MEGAFORM YOUR BODY
LIZ CONNOR tries out Megaformer Pilates at LA-fitness export Studio Lagree in London’s Nobu Hotel MEGAFORMER is an intense full-body fitness class that takes place on a souped-up Reformer Pilates machine.
It has a host of celebrity followers, and Meghan Markle has been quoted praising the workouts as “the best thing you could do for your body”.
The Megaformer machines are pretty complicated. They have a central carriage that slides back and forth, attached to resistance springs, plus cutouts and handles and feet and arm straps designed to bring you to a high threshold of intensity, testing your core, endurance, cardio, balance, strength and flexibility.
It might just be the hardest workout you’ll ever do. One of the most surprising things is just how ab-crushingly difficult it is. It’s all about excruciatingly slow movements – the slower you go, the better results you see, and there’s very little rest between each position.
The carriage is spring-loaded with resistance that ranges from 0 to about 115 kg, so you make controlling the table with your legs and arms as challenging as you like. Because you always have some part of your body on the carriage (which is in motion), you’re constantly challenging your core to keep you balanced.
Within 10 minutes my legs and arms were uncontrollably shaking and I wondered if I’d have to give up, but instructor Matt McEgmont assured me that shaking is totally normal – even bodybuilders and professional athletes have been reduced to quaking messes.
Matt says failure is good. The Lagree Method works muscles to failure and integrates the key elements of resistance and counter-resistance in a sequence that allows for zero-gravity at peak muscle contraction, encouraging maximum exertion with a low risk of injury.
‘No pain; no gain’ is pretty true when it comes to seeing results. Matt assures me there are loads of benefits to honing a regular Megaformer routine – from weight loss and increased muscle strength to better balance and reduced stress.