lead researcher Dr. Gregory Armstrong, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tenn.

Survival rates from many childhood cancers are high, but survivors still face what doctors call “late effects” — health problems that develop months to years after the cancer treatment has ended.

Among U.S. children who survived cancer back in the 1970s and ’80s, 18 percent died within the next 25 years, Armstrong said.

Sometimes, the initial cancer comes back. Often though, the health issues are related to the very treatment that saved a child’s life, Armstrong explained.

Radiation and chemotherapy can damage the heart or lungs, or raise the chances of eventually developing a different type of cancer — such as cancers of the brain, breast or blood cells. The specific risks vary depending on the cancer treatment, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI).

For the new study, Armstrong’s team looked at data on more than 34,000 childhood cancer survivors who were originally treated at U.S. and Canadian centers between 1970 and 1999.

Overall, 1,618 survivors died from a late effect of treatment during their follow-up — which ranged anywhere from five to 38 years. Cancer, heart damage and lung disease were the most common causes.

But children treated for cancer in the 1990s had better long-term survival rates. Over the next 15 years, 2 percent died of a treatment-related cause, compared to 3.5 percent of those treated in the early 1970s.

The overall death rate dropped over time, too: Of children treated for cancer in the early 1970s, 12 percent died over the next 15 years. That fell to 6 percent among children treated in the 1990s.

So what changed? Armstrong said there were important shifts in the way doctors manage common childhood cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin lymphoma and Wilms tumor, which affects the kidneys.

In the 1970s, for example, most children with ALL received radiation to the brain, because leukemia cells can travel there. By the 1990s, that was true of only 19 percent of children with ALL.

Over the years, Armstrong explained, researchers have learned that in many cases, they can be less aggressive with certain treatments without dimming a child’s chances of surviving the cancer.

That’s partly because doctors have gotten better at identifying kids with a low risk of cancer recurrence — with the help of improved imaging tests, for example.

Before the 1970s, when children developed ALL — the most common childhood cancer — they usually died, said Dr. Peter Manley, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

Other childhood cancers also carried a grim prognosis: In the mid-1970s, only about half of U.S. children with cancer survived for five years, according to the NCI, which funded the study.

“So when chemotherapy and radiation regimens were being developed, we were just focusing on the cure,” said Manley, who was not involved in the new study.

That focus paid off: These days, over 80 percent of children with cancer are cured, according to the NCI.

Over time, though, the issue of late effects became apparent. “We had to say, wait a second: We’re curing these children, but what’s happening to them down the road?” Manley said.

Besides cutting back on some older therapies, doctors also have newer treatment options now, Manley noted. These include more precise ways of delivering radiation, and medications that can help protect healthy tissue from treatment-related damage.

In recent years, Manley said, so-called “targeted” drugs — which zero in on tumor cells and aim to limit damage to healthy cells — have become available for certain cancers. And more are under development.

“So we’re continuing to move forward,” Manley said. “We’re really thinking about how [treatment] will impact patients’ lives 20 years from now.”

Still, both Manley and Armstrong stressed that childhood cancer survivors need to stick with their long-term aftercare.

The specifics vary from person to person: A young woman who had chest radiation in childhood may need regular breast cancer screenings, for example. But in general, Manley said, survivors should see their doctor at least once a year.

“It’s important that they have that regular follow-up and maintain a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

Dr. Nita Seibel, from the NCI’s cancer therapy evaluation program, said the study delivered welcome news to those fighting childhood cancers.

“We’ve learned a lot about watching for late effects, screening for them, and intervening early,” Seibel said. “So, it’s very important that survivors continue with their follow-up.”

Survivors have a 50 percent chance of developing a “significant medical condition” by the age of 50, Seibel added, but researchers continue to look for ways to minimize the long-term side effects of cancer treatments.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on late effects of cancer treatment.

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5 Things to Know Before Your First Orangetheory Class

Photo: Orangetheory Fitness

So many buzzy new workouts, so little time. But we promise, Orangetheory Fitness deserves a spot near the top of your list of sweat tests this year for its smart system and crazy calorie burn.

While it’s not brand new—Orangetheory is close to celebrating its sixth anniversary with more than 200 studios in 28 states, and more overseas—the company only recently opened in big cities like New York and Los Angeles. And it has quickly become a known name (and color) in even the most competitive fitness-focused metropolises. (According to Google, it was one of the 10 Biggest Workout Trends of 2015.)

The model is smart and simple: Enthusiastic, experienced instructors plus a heart-rate monitored cardio and strength session equals max results in just an hour. Here’s everything a first-timer should know before joining the “orange nation.”

