Workouts — Page 60

What to Expect from Your First Lagree Fitness Class

August 14, 2014 by Nicole 28 Comments

I get a lot of questions about the class I teach at Btone—especially on Instagram from people wanting to know what that weird contraption is I’m always taking selfies on (the Megaformer). Is it Pilates? Is it ok for beginners? Is that machine stolen off the set of 50 Shades? What the heck is going on with this workout??

To start, it’s called Lagree Fitness. And while it’s based on Pilates, it’s so, so much more (I’ll explain later). Lagree Fitness studios are continuing to pop up in major cities throughout the states (and world!), so while it’s not as widespread as, say, yoga, there is a chance you can find this amazing workout near you. If you go to the Lagree Fitness website there’s an online studio locator, or try Googling “Lagree Fitness [your city]” or “megaformer [your city].”

All studios will be different and have their own policies and atmosphere, but here is a general description of what you can expect from your first Lagree Fitness class. Bear with me through these painful Wannabe Vanna White pictures… 😉

The Basics

Most classes are 40-50 minutes in length. If it’s your first time, arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of class so that the instructor can give you an intro to the machine. The workout is done barefoot or wearing grippy studio socks (some studios require these). I wear socks or sneakers when I teach, but personally prefer to do the workout barefoot. As highlighted by this lovely instagram, my pinkie toes are just simply not made for toe socks. 🙂 I’d also recommend wearing leggings or at least longer shorts because you get into some funky positions for exercises. Leave the booty shorts at home—trust me.

It takes a couple classes to get totally comfortable with the machine, so don’t be discouraged if you feel like you’re fumbling through transitions your first couple classes. The instructor will explain all the exercises, but I think it’s helpful to also pick a machine in the middle of the room for your first class. This way you can easily look around at the other students if you’re not sure which strap/handle bar/foot position/etc. you’re supposed to be using.

The Workout

Lagree Fitness is all about those slow twitch muscle fibers. These are our fat-burning muscle fibers and also our smaller muscle fibers (fast-twitch are larger in diameter), so this workout is perfect for that whole “lean, toned” look. It pains me a little to write a sentence like that, because of course body type, genetics, etc., etc., plays into how our bodies look and react to exercise, but from a strictly physiological level, you are working the muscle fibers that take up less space. Let’s leave it at that. 🙂

We work one muscle group at a time to achieve effective muscle stimulation, so this means you’ll focus on abs, left leg, right leg, arms (in some order) completely before moving onto the next. In general, each exercise is done for about 1 minute or 2 minutes for lower body exercises. In that time, it’s not about getting in as many reps as possible—you want to keep the pace slow, controlled and steady. Remember, we’re working those slow-twitch fibers!. When we move from one exercise to another, the goal is 0 seconds wasted in transition time. That’s of course not always possible, but we make transitions as quick as we can—absolutely no break time is built into this workout! Most of this is the instructor’s responsibility in planning a class that flows well, but it also means you shouldn’t dillydally in between moves.

While you might not be drenched in sweat after class, this workout also has cardiovascular benefits—you’ll feel that heart rate increase. To clarify, sometimes I leave class a sweaty mess, and other times I finish class and, with a quick touchup, could go right on with the rest of my day without needing to shower. I think it depends on the temperature of the studio, the routine, and on if you tend to sweat a lot or not. It’s certainly not an indicator of whether you got a great workout or not—some sweatless classes kick my ass!

The Megaformer

The megaformer shown in all these pictures is the M3 model. There are a few versions of the machine, and the ones at your studio might look a little different, but the basic functions are all the same. At your first class, your instructor will give you an intro to the Megaformer which will be much more productive than a typed explanation, so I’ll just stick to the basics.

