The Lagree Method has taken over social feeds, celebrity routines and boutique studio waitlists from West Hollywood to Brentwood, with fans like Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow fueling the hype. But here’s the twist many newcomers miss. Despite the name people use online, Lagree may not actually be Pilates at all. It’s a separate, patented method built for a very specific kind of burn.
The TikTok discourse is already deep on this one. The two workouts look similar, share some equipment DNA and even attract overlapping crowds, yet they’re built on different principles, chase different fitness goals and feel completely different once you’re on the machine. If you’re deciding where to spend your class credits, it’s worth knowing exactly what you’re signing up for.
How Lagree Differs From Regular Pilates
The grey area between the two methods is real, and it’s where most of the confusion lives. “Reformer workouts can be thought of like a Venn diagram, Pilates, Lagree, then everything in between,” said José San Miguel, a movement instructor and studio manager at FlowCorps Durham. Regular pilates is often rehabilitation-focused, rooted in the original Joseph Pilates method and designed to build control, mobility and core stability. Lagree, by contrast, was engineered for muscle tightening, toning and visible physical change. Both are low-impact, but they’re built for different purposes.
Who Sebastien Lagree Built the Method For
Lagree founder, Sebastien Lagree, created the workouts for a specific type of client list — and it wasn’t dancers recovering from injury. They were actresses and models already in peak physical condition who wanted to sculpt without bulking up. “I had to really use my knowledge of body sculpting and then create this workout,” Lagree told PureWow. That origin story matters because it shapes everything about the class, including the pacing, the time under tension, the emphasis on shaking muscles and the relentless focus on outcomes you can see in the mirror.
What Is the Lagree Method, Exactly
Per the Lagree website, it’s a patented exercise method designed to strengthen, tighten and tone muscles efficiently. Lagree created it while training clients in Los Angeles, many of whom were already practicing Pilates but wanted more visible physical change. “When I was first introduced to Pilates in 1998, I saw that there was no progressive overloading and no protocol for muscle gain or fat loss. It was never about shaking or sweating. But the body will not change unless it’s stimulated and prompted to change,” Lagree said via Pop Sugar. The idea sparked after he saw a Pilates reformer in a local studio. He added platforms and cables, and the Megaformer, originally called the Proformer, was born. Multiple Megaformer models now exist, and they’re only usable in Lagree-licensed studios.
What a Lagree Class Actually Feels Like vs. Regular Pilates
The Lagree website describes it as intense on muscles, easy on joints, but expect shaking, sweating and next-day soreness. A typical class folds in planks, lunges and push-ups alongside Lagree-specific moves with names like “Super Lunge” and “Scrambled Eggs.” The whole system is built around 10 core principles known as the “Magic 10,” each designed to force physical change rather than simply maintain mobility. If you’ve ever wondered why people stumble out of class glistening and slightly wobbly, that’s the Magic 10 doing its job.
Regular pilates isn’t just mat work. The classic Pilates reformer uses a platform and springs with adjustable tension for resistance, while equipment like the Cadillac or barrel can build greater strength and range of motion. The Pilates world has also expanded into many modern adaptations, such as Pilates sculpt, heated Pilates and other hybrids that stray far from Joseph Pilates’ original method but still deliver a solid workout. Across formats, the benefits include improved posture and pain relief, which is why the discipline still anchors so many recovery and wellness routines.
The Equipment Difference, Reformer vs. Megaformer
The original Pilates reformer was developed around the 1920s, typically wood, smaller and built around a single sliding platform. Lagree’s Megaformer, introduced in the early 2000s, uses two sliding platforms instead of one. Both machines support low-impact training that builds stability and core strength, but the Megaformer was specifically engineered for higher-intensity work that targets muscular endurance. That two-platform design is a big reason Lagree classes can layer in the constant tension and slow, controlled reps the method is known for.
For instructors who teach both, the pull of Lagree comes down to variety and intensity. “The Lagree method is constantly evolving. As is the equipment we use. There’s a new version of the Megaformer recently launched, so the workout never becomes boring and you’ll never plateau,” Lorraine Jenkins, a qualified Lagree and Pilates instructor and founder of Love Lagree, told Living360. She also points to the all-in-one nature of a single class. “You benefit from all components of fitness. Strength, endurance, cardio, core, balance and flexibility, all in one workout. Clients often comment that this is the nearest experience to a PT. You benefit from a challenging full body workout, with the added advantage of close attention to detail from the instructor.”
Why Group Fitness Helps, No Matter Which Method You Pick
Whether you land on Lagree, classical pilates or something in the middle, working out alongside other people appears to deliver benefits beyond the physical. A study in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association found that group workouts lowered stress by 26%, with group exercisers seeing significant improvement in quality of life. Solo exercisers, by comparison, put in more effort but saw no real change in stress and only limited quality-of-life improvement. “The communal benefits of coming together with friends and colleagues, and doing something difficult, while encouraging one another, pays dividends beyond exercising alone. The findings support the concept of a mental, physical and emotional approach to health that is necessary for student doctors and physicians,” said Dayna Yorks, DO, the lead researcher on the study.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
