Teaching Lagree and Pilates: My Journey Through Both

My Journey into Group Fitness and Lagree

Sports, exercise, and staying active have always been a big part of my life. As a kid, I was on all the team sports - playing softball, basketball, tennis, and field hockey. After school practice was my favorite part of my day. I loved being part of a team, each of us pushing ourselves and working towards a shared goal. In college, I enjoyed running and going to the gym, but my favorite way to workout was to take a group workout class. I would bike to a Yoga studio and work the front desk in exchange for a free membership, so I could take class every single day. I loved the community of the studio, and I loved group workout classes because it felt like I was on a team again. A room full of people all pushing themselves for the hour was so motivating to me, and I enjoyed being a part of that energy. After college, I went through a phase of endurance running and triathlon training while living in Hawaii. I loved being outside, breaking a sweat, and pushing myself to see what I could accomplish. My enjoyment for group fitness classes as well as the physical and mental challenge of a tough workout is what drew me to Lagree.

When I moved back from Hawaii, I started taking Lagree classes at the studio close to my house. I was looking to try something new to complement my gym routine and running. I was hooked after my first class. Lagree workouts are slow paced, they burn, and I found them so challenging.

I loved the group aspect of the class and was inspired (with even a little bit of friendly competition) to see if I could stay in the exercise and hold longer than the students beside me. One day, the studio manager asked me if I was interested in teaching and joining a training program. I immediately said yes. At the time, I was already teaching sculpt classes at a Yoga studio. I had the availability since I was stepping back from my corporate job. I wanted to teach more classes since I found that is what I enjoyed. I signed up and completed the training that month. I worked with the studio managers, and soon I had added multiple Lagree classes to my teaching schedule each week.

Discovering My Love For Pilates

While I was teaching Lagree and Yoga sculpt, I started working for Pilates Anytime as a content producer. I was offered the chance to join a teacher training with BASI to deepen my understanding of Pilates and better support my role. I love trainings and always get something out of them, so I jumped at the chance.

Pilates is completely different from the intense cardio strength workouts that I was used to. I tend to rely on large muscle groups, push through fatigue, and grip for intensity. Pilates gave me an alternative way to work out. I had to pull back, breathe, and focus on tiny movements to perform exercises with precision and control. Rather than pushing harder, Pilates focuses on body awareness and controlled movement, and the details matter so you can get the most out of each exercise. The core strength, spine articulation, and mobility work were all new to me.

Through Pilates, I've become more aware of the imbalances in my body. I spent most of my middle school and high school years in a back brace for scoliosis. I still played all the sports and did all the activities I loved, but I hid the brace from everyone and became used to feeling stiff and restricted in certain movements. The repetitive positions in those sports added to my imbalances, and other muscle groups compensated for a back and core that lacked mobility and strength.

In addition, while working my past two jobs, I spent most of my day working at a desk. The hours in front of a computer made me even more imbalanced, and my posture more rounded and my back more stiff. Feeling uneven in my body became normal to me, and I adapted and accepted that discomfort in certain positions was just how it would be.

Pilates gave me a different perspective. It helped me understand my body, learn, and identify my imbalances, and develop more strength, mobility, and awareness to help address them.

I’m currently working on my comprehensive certification training and hours, and I’m so lucky to teach for a gym and a Pilates studio while I complete it.

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Lagree and Pilates: Finding the Right Fit for You

The Machines

A Lagree class was originally taught on a Pilates Reformer, but in 2008 the Megaformer was developed to support the Lagree method. The Megaformer has an open carriage with multiple anchor points, adjustable springs, a front and back platform, handlebars that can pivot and rotate, and two sets of cables. Variations of the Megaformer have been developed over the years to improve upon the design, functionality, and enhance the Lagree workout. Additional machines such as the Miniformer and the Microformer are both smaller than the Megaformer, and they were developed for home use, small studio spaces, and outdoor events / popups.

Although both the Megaformer and the Reformer contain a rolling carriage hooked to a system of springs, they are two completely different machines built for different purposes. The Reformer was developed in the 1920s. It was originally created for individual Pilates sessions and for physical rehabilitation. On the other hand, the Megaformer was developed to support group fitness classes and for muscular endurance training.