The middle bulk of the machine is called the carriage, and it moves back and forth on a spring system. More springs = more resistance. The more springs (and larger the springs), the harder it is to move the carriage away from the front platform. The less springs (and lighter the springs), the harder it is to move the carriage back towards the platform if our bodyweight is on it. Also, lighter resistance will make you feel less stable on the carriage. Classes are designed to minimize transition time, so you’ll probably only have to change the springs a couple times throughout class (or maybe not at all if the instructor does it for you while you’re in an exercise).

We can move the carriage in tons of different ways, and most (not all) the exercises really come down to just that: moving the carriage! There are two sets of cables, which allow us to move the carriage on a pulley system, so we’ll often grab those with our hands or hook the floppy black strap around our feet. There are also eyelet holes and straps on the carriage for grabbing/hooking onto with our hands and feet. We can also move that carriage by pressing against or holding onto the front or back handlebars. These handlebars can be moved into several positions to accommodate different exercises. There’s also a bungee cord (which I fully credit for this firmer booty I now have), a floor strap, and different rails and hand rollers on the platforms (of the M3) to give you hand position options.

Sometimes we increase the difficultly of exercises with hand weights (this is also a way to incorporate upper body work while we do legs), and we have a pole that can be used to help with balance during some of the exercises. Using the red pole is not a sign of weakness at all—it can allow you to get a fuller range of motion out of some exercises. Especially your first class, don’t be afraid to use the pole when the option is given by the instructor!

How Your Body Will Feel

This is a low impact workout and easy on the joints, but don’t be fooled—it’s INTENSE. During class, it’s normal for the muscle group you’re working to shake—in fact, that’s good! Trust me, as you continue to advance in this workout, you will live for that shake (as twisted as that sounds). The more advanced you become, the less frequently you’ll get “the shakes,” but even after the countless classes I have under my belt, certain exercise combos will come up and BOOM—shaking like a leaf. I love it! Because we work one muscle group at a time, taking it to that furthest point of effective stimulation, you’re nearing muscle failure (that sounds scarier than it is). It will feel harder to balance and control the movement of the exercise with shaking, but fight through it (easier said than done, I know).

While I find the shaking is most common during lower resistance exercises that require more balance and stabilization, it’s a slightly different sensation I feel when we load on the resistance—burning. Again, this is good and normal! There is a difference between being uncomfortable and being in pain—you’re going to be uncomfortable quite frequently in class. 🙂

I would say the two most common instances of that uncomfortable feeling bordering into pain (especially with newer students), is with the wrists and low back when doing the ab/oblique work. These will become less of an issue as you strengthen your core and wrists (and soon not an issue at all!), but if you have pre-existing problems with either area, say something to your instructor before class. They will give you tips and modifications for making the ab work easier on the wrists (switch up hand positions, come to your forearms, etc.) and show you how to protect the back (slight tilt with the pelvis as you pull the bellybutton in towards the spine, stacking knees under hips to modify, etc.).

How will you feel after class? Amazing. Well, after your first class you might be thinking what the hell just happened—but in a good way. You’ll probably be sore the next day or two—more so if you’re not used to workouts emphasizing slow-twitch muscle fibers like this. At first, you may only want to come once or twice a week (depending on your fitness level), and from there, just listen to your body. I’d say most people come two-three times a week, but there are also those who prefer to come almost every day. Just make sure to give your body the rest it needs. Personally, I end up doing the workout two-four times a week (I don’t do the workout when I teach). As you know, I love switching it up, so I’m mixing in all types of fitness during the week along with those two-four Lagree classes.

The Benefits of Small Class Size

Aside from the workout itself, one of my favorite things about Lagree Fitness is the small class size. There are usually about 10 machines (give or take a few) in a studio, so you never feel lost in a crowd. If you’re confused or not sure how to get into one of the exercises, the instructor will notice and be able to come right over and help you out.

I think small class size also helps create a community feel. Especially given the enthusiasm (obsession even), that many people have for this workout, you’ll start recognizing familiar faces in class, will get to know the instructors, and will start to feel part of this awesome, motivating community. Of course if that’s not what you’re looking for, you can still be in and out strictly for the kickass workout.

