Lagree Fitness is my absolute favorite workout. I’ve tried so many different fitness methods throughout the years, and Lagree takes the top award. It is the biggest bang for your buck in a 50-minute workout. There is no better combination of a toning muscle workout that creates a cardio burn as well. It seriously will carve out abs and build your booty like nothing else I’ve ever experienced before.
What is Lagree?
Lagree expands on the basic concepts of Pilates, but it is so much more than Pilates. It applies techniques used in other types of resistance training such as bodybuilding. Exercises are performed on a Megaformer machine (basically an amazingly reimagined Pilates reformer), utilizing a combination of body weight, resistance, and assistance from the spring tension on the machine. This allows a full body workout that improves strength, muscle definition, endurance, flexibility, and balance.
Lagree uses complex movements that target multiple muscle groups in each exercise. Lagree focuses on slow, controlled motion. This keeps muscles activated for extended periods of time. By performing these Megaformer workouts at a slow pace (the famous Lagree count is at least 8 seconds), you maximize your muscles’ time under tension. This stimulates slow-twitch muscle fibers and increases muscular endurance and definition. It is high intensity, but low impact, which is great for anyone who has joint issues.
There is also a cardio element to Lagree. Circuit training is a large part of what makes the Lagree method critically different than Pilates. Lagree Fitness participants are required to move from one movement to the next with minimal rest time between. This keeps the participant’s heart rate up and demands cardiovascular growth—which, of course, results in more calories burned.
History of Lagree
According to the Lagree Fitness website, in 1998, Sebastien Lagree detected a flaw in the fitness industry and saw it as his mission to remedy the lack of a high-intensity workout that could deliver results quickly and with minimal risk of injury to the joints and connective tissues.
Utilizing bodybuilding techniques and other exercise principles, the Lagree Method came to be. Since its creation, its boundless evolution now incorporates a full line of machines designed for home-use and studio-use, which reinforce the method’s high-intensity, muscle-shaking nature.
From 1998 to today, Sebastien Lagree has developed, improved, and advanced both the Lagree Method and machinery. In 2006, Sebastien launched the first Lagree Fitness machine, the Proformer, and since then, has developed various versions of the Megaformer, the Supra, The EVO, and much more. Each machine is a direct reflection of Lagree Fitness’ unending evolution in its technologies, methods, and machinery. Sebastien continues to teach on a weekly basis. His continuous involvement is a testimony to Lagree Fitness’ ceaseless Research & Development.
Lagree Studios
The Lagree Method is taught in private studios around the world. It is not a franchise, and private studio owners pay a licensing fee to utilize the workout method and feature the megaformers in their studios. The cool thing about this is that every lagree studio is completely different, which is fantastic. But because all of the teachers and instructors must be trained in the Lagree Method, you will be sure to get the Lagree Method experience. You can also visit one of the four official Lagree Megaformer studios in the Los Angeles area if you want to drink straight from the source. Classes are expensive, yes, but you get like 3 times the workout in one class, so to me, it’s completely worth every penny.
Lagree and Me
To say that I’m obsessed with the Lagree Method is an understatement. I take at least 5-6 megaformer studio classes a week, and I also have a microformer machine at home. The microformer is basically a mini version of the megaformers that are in studios. However, they are designed to be taken from place to place relatively easily, so they are perfect for home use. There are hundreds of on-demand classes available for home use as well, so if you don’t live close to a Lagree studio, you can buy a machine and get the benefits of these amazing classes at home.
I’ve been taking Lagree classes for about 2 years now, and I have never been in better shape. The workout has completely transformed my body, and for the first time in many many years, I can actually see my abs! I cannot say enough good things about this fantastic workout that I have fallen head over heels in love with. Try it, and I’m sure you will see what all the hype is about.