The Reformer has a head rest and shoulder blocks since in Pilates, students spend time lying on their backs. It has a narrow front platform, and the spring changes occur at the front of the machine. In Lagree, students do not spend much time lying down, so there are no headrest or shoulder blocks on the carriage. Instead there are anchoring points on the carriage and on the large front and back platforms. Many exercises are performed off the front and back platform and facing either direction, so the anchoring points offer multiple hand and foot placements for students. In addition, there are lines and numbers on the carriage and platforms to help students find the correct position in an exercise as quickly as possible.

On the most recent Megaformers, the springs are located at the back of the carriage. Unlike Reformers where a teacher or student hooks on the spring, the Megaformer has a fast spring change release technology. Some new models even have a remote to control the spring change. This new technology helps keep spring changes as quick as possible, in order to keep students moving throughout the entire Lagree workout.

The Workouts

Lagree emphasizes slow, controlled movements that build strength, endurance, and improve stability. Common exercises such as lunges, squats, and curls are performed on the Megaformer, and the use of spring resistance makes these exercises easier on the joints. It's a low impact workout, but with high cardiovascular intensity. Your heart rate will be pumping, and the intensity is high. A Lagree workout was built off of fitness and body building principles and does not contain elements of Pilates.

A Pilates class contains the principles of breath, concentration, centering, control, precision, and flow. It can be performed on the Reformer, on other apparatuses, or on the Mat. A Pilates class focuses on precise movements to improve strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, and range of motion. Originally created for rehabilitation, Pilates can improve posture, reduce pain, enhance athletic performance, and support more efficient movement in your daily life.

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What I've Noticed Teaching Both

A Lagree class is usually broken down into a center core warmup, a leg section, an arms section, and an oblique section. I also liked to add a core finisher, or a grand finale exercise to end class. Similar to Pilates, there is the option to use light springs and focus on balance and stability or heavy springs for heavy pressing against or holding against the spring load.

No props are used in Lagree class except for possibly a stability pole to help with balance. In addition, exercises are held for extended periods layering in variations such as pulses, ranges of motion, and body positioning all to keep the students working in the exercise for the allotted time. As a teacher, I liked to use a stopwatch app to help keep track timing. I would input my full routine into the stopwatch timer app. I would start the timer at the beginning of class, and when my phone would blink a new color, I would know to count down and switch to the next exercise in my sequence. The goal was to minimize stopping and keep students moving continuously through the full class.

A goal for a Lagree teacher is to keep the students moving for the entire class in order to maximize time under tension. Teachers want to prevent starting and stopping, and they want to keep the students in the exercise for the allotted time with a quick transition from one exercise to the next one. A challenge for a teacher is to try to keep the spring changes to a minimum and to be creative with transitions to keep transitions as smooth and seamless as possible. Lagree teachers challenge themselves to keep the students on the same spring as much as possible to minimize the spring changes because they take up time. Teachers want to keep the students in motion, moving in exercises for the majority of the class.

In Pilates, I found the pacing to be different. The class flows with a rhythm. Students are not holding exercises for a certain amount of time, but teachers often offer a goal number of repetitions and count the repetitions in each exercise. I do not use the stopwatch app, and instead I rely on counting, breath, and the beat of the music to guide my pacing. Pilates allows there to be brief pauses and resets during spring and exercise changes to allow students to regroup and reset before moving to the next exercise. The Pilates training I completed emphasized organizing classes into blocks such as a warm up, abdominals, hip work, spine articulation, full body integration, arms, legs, stretching and extension to create a balanced class. In addition, Pilates teachers can use a variety of props to enhance the workout providing the students with support, challenge or variations to the exercises.

Another difference I noticed was in my class planning. In Pilates, I think of class planning as a template rather than a fixed sequence. I prepare options, variations, and progressions, so I can adjust the class based on the needs of the students. I might not stick to my planned routine depending on what the students need that day. In Lagree, I have a routine planned and that's what I'm doing. The structure is more fixed and the goal is to guide students through my specific sequence with continuous movement.

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Conclusion

Lagree and Pilates are both great forms of movement depending on what a student is looking for. Both workouts make us feel stronger, accomplished, keep us active, and compliment everything else we have going on in our lives. What I love about being a teacher is the impact on others. I love helping and encouraging others to move their bodies, so they feel stronger, more open, and more capable for everyday life.

My hope is for students to feel stronger, more stretched, more connected to their bodies, and proud of themselves for showing up and moving in whatever way they choose.