Kayla Young
OrangeTheory uses heart rate zones as a way to determine if you are giving it your all. Are you pushing yourself to your limits? How can you know? Well, you can look at the number of splat points you have.
What are OrangeTheory splat points? Well, they are the points you get for every minute that you spend on the orange or red zone during your workout.
To explain further, we’ll tell you more about what happens when you reach those colored zones and what effects it has on you.
We’ll also give you a few tips on how you can get more splat points.
Contents
What Are OrangeTheory Splat Points? And Why Should You Get Them?
OrangeTheory is a great way to lose some of that excess weight and fat. They are organized around fitness classes that you attend. Each of those classes has an instructor/trainer that pushes you to do the workouts as intensely as you can.
To further help you push yourself and not to slack off during your workout class, your results are posted on their huge screen along with the results of the rest of the class.
Competition can do wonders!
As you push yourself and increase your heart rate, you enter into different zones. The orange and red zones are the most difficult zones to get into because you need a very high heart rate to reach them.Â
When your heart rate is in these zones, you’ll start to collect splat points, one per minute in the zone.
It may be more challenging to reach these zones, but they are rewarding. Reaching those zones will lead to EPOC or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Some people also previously referred to this as afterburn.
With this, your body will keep on burning fat 24 hours after your workout. That means you get more out of your workout because it still has residual effects a day after doing it.
Is Getting More Splat Points Better?
If you’d like to get the most out of your workout, make it a goal to get those splat points! However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get a whole lot of them. That will depend on you.
For starters, just getting a splat point, even just one, is a good thing. It means that you are trying your best to work hard and that you’ve reached a high heart rate on your heart rate monitor even for just a minute.
Now, if you’d really want the EPOC, then aim to get around 12 splat points. It can definitely keep your metabolism burning even after the workout.
Although 12 is a great number, you might want to push yourself more and burn more — maybe you’ll get the Brag Board feature. However, you should remember that higher splat points don’t just burn fat, it could burn muscles too.
If you tend to get a lot of splat points, make sure to check how you are feeling. If you are still in control of your heart rate and feel okay, then you can keep it up if you would like. But pushing too far, too fast, for too long can be counterproductive.
How Can I Get More OTF Splat Points?
For some, earning splat points is easy. Some just have to push themselves hard to increase their heart rate at that specific zone and coast along.
It is common for those new to OrangeTheory to get splat points easily. That’s because their body hasn’t adjusted yet to OTF’s system. As the body improves and aerobic fitness is enhanced, it can be more difficult to land those splat points.
So what do you do to get more splat points? Here are a few tips:
Increase Base Speed At The Treadmill
One reason why you may not be reaching the orange and red zones is that your base speed may be too slow already. To do this, you need to find a base pace that will get you to the high green. In that way, when you push, you’ll be able to quickly go to either the orange or red zones.
This technique works but you should still see to it that you are still comfortably running on the treadmill when at the base recovery.
If you aren’t, then you should probably start with a lower base.
Increase Your Incline
As an alternative, you can increase the incline instead of the speed. This is a good alternative for those who are not really comfortable going faster.
Some people prefer this because they don’t really like the speed. If you are a little bit clumsy and are afraid of getting hurt due to the increase in speed, altering the incline is a good option.
Increasing the incline will make your body work harder even if the speed is still steady. You don’t have to increase the incline drastically.
Sometimes, a small change can be enough.Â
What Are Splat Points Used For?
Splat points aren’t really “used” for anything. You can’t exchange them for discounts on your membership, or for extra guest passes or anything.
They are purely a motivational tool, and are for you. They can help you keep track of your progress, and are an easy way to track how far you’re pushing yourself.
What Happens If I Don’t Get Enough Splat Points?
What happens if you do not get enough splat points? Does that mean that you’re not doing well with your workout?
Not getting enough or any splat points doesn’t necessarily mean you are not getting the most out of your workout.
Splat points are just one way to see if your workout is working.
Attending classes already helps you improve your health even if you don’t get those splat points.
Many argue that the algorithm for the splat points shouldn’t just be your basis. There are many factors that can affect the burning of fat in the body.
Do you feel and look better? If so, that’s enough!
Getting healthier and fit plus losing weight shouldn’t only be based on the splat points. Although they are a good indication of a good workout, don’t get overly frustrated when you don’t get enough splat points.
It can be difficult to ignore the huge screen and the color zones. But don’t get too focused on it. That’s a way to push the competitive side of people, but you should already be proud of yourself for regularly attending your classes.
Don’t forget that exercise classes are just part of being healthy. Nutrition, sleep, sun, etc. can all play a part.