RELATED: Drop an Entire Dress Size With This Speedy Strength Workout

It’s a perfect option for gym-goers who hate group exercise classes

The hour blends the perks of traditional workout classes (think good music and an energetic leader) and the one-on-one benefits of small-group personal training.

The instructors remember every client’s name, make an effort to cheer you on and give you constructive feedback during class, and urge everyone to work within their personal fitness level. This means you won’t be overwhelmed by confusing choreography, annoyed by close quarters, or trampled by the stampede rushing to grab the last medicine ball. Everyone goes to work within their own station, complete with various sets of weights, TRX straps, a step, and more.

You need to get there (really) early

You’ll receive a welcome email or text message a day or two before your scheduled class, and the message will instruct you to arrive 30 minutes before the start time. Even if you’re experienced using just about any gym tool and have tried every workout under the sun, that half hour is crucial at Orangetheory.

You need about 10 minutes to introduce yourself at the front desk and fill out paperwork. Then, the trainer will chat with you about the types of workouts you do and your fitness goals (as a top-tier trainer should). Are you an Olympic rower? It doesn’t matter; your instructor will want to check out and assist with your form on the WaterRower and also give you a rundown of class lingo (you’ll hear terms like “base push” and “all out” throughout the hour).

You don’t have to memorize everything; there are television screens around the studio that show both a graphic of the move and number of reps per set while you’re doing strength on the floor and treadmill signs hanging on the mirror to guide your speed choices.

RELATED: 10 Exercise Cheats That Blow Your Calorie Burn

It helps to have an understanding of HIIT

High-intensity interval training focuses on working at an all-out effort for shorter intervals of time in order to shoot your heart rate up, followed by brief periods of active recovery. Studies have continuously shown that HIIT is an extremely efficient way to maximize calorie burn.

That’s the name of the game at Orangetheory: the fitness philosophy, or “orange effect,” is based on maximizing excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or afterburn. Each class has you bouncing back and forth between cardio and strength intervals in order to spike metabolism and boost your energy.

You may develop a love-hate relationship with the heart-rate monitor

Before you start class, a staffer will provide a heart-rate monitor that you strap right beneath your bust, directly on your skin. The goal is to work in your “orange zone”—which is 84-91% of your max heart rate—for 12 to 20 minutes during the class. How do you know where you stand? There’s an overhead screen that displays a chart with everybody’s name, vitals, and progression between the five “zones” (grey, blue, green, orange and red) in real time. This is both good and bad (depending on how much you like a competitive atmosphere): it means if you start slacking off, everyone in class will know it.

The major pro, however: Wearing the monitor makes you much more in tune with just how hard you’re working at any given time, and your results are emailed to you after class so you can see how you did and track improvement over time.

RELATED: 32 Ways to Reverse Holiday Weight Gain in 1 Week

Don’t expect to do the same workout in your next class

The instructors switch up the routine every time, offering a unique challenge every time you show up. In general, though, you can expect the 55-minute session to involve a combination of treadmill, indoor rowing, and strength training (with weights, body-weight exercises, or possibly TRX moves).

With folks rowing, running, jumping around on the floor, and screens holding your cue cards all around, it may feel as if there’s a lot going on in the room. But just focus on your movement and form during your first class; the trainer can walk you through your results afterward—then help you set new goals for when you return for round two.

 

 

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Watch 100 Years of Workout Style With Cassey Ho

Photo: Mode Studios

Let’s all just take a moment to be thankful that working out in a midi skirt, button-down shirt, and kitten heels is no longer a thing.

When deciding what to put on before breaking a sweat, women nowadays have an overwhelming number of choices—high-tech running gear, patterned yoga pants, even clothes designed by our favorite celebs. And although there’s still work to be done, retailers are finally getting better about making clothes that fit all body types, not just a select few.

RELATED: Watch 100 Years of Fitness Trends in 100 Seconds

Mode Studio’s latest video, “100 Years of Workout Style,” is a reminder that options of the past weren’t always quite so varied. The three-minute video—which features Health‘s January cover girl, Blogilates and POP Pilates founder Cassey Ho—looks back at a century of fitness clothing trends. In the 1910s and 1920s, when “exercise” for women pretty much meant doing some stretches, outfits didn’t offer much room for movement. Things very literally become less buttoned-up in the 1930s and 1940s, with cute denim rompers (that would actually be pretty on-trend in 2016) and high-waisted shorts. Leotards reign supreme in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, from more subdued hues in the 70s to brightly-colored ensembles reminiscent of Jane Fonda workout videos in the 90s. In the 2000s and 2010s, we get the super-comfy leggings, sports bras, and “athleisure”-inspired outfits we know and love today.

RELATED: Take the 30-Day Total Body Challenge With Cassey Ho

Watch the full video from Mode Studios below:

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