Final Thoughts

If your first class is anything like my first, expect to feel humbled (in a good way!). I (thought I) was in great shape when I walked into Btone for my first class, but was shaking like a leaf by the end; unable to get through some moves without taking a break; and could not make it down a flight of stairs for two days afterward. The workout was just so unlike anything I was doing at the time, and my body was challenged in ways it never had been—I was immediately hooked!

Prepare to find your latest addiction. Lagree Fitness isn’t cheap (small studio classes out there typically aren’t), but it’s worth it. Most studios offer some sort of introductory offer so that you can try it without a huge financial commitment, and then from there, if you purchase larger class packages, you’ll end up saving and bringing the overall price per class down.

WEARING | top: c/o Ellie (use code nicoleperr20 to get 20% off your first order!) // leggings: c/o Reebok

If you’re in the Boston area, Btone has studios on Newbury Street and in Lexington, Wellesley (where these pics were taken) and Sudbury. If it’s your first time, you can buy three classes for the price of one ($30). Every instructor has a slightly different style, and every class the routine is different, so it’s great you can try out three different classes as a newbie. I teach Monday & Thursday early mornings and Sunday mid mornings in Boston, and Thursday nights in Wellesley. My schedule might change a little in the fall, and I’m frequently subbing for other instructors at random times, so check the schedules for my name (I’m the only Nicole)—I LOVE meeting readers in class! I also do the workout all the time, so if you can’t make it to mine, maybe I’ll be on the megaformer next to you in another instructor’s class.

Jeeeeze I must really love this workout because I just wrote a flippin’ NOVEL. 🙂

Have you tried Lagree Fitness before? What was your first class like? Any tips for newbies you’d like to add? Leave a comment!

Filed Under: Btone, General Musings, Group Fitness, Health & Wellness

Resistance Band Core Workout

July 28, 2014 by Nicole 15 Comments

Resistance bands are the easiest piece of workout gear to pack, and when I went to visit my parents on the Vineyard at the beginning of the month, I brought one along. I wanted to do a quick ab workout to pair with my morning run, and this totally did the trick. By adding the resistance band around my legs during some of these go-to core exercises you’ve seen a million times on the blog, it changed each move from strictly targeting the abs to incorporating some outer thigh work as well.

Resistance Band Core Workout

Equipment I Used:

This workout is broken up into three parts. For each part, you’ll do three rounds of three exercises for 30 seconds each. Go from one exercise to the next without taking a break. Between parts, you can rest for 30-60 seconds. I used an interval timer and set it to 9 rounds of 30 seconds of work and 0 seconds of rest so that it would just beep every 30 seconds.

Place a resistance band around your lower calf area. I used a long one so I looped it twice before tying. You’ll keep the band in this position throughout the entire workout.

PART 1

Complete three rounds of the following three exercises, doing each for 30 seconds. For this part, you’ll be keeping your legs straight the entire time, pressing them outward against the band. Don’t cheat yourself by not pressing outward! You want to feel your outer thighs and glutes engaged the entire time.

Resistance Band Toe Touches: Start laying on your back with arms outstretched overhead, feet straight up in the air, resistance band around your lower calves with your legs spread wide enough apart to engage the outer thighs—you should be pressing hard against the resistance of the band the entire time. From here, crunch up, lifting shoulders off the ground and touching the band or your toes with your hands.
Resistance Band Windshield Wipers: Start laying on your back, arms outstretched to either side for support. Legs are lifted straight up with a resistance band around your lower calves. Press your legs out to the sides so that there is tension on the band. You want to press this way throughout the entire exercise—never let the band go slack. From here, lower your legs to the right and then back up and down to the left, back and forth in a windshield wiper motion, twisting through the waist and hips.
Resistance Band Leg Lifts: Start laying on your back with your hands underneath your bum for support, resistance band around your lower calves. Spread your legs out to the sides until you feel tension in the resistance band—you want your outer thighs and glutes engaged, pushing hard against that band the entire time. Lift your legs up a couple inches so that they’re hovering straight out over the ground. This is your starting position. From here, lift legs straight up so that they’re perpendicular with the ground (and still pushing out against the band). Lower them back to starting. Your feet should never come to rest on the ground.

