Here’s a swerve I didn’t foresee in the fitness trends of 2025: tabulating how long into a workout before I’d have the impulse to throw up. That’s been my experience—albeit a happy one—with trying Lagree, the latest Los Angeles-based personal fitness craze. It’s been spreading rapidly—700 studios have opened in 45 countries in a dozen years—and the Los Angeles Times recently printed a glowing review. As a woman who prides herself on being up for any new wellness discipline or exercise—as well as a pretty tough critic of the latest leggings and workout clothes, per my SoCal residency requirements—I was skeptical of the method. What happened when I tried the workout a few times? Here’s my review.
I Survived Lagree, the Super-Hard Workout Craze in Los Angeles. Here’s My Review
A hill I’m prepared to die on
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Published May 20, 2025
L, R: Original Photos by Dana Dickey. Center: Facebook/Lagree Method
Lagree
What is Lagree?
The Lagree Method is a set of exercises developed by trainer Sebastien Lagree that consists of 50-minute classes in which an instructor leads students through exercises on a piece of equipment called a Megaformer. At a glance, a Megaformer looks like a larger Pilates Reformer—that’s a horizontal metal bed with a bit of cushion, as well as pulleys, springs and moving platforms. The Megaformer has numbers and quadrants marked on its carriage (that’s the main moving platform) for students to know where exactly to place their feet or knees as they move around the carriage—because precise and slow movement, with careful hip, shoulder and limb placement, is crucial to the Lagree Method, which seeks to isolate and strengthen a full range of functional muscles. Another unique iteration of the Megaformer—ends of the machine have pairs of horns that jut upward to enable balancing support, or more to the point for new practitioners, a helpful handle to hang on for dear life.
What is Taking a Class Like?
I took a class at the West Hollywood Lagree studio, which, after being waitlisted then getting admitted, felt like I had entered an exclusive club. The high-ceiling room is clean but isn’t posh, with a wall of windows, black-painted floors and an industrial vibe. I climbed on my assigned Megaformer and the class teacher Sam began by asking who was new, then boom! Our group commands began. I had to listen closely because the orders came fast and frequent: place one white spring on the carriage, put your left foot on the five, grab the long strap, don’t thrust your weight over your ankles, move only your left leg behind you…it was dizzying.
From childhood dance training, I knew to keep my hips square as I stood atop the machine, pulling in one leg repeatedly in an effort that surprisingly caused effort in my lower back, hips, thighs and feet simultaneously. Like, a lot of effort. And only for a 6-inch movement of using one leg to slide the platform closer, then farther away. What gives? I thought. And why are we doing so many reps of this? Before long—by which I mean 90 seconds—my standing leg began to shake from the effort. And by the time the class had run through both legs, I had to fight an impulse to vomit, a biofeedback I recognize from past really tough workouts.
This blows. I really wanted to hop off the machine right there, but only pride kept me from fleeing onto La Ciengega Boulevard 10 minutes into a 50-minute workout. Then I remembered the website’s innocently phrased newbie introduction: “Please maintain a positive and open attitude.” I mostly browned out from the intense effort and profound water weight loss of that class, but remember feeling quite endorphin-charged as I walked my sweat-soaked body back to my car.
A word about how tough this exercise is, and how my body—and many peoples’ bodies—react to the effort. On social media, Lagree himself holds forth his opinion on “the shakes.”
“The shaking, for me, is when I know I take you into your uncomfortable zone, into your growing zone,” he explains in an April 9 Instagram post. “And I know that this is basically your adapting zone, so I know that I’m challenging you when you shake, and then you’re going recover [and] get stronger and tighter.”
While there couldn’t be a more stereotypical L.A. fitness guru post—he’s being interviewed while driving a Lamborghini and obliquely references cancer detoxing, very trendy in the wellness community—the guy is right. In five decades of dance and fitness training, I’ve learned that when my muscles shake, I’m really effecting a positive change on my muscle mass and strength. My body is learning, and my mind is saying “we can do hard things!” My Lagree Method instructor gave lots of personal attention around the room, in the manner that was half ballet master and half fitness coach, that kept my effort from flagging and, not incidentally, me from injuring myself by placing my hands or feet in the wrong straps. While most classes are overall fitness, there’s a targeted abs-and-ass class as well, although after two classes, I can’t really imagine my sore core or swollen booty from getting any more worked over.
Lagree
My Takeaway
No one was more surprised than me when I found myself signing up for a package of classes after my initial workout. (Perhaps my teacher Sam was more surprised, since at my second class she sidled down to reposition my sweaty limbs and smiled “I love that you came back for more!”) I appreciate how Lagree complements my light running regimen and hot yoga practice—it’s a targeted muscle-building effort that I need as a 50-something woman with menopausal body chemistry fluctuations and muscle mass depletion. (True story: After only two classes in one week, I noticed my high-waisted pants fit less snugly.) Additionally, the fast flow of the class from one movement to another takes laser attention, so I can’t think about my work or family responsibilities—it’s just me, the merciless springs resisting my efforts and my desire to survive the 36 more minutes until the end of class. I think anyone who’s a bit bored with their workouts, or for any bodies that have adjusted to their usual fitness regimens, should try the Lagree Method. For nothing else, you’ll see if you are able to, indeed, “maintain a positive and open attitude.”
