If, as influencers like to say, life happens outside of your comfort zone, then on Wednesday morning, before most people left for work, I was already living a lot. Become.
As a new employee of Lagree Pilates, the high-intensity workout beloved by Jennifer Aniston and Rihanna as well as former first lady Michelle Obama, I was ready to hit the road at 7 a.m., but I wasn’t all that excited.
My anxiety, which began on the way to Chelsea, home to MAD Lagree Fitness Studio, the capital’s only Lagree studio, was compounded not only by the fact that I hadn’t exercised in weeks, but also by the embarrassing memory of my first workout. I did. (and last) Reformer Pilates class.
Because of my poor coordination, I spent the entire class at least two steps behind everyone else.
Now, I had been told that the Lagree is not a reformer, but something else entirely, but when you walk into a brightly lit studio full of “megaformer” machines, it’s hard to imagine what’s different. I noticed that.
Ten feet long and four feet wide, with a rolling carriage between two fixed platforms and four cables attached, the Megaformer looked a little too familiar.
Luckily, just as I was contemplating a quick exit, Noor, one of MAD’s 10 Lagree instructors, showed up. And her enthusiasm for the LA-born (of course!) fitness phenomenon was unquenchable.
Let’s start with the benefits. Created by French practitioner Sébastien Lagrie, Lagrie involves repeating a series of slow, controlled movements and, unlike Pilates, is designed to work multiple muscle groups simultaneously while focusing on the core. It has been.
As a result, the body not only expends energy when it moves, but also continues to expend energy when it is at rest. Good news!
More simply, from building muscle strength to activating the slow-twitch fibers used by long-distance runners, Lagree is your one-stop shop for success in your sport. wonderful!
But what was really good for me was the fact that the classes were short (classes are usually 50 minutes). wonderful!
We chatted and it was time to leave. As we all stand on his one of the fixed platforms at the end of the Megaformer, Nour explains how to modify the springs to increase strength while doing shoulder rotations and light stretches. did.
Then, after she wished us good luck, which was motivational for some and anxiety-provoking for others, the pace picked up and the 80’s hits started playing.
As Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” blared, we were asked to stand on a board with our elbows on the platform in front of us and slowly pull the moving trolley in and then push it out again.
I was encouraged to move as slowly as possible, but soon the burn started and my whole body started shaking. To put it in a positive way, I had “accessed the Lagree Shake.”
But while I was encouraged by the fact that the classes were fast, I soon realized that brevity also has a downside in this context. That means there are no breaks between exercises.
After a series of core exercises, the focus shifted to the lower body. For those who find it difficult to lunge on solid ground, lunging on your hind legs over a moving carriage was not very good.
Luckily, Noor had a tall ramp-like post that I was able to grab onto for stability as I returned to the lunge.
By the time we reached the upper body, the Eurythmics had started playing, and thanks in particular to the unending enthusiasm of the instructor (the words “Good job!” and “This team is here!” were very welcome) (That was the refrain), I was like this. I’m totally obsessed with training.
Bicep curls using cables attached to the Megaformer were one of the highlights of the class. When I was asked to push the cable back and activate my back muscles, I felt the front of my body open up, releasing tension and supporting good posture.
And then I went back to the board. “Hold on until the finish line,” I was told, so I held firm and collapsed on top of the Megaformer while Noor counted down from 10.
The class ended exactly as it began, with some stretching and a well-deserved round of applause.
Sure, I took some (disallowed) breaks and definitely took advantage of the opportunities to “give it my all”, but I also knew that I had worked hard and that I was having fun. I could feel it in every part of my body.
If I needed further proof that I had any benefit, it was the next day, and a few days after that, when the burning sensation in my thighs made it difficult to walk normally and get up from a chair. . .
But as far as I’m concerned, that’s what you’d expect from 50 minutes of planks, pulses, lunges, etc.
At £35 for drop-in classes, Lagree isn’t cheap, but you really get the super-efficient full-body workout you’re promised.
Are you going back? absolutely. It’s best not to leave it too long!
- For more information about MAD Lagree Fitness Studio, please visit https://letsgomad.com/.