PART 2

Complete three rounds of the following three exercises, doing each for 30 seconds.

Resistance Band Side Plank Lift Pulses RIGHT: Start in a side plank position, resistance band around your lower calves. Lift the top leg high enough so that there’s tension on the band—don’t let that leg drop below this point the entire time. Press the top leg up against the band, pulsing up continuously while holding the side plank.
Resistance Band Frog Stamps: Start in a plank position with your feet spread wide enough apart so that there’s tension on the resistance band (have it around your lower calves). From there, jump your feet up towards your hands and out wide. This will need to be an explosive movement so that you can push against the band while your feet are in the air. You want to land with your feet at least as wide as your hands (preferably wider). Quickly jump them back to starting plank position.
Resistance Band Side Plank Lift Pulses LEFT

PART 3

Complete three rounds of the following three exercises, doing each for 30 seconds.

Resistance Band Seated Spread Pulses: Start in a seated position with fingertips lightly on the ground by your sides for support. Lean your torso back, core tight (think of pulling your belly button and spine together) and lift your legs about 6” to a foot off the ground, keeping them straight. Resistance band should be around your lower calves. Holding legs at this height the entire time, press your legs out wide to the sides. You want to feel tension in the resistance band the entire time, so legs should stay wide the whole time, pulsing them out to the sides continuously.
Resistance Band V-Ups: Start laying on your back, arms reaching overhead, resistance band around your lower calves, and feet spread wide enough apart so that they’re pushing out against the band. Hover feet a couple inches off the ground. This is your starting point. Exhaling and explosively crunching your abs, bring your legs straight up at the same time you lift your torso off the ground, bringing hands to meet your feet, balancing on the tailbone. Release, lowering back to starting point (never let your feet come to rest on the ground). Throughout this crunch, press out with your legs against he resistance band.
Resistance Band Boat Pose Spread Pulses: This is just like traditional boat pose, except you’ll be pushing your legs out against the resistance band with little pulses while holding the pose. Start sitting on your tailbone with the resistance band around your lower calves. Lift your legs straight up and wide in a “v” shape. Engaging your core (I think of trying to squeeze my belly button and spine together), hold your arms straight out, parallel to the ground. Hold this pose, and as you do, push your legs out to the sides in little pulses. You always want to feel tension on the band, so never let your legs come together (or close to it). To modify, bend your knees instead of holding legs up straight.

You might recognize the structure of this workout from the 15-Minute Ab Workout I posted last year. It was featured on BuzzFeed and became one of my most popular P&I workouts, so I figured it was worth revisiting! 🙂

WEARING | tank: H&M // shorts: Athleta

P.S. Just to clarify, despite my tank top, I am most definitely not a cat person. Team Dog for life.

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Abs, Interval Training, Resistance Band, Workouts

Upper-Body Hand Weight Workout (Emphasis on Shoulders)

July 2, 2014 by Nicole 28 Comments

Yesterday I asked my Facebook page what exercises they’d want to see in the next P&I workout. I’m at my parent’s place on the Vineyard and am limited when it comes to equipment and fitness studios, so it’s the perfect time to make up some workouts that can be done in a living room or other small space. I got an overwhelming request for upper-body exercises, so here ya go!

All I could find in my parents’ house was some super-light hand weights (1lb, 3lbs & 5lbs), so I structured the workout accordingly: continuous reps, no breaks, lots of smaller movements that blend right into the next exercise. Chuck your ego at the door for this one—you may think you can handle heavier weights but those 3-pounders are going to feel like 300-pounders halfway through this workout.

