Orange, Massachusetts YMCA Reopens With a New 10-Zone Room and a DEKA Strong Event
- The Y in Orange, Massachusetts, hosts its second Spartan DEKA Strong competition on Saturday, October 24, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. as part of a grand reopening.
- The July event drew about 25 competitors, and the Y now has a 2,400-square-foot function room with 10 zones.
- DEKA Strong has no running, so small-town gyms can host it without a track, a trail or an arena.
A Small-Town Y Builds a Room Around a Race Format
Liz Day remembers how the first one felt. When she looks back on the July DEKA Strong event at the Y in Orange, Massachusetts, her summary is short: “That was so fun.” Day, the healthy living director at the Athol Area YMCA, runs the Orange location, and she is bringing the competition back on Saturday, October 24, for a second round. This time it arrives with a new room built for it.
The Y sits inside the Orange Innovation Center at 131 West Main St. Its grand reopening centers on a new function room of about 2,400 square feet with 10 zones, one for each station in the DEKA Strong circuit. The building also holds a two-story gym, and the open house will let visitors work out and sign up for memberships. The Spartan DEKA Strong competition runs from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Outside, businesses based in the Innovation Center will staff tents and tables, and a raffle is planned.
The first DEKA Strong event at the Orange Y took place on July 18 with about 25 competitors. For a town gym, that is a workable starting field. The Y now has a dedicated space to run the format, and the October date gives July’s racers a second attempt while newcomers get a first look.
What DEKA Strong Asks of an Athlete
DEKA is the functional fitness racing brand owned by Spartan. Its flagship arena event, DEKA Fit, has racers run 500 meters before each of ten zones, for 5 kilometers of running in total. DEKA Strong keeps the same ten zones and removes the running, so athletes move straight from one zone to the next inside a gym. That makes it the format most affiliate gyms can host, and listings for DEKA Strong events on spartan.com start around $35, though prices vary by gym.
The ten zones follow a fixed order. In the standard format they are:
- Reverse lunges with a weighted RAM, 30 reps
- Rowing, 500 meters
- Box jumps or step-overs on a 24-inch box, 20 reps
- Medicine ball sit-ups, 25 reps
- SkiErg, 500 meters
- Farmers carry, 100 meters
- Air bike, 25 calories
- Dead ball shoulder-overs, 20 reps
- Sled push and pull, 100 meters
- Burpees over a RAM, 20 reps
Men’s standard loads include 55-pound RAM lunges, two 60-pound dumbbells for the farmers carry and a 60-pound dead ball, while women’s loads are lighter at 33 pounds, two 40-pound dumbbells and 40 pounds. Men aged 65 and older use the women’s loads. Heats are split into elite, age group, team and ruck divisions, and Spartan lists 13 age groups running from a youth division for ages 10 to 13 up to 70 and older. Standards and prices change between seasons, so athletes should check spartan.com before they register.
The Orange event scores a little differently from a typical DEKA clock. According to the Athol Daily News, judging at Orange is based on the number of repetitions completed at set weights, with separate categories for men and women. Prizes go to the top male and top female winners. A newcomer reading that can relax about pace and focus on clean reps at each of the ten zones.
Why a Gym Without a Track Can Host a Race
Running is the barrier that keeps many gym members away from endurance events. A strong athlete who dislikes running can sign up for a format built around lunges, carries, sleds and rowing, and there is no need for a month of run training first. A 10-zone room also does double duty, and the same space that hosts a competition can run weekday classes that mimic the circuit.
DEKA has leaned into that gym-first model. When it launched its Gym vs Gym competition for the weekend of October 2 to 4, the brand said its network already includes more than 1,000 affiliate gyms around the world. Emily leRoux, a Deka International vice president, said great gyms are built around communities, not one exceptional athlete. Yancy Culp, a co-creator of Deka, said the competition gives gyms something they can own together. A town Y with 25 competitors on its first try fits that description.
The October event doubles as a community open house. Michelle LeBlanc, the operations manager of the Orange Innovation Center, said the center is especially looking forward to Saturday’s DEKA Strong event. The center has also expanded to include a space called the Garage, and the owners of First Shift Cafe hope to open inside the building on October 31. For the event, the cafe plans to hand out free coffee and sweet treats from a tent outside and offer a preview of the space.
What a First-Timer Can Take From Orange
Orange shows a version of hybrid fitness that has little to do with big arenas or national broadcasts. A YMCA in north-central Massachusetts spent a summer day with about 25 competitors, scheduled a second event, and opened a new room for it. For a reader who is curious about racing but unsure where to start, that is a template: find a local gym or Y that hosts DEKA Strong, ask about the entry fee and the division, and treat the first event as a practice run for the full circuit.
A few practical steps help. Learn the order of the ten zones so there is no guessing mid-race. Practice the sled push and pull, which covers 100 meters in the standard format. Pack a towel and water, and plan to stay for the raffle and the coffee. Saturday’s field will show how it compares with the July group of about 25, and the turnout will tell the Y how many racers to expect next time.
