Bev Cummins knows she probably should take more rest days between her 5 a.m. workouts with "the tribe" at Orangetheory. But she doesn't like to miss.
"I just love it that much," she said.
The boutique fitness studio trend decidedly has hit Lincoln, with micro gyms and niche fitness centers, with trainers geared toward new moms, kickboxing, cycling to rap, popping up all over town.
Gymgoers still can hit the treadmill or the elliptical in the traditional workout fashion. But they also can sip mimosas after cycling to Drake at Fly's downtown or east Lincoln location. Or kickbox with your own personal trainer at 9Round Fitness. Or go through birth coaching at Victress, a gym focused on "all stages of a woman’s life."
Asked why Lincoln and why now, Cassie Hedlund, a manager at one of Orangetheory's two local studios, said she thinks it's an extension of a national trend.
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"We live in a results-driven world," she said. "People are tired of card swiping into a gigantic room of strangers and aimlessly moving from one piece of equipment to the next, not really knowing what they are doing or without being motivated or pushed."
Hedlund said Orangetheory's hourlong classes are science-backed, technology-tracked, full-body workouts that help elevate the heart rate to the "orange zone," which is 84%-91% of a person's maximum heart rate.
In the end, she said, people want to be greeted by their first name and want an "efficient but killer workout" with a community of their peers — without having to do much thinking.
"They want to leave feeling like they were part of something special. That's what 'boutique' fitness can offer,"Â Hedlund said.Â
Cummins said she wasn't really looking to get into the boutique fitness trend when she started going to classes shortly after Orangetheory opened its first Lincoln studio near 27th Street and Yankee Hill Road in 2017. She lives nearby and noticed a sign about a free class.
"I was hooked from the start," said Cummins, vice president of student affairs at Southeast Community College in Lincoln.
She'd been a member at other more traditional gyms before, but just couldn't stick with it, she said.
"I'm not alone when I say, just going to do the same old thing at the gym on my own, I wasn't seeing results and would find myself coming up with reasons not to go," Cummins said.Â
But Orangetheory clicked. She said, for her, it was important to have someone guide her, like the coaches who lead the classes. No two workouts are the same. The treadmills, rowers and body weights are already set up. At some point, she realized she had lost 20 pounds.Â
"You don't notice it. You don't focus on weight," Cummins said.
She said you work really hard and come out sweating. But you feel good for having spent an hour getting away from it all and focusing on yourself in a healthy way.Â
Cummins said stress release is probably the main reason she goes. If she doesn't go, she misses it.Â
It's a real community, she said. The 5 o'clock group members — they call themselves "the tribe" — have become the kind of friends who get together to celebrate birthdays and accomplishments.Â
She admits it costs more than going to other gyms in town. At the beginning, she had to change around her monthly budget.Â
"But, in the end, it's worth it," she said.Â
Cummins isn't alone in finding the appeal of a specialty gym. Holli Duggan said she started working with the co-owner of Victress, Stacy Orsborn, when she was pregnant and followed her to Victress after her daughter was born for their postpartum workouts.Â
She's continued to join the regular classes.
"Both mentally and physically, it's had a hugely positive impact on my health," Duggan said. "Throughout my pregnancy, I worked out and felt great, and I have no doubt that it helped labor and recovery. Post-baby, being a part of this community and surrounded by other amazing and motivating women working out has been awesome."
She said having an open and supportive place to focus on all aspects of women's health — from those trying for a baby, pregnant, postpartum or none of the above — is so empowering.