Upper-Body Hand Weight Workout

Equipment I Used:

Set of 3-lb hand weights (I recommend using anywhere from 1lb to 5lb weights)
Gymboss Interval Timer (optional—you could also just watch the clock)

Grab a set of light hand weights (I used a 3-lb set). If you’re using an interval timer, set it for 12 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 0 seconds of rest. This way it will beep every 20 seconds, cueing you to move right into the next exercise. Do not rest between exercises. Once you’ve gone through all 12 (4 minutes total), take a 1 minute rest and then repeat. You’ll do a total of 3 rounds.

There are two ways to make this workout harder or easier to fit your current fitness level.

Adjust the length of the intervals (if you’re a beginner, start by just doing 10 seconds of each exercise; if you’re advanced, try doing each for 30 seconds).
Adjust the weight. If you’re a beginner, start with 1-lb weights. If you’re advanced, shoot for 5+ lb weights.

All these exercises are simple movements. Keep a steady pace, moving right from one to the next.

Straight-Arm Taps: Extend hands straight out in front of you at shoulder height. Continuously tap ends of weights together in the middle, not letting your arms drop below starting height. Make the taps hard and deliberate—really hit them together.
Rows: Extend arms straight out in front of you at shoulder height and then row elbows back, really squeezing your shoulder blades together, keeping hands at starting height.
Reverse Hug: Palms facing each other, open your arms out wide with bent elbow (as if you were approaching someone to give ‘em a big hug). Pull your elbows back behind you as if you were trying to touch them together. Squeeze those shoulder blades together!
Drawbridge: Start with your arms in a goal post position—elbows bent at 90 degrees out to your sides, hands up, palms facing forward. Think of a drawbridge lifting and lowering (or a lid opening and closing): rotate at the shoulders, keeping everything else locked in that position, so that hands come to shoulder height, facing the floor.
Shoulder Press: Start in that goal post position and then press your hands up overhead, bringing weights together above your head. Lower back down, but only so far as brings your elbows back to shoulder height. Don’t let them dip down lower than that.
Shoulder Shaper: Start in that goal post position and then bring your forearms in front of you, touching your hands and elbows together in the center. Like opening and closing a book. Keep elbows at shoulder height the whole time.
Together Ups: Start with elbows bent at 90 degrees at shoulder height, forearms parallel to eachother and in front of your face. Palms are facing you, weights touching, and elbows as close to touching as you can get them. From here, press your arms up and down, keeping forearms close to each other and parallel (your elbows will want to fan out to the sides—don’t let them!). Don’t shrug your shoulders up towards your ears while you do this.
Biceps Curl: Extend arms out in front of you at shoulder height, palms facing up. Curl the weights in towards your shoulders and extend back out, keeping elbows lifted the whole time.
Serve the Platter Reaches: This is a small movement. Start with arms extended in front of you, palms up, elbows slightly bent. Reach hands up and out (at an upward angle).
Lateral Arm Circles: Hold weights out to the sides with arms straight at shoulder height. Trace small circles with your hands (no more than 6” in diameter), not letting your arms lower.
Triceps Kickbacks: Bend your knees and lean forward slightly with a straight back. Arms come down by your sides, elbows bent. Keeping your forearms glued to your sides and just hinding at the elbow, send the weights behind you, extending your arms and squeezing your triceps.
Triceps Extension Lifts: In the same position as the previous exercise, hold your arms straight back behind you and, hinging at the shoulders, lift them up as high as you can and then lower just a couple inches. Think of this as a little pulse with your arms straight behind you and as high as you can get them.

WEARING | shorts: Athleta (old, shop current selection) // tank & sports bra: Forever 21 (old)

If anyone can get through three full rounds without cheating using 30-second intervals, let me know; you will be my new hero. I first tried these doing 30 seconds of each exercise and made it halfway through the first round before I was like there’s no effing way I can do three rounds of this. 20-second intervals were perfect—my arms burned like crazy, but with some psyching up I was able to get through the workout.

Links to outfit details are affiliate.

Filed Under: Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Interval Training, Upper Body, Workouts