How Many Calories Are Burned in a Lagree Class
FORM Lagree classes are low impact, but that doesn’t mean they’re not challenging. In a single Form Lagree class, you can burn an average of 700 calories! Crazy, we know, but let’s get into the science of what’s going on in your body during a Lagree workout.
WHAT IS LAGREE
Lagree is a strength training workout invented by Sebastien Lagree. It’s designed to tighten, strengthen, and tone the body safely and efficiently. At FORM, we do this in 45 minutes with style, encouragement, and a whole lot of shakes.
Shakes? Did someone say shakes?
Before you get too excited, know the shakes we promise are not of the milk and ice cream variety. Instead, what you’re feeling are muscle spasms from Lagree’s signature slow and controlled movements.
Lagree is a body conditioning class that puts your muscles under tension while they fight against gravity. Many Lagree movements involve lifting and lowering your body (think squatting or sitting in a chair), but you don’t get the added help from momentum. When we say these movements are slow, we mean sloooow–like waiting for Taylor Swift tickets in the TicketMaster queue.
At FORM, we work on an 8-count (and sometimes a 10 or 12-count) to achieve this goal. So, imagine you’re squatting. Let’s start from the bottom, and you’re sitting on that imaginary chair behind you. In a Lagree class, you would rise out of that squat in four seconds, except you’re counting those seconds Mississippi style, before melting back down to the lowest point of your squat just as slow or even slower. That’s Lagree. Small, purposeful movements that can completely change your body one slow rep at a time.
WHY ARE LAGREE MOVEMENTS SO SLOW
The point of lagree is to keep tension on the targeted muscle groups. In the squat example, that group would be your glutes. The slow and controlled movements activate more muscle fibers and force them to stay contracted during the entire range of motion, resulting in stronger bodies and fewer injuries since you’re avoiding fast and often damaging movements and joint misalignments.
Lagree’s slow pace also serves as a changeup for the dreaded plateau. Most workouts focus on multiple reps performed in a short timeframe, but the Lagree method isn’t concerned about the number of repetitions; it focuses instead on quality and form. This shift in workout philosophy and movement can be just the thing to take you over that hump and help you reach your fitness goals.
Lagree - How Tension Tightens, Tones, & Strengthens
Gyms have weight racks and dumbbells, but FORM’s Houston lagree studio has the Megaformer. The Megaformer is equipped with red and yellow springs that add resistance to the machine, resulting in a customized class that meets you at your specific fitness level. Start with one yellow spring at the start of your lagree journey, and watch as you add more springs and muscle definition with every class. The increased tension combined with the slow movements creates a challenging environment that pushes your muscles to failure. D’s may get degrees in college, but we flex our failures in our classes.
FORM workouts begin with activating the slow-twitch muscle fibers. When the slow twitch muscle fibers are exhausted, our bodies naturally rely on our fast intermediate muscle fibers to share the workload, but we’re not out of the woods yet. It’s crucial to stay in the movements and maintain tension on the targeted muscles until the fast twitch muscle fibers (the fibers responsible for lagree shakes) activate. Once everyone has arrived at the party, the metabolic magic happens. Because lagree activates the most muscle fibers, it creates the greatest metabolic response in our bodies. In other words, we’re building muscles and losing fat, resulting in toned and tight bodies.
Houston–We’ve Got After-Burn
With the fast, slow, and intermediate muscle fibers, things can get confusing, so let’s make it a little less complicated. Lagree uses a lot of muscles, and we mean A LOT. Some movements work over 600 muscles, but we try not to brag, especially when we still haven’t covered excess post-exercise consumption, or EPOC for short.
Now, Houston is known for its rocket scientists, but a different group of brainiacs (we mean saints.) got together to study fat loss. Their study found that most fat loss happens after a workout during EPOC. In EPOC, our bodies work harder than Kris Jenner to return to their calm, pre-workout states. However, in their quest to return to homeostasis (or in the Kardashians' case, the public eye), our bodies use a lot of oxygen, thus kicking off a domino effect in our bodies.
More oxygen means more energy. If our bodies use more energy, we burn more fat. This fat burn continues for up to 38 hours after a workout, but it gets better. Lagree is specifically designed to maximize the effects of EPOC. So while you’re shaking on the Megaformer, know your body is melting through your fat after class. There’s a reason we say this method will change your body in just four weeks. It’s not an opinion. It’s science.
But you don't have to read about it. Book a FORM lagree class near you and hit your fitness goals in style. Did we mention we also give back to the Houston community with every class? Check out our partnered nonprofits here.