Keeping New Year’s Resolutions: Interview with Orangetheory Fitness Coach

Prioritizing fitness is a common aim at the start of the new year, but how many people actually stick with their New Year’s Resolutions? According to Drive Research, the answer is only 9%, with 80% of these goals being forgotten as early as February. To explore this phenomenon, RCT sat down with Coach Skylar Palatta, a trainer at Orangetheory Fitness in Nanuet. In our conversation, we discussed her work, Orangetheory, and how to secure a better chance of sticking to health-related resolutions all year round.

*Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Can you describe your job as an Orangetheory Fitness Coach?

A: Orangetheory is a group fitness setting, so we train in different heart rate zones—mainly your Green Zone (71-83% of your Maximum Heart Rate) and your Orange Zone (84-91% of your Maximum Heart Rate). For me as a coach, I lead the one-hour classes. We basically bring people through either cardio, strength training, or time on the rower. And then we also have other classes like Tread-50, which is 50 minutes on the treadmill. We also have Strength-50, which is 50 minutes of strength training on the floor.

Q: So all workouts at Orangetheory Fitness are completed in a group setting?

A: Yes, though we do have different things going on throughout the studio. One is the Transformation Challenge, which started Monday, January 22. With that, coaches can work one-on-one (with clients) in Coach’s Corner sessions. So a client will come in and for about 20 minutes we’ll talk about their goals, what’s going on inside the studio, outside the studio, and we can give them some advice through that. It’s not personal training—just a talking session.

Q: What would you recommend for people starting their fitness journey in 2024?

A: Aside from joining Orangetheory, I would recommend that people make smart goals. Say you want to lose 25 pounds by July. That’s a great goal. But the question is, how are you going to get yourself to lose 25 pounds? Maybe you’re adding 30 minutes of cardio to your day. Instead of taking things away from your diet, you’re adding to your diet—fruits, veggies, protein. So it’s making those mini goals that can lead up to that big goal.

Building a support system (is also important). Making sure that you have people around you that not only respect and appreciate the goal you’re trying to get to, but who are also going to hold you accountable. So maybe in your life you have some people that are dragging you down and don’t believe in fitness. Find a community—whether that be at a gym, a Facebook forum, social media—to have people build you up and support that goal.

Q: What makes Orangetheory different from a regular gym?

A: The community. Aside from the fact that there’s literally no thinking involved for the members—they come in, the coaches tell them what to do, the exercises are on VBA screens—100% the biggest thing about Orangetheory is the community.

We always do things. Whether it be the Transformation Challenge, book clubs, run clubs, happy hours outside the studio…It’s like-minded people that just want to see you succeed. People come in and they have friends that they talked to outside just from meeting at Orangetheory, which has been really awesome to see as a coach.

Q: Do you have any success stories of people reaching their fitness goals that inspire you?

A: We had a client come who started at the end of July, beginning of August. She was working with a personal training on the side in a normal gym setting, and it just wasn’t clicking. So she decided to try Orangetheory. Since then she has been doing amazing. When she started she was only doing like 30 minutes (in class) and walked the rest of the time. But every class she was building a minute onto the intensity of what she was doing. You could see as a coach she was getting more confident, she was becoming happier, talking to people around her. She’s been coming consistently three to four times a week and she looks amazing.

Q: How does it feel as a trainer to help people in that way?

A: Oh my god, it’s the most rewarding thing! I started this when I was 18, so a little over five years ago. You see people when they come into class, and you can tell they may have something on their shoulders bothering them. Just the weight lifted off of them when they leave that room—here is nothing like that experience as a coach.

Q: Is there anything else people should keep in mind when embarking on their fitness journeys?

A: I would add that if you do have a setback, it’s not the end of the world. If you want to go out to dinner and it’s your partner’s birthday, it’s okay to have that piece of cake. That does not set you back to the beginning of January. It’s all about balance. It’s about having that healthy relationship with yourself— knowing that you can have these splurges and enjoy yourself, and still make fitness a priority.