The comparison · Lagree vs Pilates
Both use a spring-loaded machine and both ask you to move slowly. The difference is what the slowness is for: Pilates uses it to build control, breath and alignment, while Lagree keeps your muscles under constant tension on the heavier Megaformer for 45 minutes, so the class works as strength and cardio at once.
That is the short answer. The longer one starts with someone who thinks she knows what she is walking into.
Picture a reformer regular. She has done reformer Pilates for years. She knows her footwork from her feet in straps, she can hold a long stretch without wobbling, and she books the 7am class because it sets up the whole day. A friend drags her to a Lagree class. The machine looks familiar: a sliding carriage, springs, a platform at each end. She assumes it will feel like reformer with better lighting.
Ten minutes later her legs are shaking, she is breathing harder than she has in months, and the instructor is counting down from twenty in a voice that suggests twenty will be followed by another twenty. Nobody has jumped. Nobody has run. She has barely moved, and that is exactly the point.
“When you see a Lagree machine, you might think reformer Pilates. No.”
Elita A., on InstagramThat is how Elita opens an unprompted Instagram video about her own Lagree before and after. The best way she can describe Lagree, she says, is “gym exercises, but on a reformer machine.”
This is the gap between the two methods, and it is the reason so many people search for “Lagree Pilates” or “Pilates Lagree” as if it were one thing. It isn’t. Here is how they differ, what each one is really for, and how to know which one belongs in your week.
01 · The machinesTwo machines that look like relatives
Pilates began with Joseph Pilates, who developed his method in the early twentieth century and brought it to New York in the 1920s. His reformer is a carriage on rails, pulled back by springs, with a foot bar at one end and straps at the other. Everything about it rewards precision. Light springs expose every wobble, so you learn to move from your centre, lengthen your spine and keep your shoulders out of your ears.
Lagree was created by Sebastien Lagree in Los Angeles, and it runs on his own machine, the Megaformer. At first glance it is a reformer’s bigger relative. Look closer and it is built for a different job: a platform at the front and the back, a carriage you can push from either end, handles, heavier springs and far more ways to load a muscle from different angles. You spend much of the class standing, lunging and planking on it rather than lying down.
The machine shapes the method. On a reformer, a lighter spring often makes an exercise harder, because you have to control it. On a Megaformer, you add springs to add load, the way you would add weight to a bar, and then you move that load very slowly. If you want the detail on the machines themselves, our guide to the Megaformer and the Xformer goes through them part by part.
02 · The questionIs Lagree a type of Pilates?
No. Lagree is its own method, with its own machine, its own rules and its own certification. People call it “Lagree Pilates” because the Megaformer looks like a reformer and both use springs, so Pilates is the closest word most people have for it. We put it plainly on our homepage: it’s not Pilates. It’s Lagree.
There is real overlap. Both care about alignment. Both ask you to engage your core on almost everything. Both are low impact, which means no jumping and no pounding through your joints. But the intent is different. Pilates is a practice of control and mobility that can also make you stronger. Lagree is strength and endurance training that also demands control.
The clearest way to feel the difference is tempo. In Pilates, movement flows and then pauses. In Lagree, you move so slowly that the muscle never gets a break, often for a minute or more on one exercise, and the transitions between exercises are quick so your heart rate stays up. That constant tension is what produces the famous Lagree shake. It is not a sign you are doing it wrong. It is common, and it is expected.
03 · Side by sideThe difference between Lagree and Pilates, side by side
| Pilates (reformer) | Lagree | |
|---|---|---|
| Machine | Reformer: carriage, springs, foot bar, straps | Megaformer: front and back platforms, handles, heavier springs |
| Tempo | Flowing, with pauses to reset | Very slow, continuous, with quick transitions |
| What it trains first | Control, mobility, posture, breath | Strength, muscular endurance, cardio |
| How it gets harder | Often lighter springs, more control | More springs, slower movement, longer time under tension, progressive overload and more advanced progressions |
| Impact on joints | Low | Low |
| How it feels | Calm, focused, precise | Intense, shaking, sweaty |
| Typical class | 45 to 60 minutes, often lying down | 45 to 50 minutes, much of it standing, lunging and planking |
| Best known for | Posture, core control, rehabilitation, flexibility | Full-body strength, cardio and fast body transformation |
04 · The first classWhat your first Lagree class actually feels like
The first few minutes are deceptive. You step onto the carriage, the instructor sets your springs, and the opening exercise looks almost polite. A lunge. A plank. Nothing a Pilates regular hasn’t done.
