Disclosure: Orangetheory hosted me for a weekend in Portland in exchange for my feedback and perspective. All opinions are mine!

All photos credit Andrew Wrisley Photography unless otherwise indicated

What does "More Life" mean to you?

I thought I knew, but after this past weekend with Orangetheory in Portland, my perspective of living life to the fullest has definitely been elevated.

I first found Orangetheory last April, and by July it became an essential part of my life. After our beloved Spike passed away, I turned to OTF and spin as outlets for my grief. There were days where the only thing I looked forward to was an hour under those orange lights, sweating my pain away. Without Orangetheory, I’m positive I would have spiraled into a deep depression.

So what exactly is an Orangetheory workout? It’s a 60-minute science-based, full-body workout that uses technology to track your efforts as you rotate through the treadmill, rowing machine, and weight room. All workouts are led by highly-trained, certified (and continually re-certified) coaches, and each member’s goal is to spend at least 12 minutes in the Orange Zone. Your heart-rate monitor tracks your activity, and those 12 minutes in the Orange Zone means an increase in your body’s excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC.) That means you’re burning additional calories as you recover over the next 36 hours!

I love Orangetheory because I need constant variety in my workouts. I like to keep my body guessing!   Tracking my activity helps me see the progress I’m making and pushes me to work harder even when I think I’ve reached my limit. My story of turning to OTF to help me with my grief is not unusual - they're in the business of changing lives for the better.

Orangetheory opened its 1000th studio (!!!) in Portland's Goat Blocks area last weekend, and I was invited to join Aly of The Sweat Life NYC and a few fellow lifestyle & fitness influencers to help celebrate the momentous occasion! It's quite a feat to open 1000 studios without a single one closing - and no surprise that OTF is the fastest-growing fitness company in the world.

In addition to the grand opening, we got a couple of workouts in at Orangetheory South Waterfront and a few adventures in the city. It was a marathon of a weekend of meeting tons of new people, making new friends, seeing Portland in ways I'd never seen before, and even involved a couple of firsts for me - biking in the city (and first time on a bike in foreverrr) and solo kayaking. I'm still exhausted thinking about it, but I loved every minute of it!

Thank you to Orangetheory for the most incredible weekend and for showing me what More Life really means. I've loved working out at my local studio, but I feel so much more connected to the OTF community and to my workouts after this weekend. I am truly grateful for all you've done to make my life better!

Want to check out Orangetheory for yourself? Your first Orangetheory class is free! Find me on Instagram @JessEstrada if you have any questions about OTF.

Meet my fellow influencers!

• Aly Teich - The Sweat Life

• Curtis Williams

• Sylvie Curci

• Molly Clifton - Style Miss Molly

• Bianca Cortez - Beyond Casual B

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Hotel Monaco Portland

• Nike

• RXBar

• Nuun Hydration

• Vita Coco

• Bombas socks

• Virtue Labs