“They are training for war in there.”
That was the text I sent to my friend when I walked out of Barry’s fitness studio in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, DC, for the first time. And several weeks later, I still stand by that.
As someone who trains about 5 to 6 times a week in group fitness settings, this class format was more intense, more high-energy, and more adrenaline-boosting than any other workout I’ve ever experienced. And I’ve tried a lot.
For me, someone who recently surpassed 550 Orangetheory classes, I was ready for my next challenge and felt like Barry’s was the most natural progression toward the type of training I wanted to do. Still, I was completely wrong in my thinking that just because I’d done one, I was fit enough for the other.
Barry’s vs. Orangetheory
Barry’s, originally Barry’s Bootcamp, started in West Hollywood in 1998. The fitness brand built a following thanks to pairing treadmill-based intervals with floor-based strength work, turning the lights down low and the music up loud — really loud. It all happened inside its trademark “Red Room.” Today, Barry’s has 89 studios across 15 countries.
Orangetheory, which also splits class time between treadmill work and the floor, adds rowers to its cardio split and centers everything around your heart rate. Every member can opt to wear a monitor —for an additional fee — and your stats show up in real time on screens around the studio.
Coaches encourage you to spend at least 12 minutes in the “orange zone” (hence the name Orangetheory), which is roughly 84-91% of your maximum heart rate. Hit this each class, and they say you’ll reap the benefits of what the brand calls the “afterburn” effect, to continue burning calories long after you leave class. Coaches cue you into “base,” “push,” and “all out” paces, with each person running at whatever speed gets them into the right zone.
I walked into the Red Room, where I started off on the treadmill, and I’ll say: prepare to run for your life. At Orangetheory, I ran between 4.5 and 7 mph. At Barry’s, the recommended speeds are 7, 8, and 9 mph, and sometimes higher. The starting speed at Barry’s is roughly where I was maxing out at Orangetheory, so safe to say, I was humbled before the first interval even ended.
This is the “training for war” element that I referenced earlier because my first thought was “Who is chasing us, and how close are they?”
The floor exercises moved at the same speed. Where Orangetheory coaches spend a significant amount of time making sure I have the movement down before I attempt it, Barry’s gave me a brief demo and expected me to jump in.
During the first class, I was a half step behind my classmates the whole time, particularly because of my view of the instructor and the loud music. However, by the third class, I was up to speed.
Why Barry’s fans are obsessed
Jorge Cardozo, who recently celebrated his five-year anniversary as a Barry’s instructor, said, “Even though it may be hard, and you can modify however you want, I think the instructors and the culture that we’re trained under is let’s train grand.”
“Let’s make sure that we push everyone the same amount, and beyond that, make sure that we’re pushing everyone to the level that they can get to,” he told me after class.
Cardozo himself started as a client about eight years ago, already in the fitness industry, teaching for other studios before he fell in love with the brand. He was drawn to the club-like atmosphere and the community the studio seemed to attract.
And it’s not just the instructors who feel that way. My fellow classmate, Grace Koetje, told me she found her way to Barry’s the same way a lot of first-timers do, through word of mouth and curiosity. A Georgetown University student athlete, she’s no stranger to boutique fitness, having tried CrossFit, CorePower Yoga, and Orangetheory, but said Barry’s has stood out for its level of intensity and the environment it creates.
“I liked that you could set your own pace, but you were also encouraged to go faster,” she said.
Final verdict for me: Being humbled by a workout will either scare you off or pull you back in. For me, it was the latter.
I’ve now taken five Barry’s classes since that first one, and the progress has been noticeable in a short amount of time. My endurance is building, I’m hitting speeds I wouldn’t have attempted on that first day, and I’m pushing past limits I didn’t know I had.
More than anything, it’s given me a training foundation I’ve needed, because my next challenge is HYROX, a competitive fitness race that combines running with functional workout stations.
Still, I haven’t given up on Orangetheory. With that said, here’s to the next 500.
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