Then the count slows down. A lunge that would take a second or two in a gym takes several times as long. The carriage wants to slide, so the muscles around your hip and knee have to hold it steady the whole way. Somewhere in the first minute, your leg starts to tremble. Then the instructor tells you to keep going, and you discover you can.
There is very little rest. Transitions between exercises are quick, which is why a class can leave you out of breath without a single jump. It is also why form matters so much, and why a good instructor watches your knees and hips more than the clock.
By the end, the strongest feeling is often not exhaustion so much as surprise. You worked every part of your body, you sweated, you shook, and nothing jarred your joints. That combination is what the method is built to deliver.
05 · The purposeWhat each method is really for
Pilates deserves its reputation. If you want better posture, a stronger connection to your deep core, more mobility through your spine and hips, or a gentle way back after an injury, it is a strong choice. Many people use Pilates to learn how their body moves, and some physios recommend it after injury.
Lagree is built for something else. It is strength training, done slowly and without impact. The research here is on strength training in general, not on Lagree specifically. A review in Sports Medicine (Schoenfeld and colleagues, 2015) found that slow, controlled repetitions build muscle as well as faster ones when the muscle is worked to fatigue. The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend strength-based activity on at least two days a week, and two Lagree classes a week meets that guideline.
Put simply, Pilates teaches you to control your body. Lagree asks you to load it, and keep it loaded. Neither is better in the abstract. They do different jobs.
06 · The machineThe machine question: Megaformer or reformer?
Searches for Pilates vs Lagree usually mean one thing: reformer class or Megaformer class? A lot of people who search “Lagree vs Pilates” really mean Lagree versus a reformer class, because that is the Pilates they know. The short version is in the table above: the Megaformer carries more load, works more from standing, and is used at a much slower, unbroken tempo. If you want the full comparison of the two machines and the classes built around them, read our guide to Lagree vs reformer Pilates.
07 · The choiceSo which one should you choose?
Choose Pilates if your main goal is mobility, posture or rehabilitation, if you are coming back from an injury and your physio has recommended it, or if you want a calmer class that leaves you feeling long and loose.
Choose Lagree if you want to get stronger without heavy weights or high impact, if your reformer classes no longer feel like a challenge, or if you want strength and cardio in one 45-minute class.
Do both if you can. They sit well together. Many people keep a Pilates class for mobility and add Lagree for strength, and many find the body awareness they built on a reformer helps on the Megaformer.
If you have an injury, a medical condition or you are pregnant, speak to your GP or physio first, and tell your instructor before class so they can adjust the exercises for you.
08 · QuestionsQuestions people ask about Lagree and Pilates
Is Lagree harder than Pilates?
Many people find it harder. A Megaformer class usually uses more resistance than a typical reformer class, keeps the muscle working for longer and gives you very little rest, so it feels more intense. Pilates can be very demanding too, but its challenge is usually control rather than load.
Is Lagree better than Pilates?
It depends on what you want. Lagree is better suited to building strength and endurance without impact. Pilates is better suited to mobility, posture and rehabilitation. The best choice is the one that matches your goal and that you will keep doing.
Do I need to do Pilates before I try Lagree?
No. Lagree is open to beginners, and every exercise can be made easier or harder with the springs and your range of movement. Pilates experience helps with body awareness, but it is not required.
Is Lagree good for beginners?
Yes, with good coaching. The tempo is slow, nothing is high impact, and the instructor sets your springs. Expect to shake and expect your first class to be humbling. That is normal.
How often should I do Lagree?
We suggest three to four classes a week for the best results. Two a week meets the UK guideline for strength training. More on this in how often you should do Lagree.
How long until I see results?
Everyone is different, and anyone who promises you a date is guessing. Our guide to how long it takes to see results from Lagree explains what changes first and why consistency matters more than any single class.
Try it for yourself
Reading about the shake is one thing. Feeling it is another. Blood, Sweat & Tears is London’s only dedicated Megaformer studio, on the fourth floor at 9 White Lion Street, a three-minute walk from Angel tube. Lagree is all we teach. Classes are 45 minutes, every instructor is Lagree certified, and Ritual Cafe is inside the studio for afterwards. If you are looking for Pilates in Islington, that page covers the studio, the method and what to expect.
Come as often as you like for two weeks.
Two Weeks Unlimited for £139Want to know more about the method first? Start with what is Lagree, or see our Lagree classes in London.
