Reformer Pilates? Now, it’s all about Lagree

If you’re a Pilates girl through and through, and you need a workout shake-up… introducing Lagree.

If your idea of a workout involves a reformer, a water bottle filled with your fave electrolyte, and approximately 47 minutes of very controlled leg circles, you might think you already know what Lagree is. Well, here’s what it actually is.

Often lumped into the same fitness category as Reformer Pilates, Lagree is its sweatier, more strength-focused cousin. Its rise in popularity is a good reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do for your fitness routine is simply try something different.

Created by French-born fitness trainer Sebastien Lagree in the early 2000s, the Lagree Method was designed around a machine called the Megaformer. It looks a little like a reformer, but the similarities largely end there. The Megaformer is built to allow a wider range of movements, more resistance, and longer periods of time under tension, turning relatively small, slow movements into a surprisingly brutal full-body workout. And your muscles shake… like, a lot

So, Lagree vs Reformer Pilates? While both use spring resistance and a moving carriage, their results are different. Reformer Pilates centres on controlled movement, alignment, core strength, mobility, and muscular control, with roots in Joseph Pilates' original method. Lagree takes some of that equipment and movement vocabulary but pushes it towards muscular endurance, strength and intensity.

That doesn't make one better than the other. Reformer Pilates can be brilliant for building foundational strength, improving movement quality, and developing body awareness, whilst Lagree offers a more intense challenge, particularly if you're looking to test muscular endurance without relying on high-impact movements.

A Lagree class typically lasts around 45 minutes, moving through slow, controlled sequences on the Megaformer that target everything from glutes and legs to arms and core. Expect lunges, planks, squats, oblique work and plenty of time under tension. It’s particularly good for people who want to build strength and muscular endurance without high-impact exercise. This can include runners looking to cross-train, people who enjoy Pilates but want more intensity, and anyone looking for a challenging full-body workout that’s easier on the joints.

But don’t get duped by the wellness conveyor belt. Online fit-fluencers have become very good at convincing us that there is one perfect workout, but oh, wait – the next one arrives. One month it's reformer Pilates, the next it's Hyrox, then suddenly everyone is playing padel at 7am.

Trying a new discipline can challenge muscles in unfamiliar ways, keep training interesting, and help you work out what you actually enjoy as oppose to simply following whatever happens to be trending on your feed. Lagree might be your next obsession, or it might help you realise you actually prefer Pilates. Either way, you've learned something about how you like to move.

And if Reformer Pilates has started to feel a little too comfortable, Lagree could be the step up. Not because harder automatically means better, but because sometimes your body needs a new challenge.