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What’s up, fellow Obsessives?
The week after Hell Week is always a confusing one for me.
On one hand, I’m glad the workouts aren’t as tough as Hell Week.
On the other, I miss the Hell Week workouts.
(Secretly hoping they’ll sprinkle a few rejected HW templates here and there in November.)
— Kevin
📅 The Week Ahead
🏃♀️ .25 mile Treadmill Benchmark
The benchmark where the only tips are “run as fast as you can” and “don’t fall off.” Wearing your best pair of running shoes helps, too.
🧡 OTF Obsessed Pledge Drive! 🧡
We’re wrapping up the Pledge Drive to help cover some of the costs associated with putting out OTF Obsessed throughout the year.
Another 11 of you stepped up this week and I can’t thank you enough! Shoutouts to Dayna, Rosa L., Jeff A., Beth M., Bob M., Kristen L., Don M., Sharon W., Elaine P., Fai V. and Simone D.!
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Ranking The Hell Week Workouts
OK, so first things first.
I “only” made it to seven of the eight Hell Week workouts. I felt pretty gassed on Day 5, knew I needed extra sleep before Day 6 and then I couldn’t make it to OTF later in the day because of life. It happens.
It should also make this exercise fun. I’ll rank my seven and then you can tell me where “Fuel The Flames” should slot in. In fact, I’d love to get any feedback on Hell Week 2026 to run in next week’s newsletter. Just hit reply.
My biggest takeaway from Hell Week 2026 is that the rowers still exist.
While the rowers have taken a bit of a back seat to OTF’s emphasis on weight work, there was no escaping them the past eight days. I really enjoyed racking up some serious meters during Hell Week (over 13K meters, or more than eight miles)!
Your mileage may vary with that thought, but there’s no doubt Hell Week was a callback to some of Orangetheory’s earliest days.
Here’s how I have the classes ranked …
7. Wednesday — “Smoke Rises”
Some people were fans of the constant switching and the inclines on the tread, but few liked the burpee construct on the floor. I never felt like the workout got going and it certainly didn’t feel HW-worthy. ☠️
6. Friday — “All Hell Breaks Loose”
My sneaky suspicion is that the 2G version of this workout would’ve ranked higher, but I took the 3G. I loved that template makers gave us a workout that required focus … doing the 2,000-meter row in under 200 pulls was a fun challenge. ☠️☠️☠️
5. Tuesday — “Playing With Fire”
Great workout with a mini-Inferno approach. My 3G was set up to allow a run-row, something we haven’t seen at Orangetheory for a long, long time. ☠️☠️☠️
4. Saturday (Oct. 31) — “Blaze of Glory”
The only drawback of this one was that it took a while to get everyone grouped together and the template explained. Otherwise, a partner workout was a great and different way to finish, especially with a lot of members dressed up for Halloween. ☠️☠️☠️☠️
3. Saturday (Oct. 24) — “Strike The Match”
I honestly have a hard time picking between my top three as they all earned five ☠️s from me. The first Hell Week workout was a blast and if any template makers are reading this, please please please start putting that reverse surge pyramid in workouts throughout the year. The rowing seemed like an afterthought in this one, but little did I know what was ahead … ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
2. Monday — “In The Hot Seat”
3Gs and froggers for everyone! Also, the return of the 2,000-meter row during a year that saw it eliminated as a benchmark and a mini-Catch Me If You Can on the treadmill. There were so many things going on here and it flew by the fastest of any Hell Week workout for me. So fun. ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
1. Sunday — “Turn Up The Heat”
I loved this workout. I hated this workout. That’s the benchmark for any great Hell Week workout, in my opinion. My friend Jeff called it “an all-timer,” while I used the words “demented dri-tri.” The floor section started and ended with 70 bench hop-overs with over 200 other reps in between. As I said in my reviews on the OTF Obsessed community, they should’ve given everyone a T-shirt just for completing this single workout. ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
POLL: What was your favorite Hell Week workout?
📰 Orangetheory News
• Two Connecticut news anchors convinced a third to hit up Orangetheory during Hell Week. (WTNH)
• While it’s not an OTF-wide promotion, it looks like some studios are doing a “Jump Start 2027” program where the goal is to reach 27 total workouts in November and December before the calendar flips to 2027. Challenge accepted. (Reddit)
• I made a DIY Hell Week brag board generator that you should take for a spin today! (OTF Obsessed)
🏅 Milestones and PRs
Have a milestone, PR or big win to celebrate with everyone else? Hit me up at [email protected] to share!
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