The £30 workout Meghan Markle called 'the best thing you can do for your body' was the hardest thing I've ever done in a gym — here's how to get the same results at home
Alison Millington
Getty / Studio Lagree
Business Insider checked out the workout Meghan Markle called "the best thing you can do for your body" — and it was easy to see why she's a fan.
Studio Lagree, a gym used by Markle in Toronto, just launched a new London location at £30 a class.
The Megaformer machine provides an intense full body conditioning workout using slow movements.
One of the studio's trainers told BI how you can get the same results at home with 4 simple exercises.
Prince Harry's bride-to-be Meghan Markle is known for her strong stance on feminism and her habit of breaking royal traditions and smashing stereotypes.
She's also known for her enviable physique, including toned arms and long, slender legs.
Apparently, Markle owes her figure partly to Megaformer — an intense full body conditioning workout that takes place on a moving machine.
She's been quoted calling Megaformer workouts "hands down the best thing you could do for your body," and is said to be a fan of Studio Lagree, a provider with three locations in London.
Lagree launched a new studio at the city's Nobu Hotel in February, so Business Insider went to a class to see what the fuss is all about.
Robert Lepone, Managing Director of Studio Lagree UK, said Markle was "a very regular visitor to the King Street location in Toronto when filming in the city for Suits."
Other A-list clients include Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Sophia Vergara, Kim Kardashian, Calvin Harris, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karlie Kloss, various NBA players from the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, and Cleveland Cavaliers, and even Ben Stiller.
And with promises of strengthening the body, toning and elongating the muscles, improving endurance, jump-starting the metabolism, burning fat, increasing flexibility and postural alignment, and "restoring the body's natural balance," it's easy to see the appeal.
The machine looks pretty intimidating...
Ali Millington
The 50-minute class takes place entirely on a Megaformer machine, which, lined up alongside a number of others, looks incredibly intimidating upon arrival.
There's a lot of information to take in ahead of your first class. The machine is built to combine pilates, cardio, and strength-training — but it's your core that takes the biggest hit.
...but you'll get a good explanation
Ali Millington
The Megaformer has three components: front and back platforms and a carriage which moves between the two.
There are numbered lines on each part, so you know exactly where your hands and feet should be planted during each move.
There are also springs attached to the carriage which allow you to add and remove resistance throughout your workout.
It's all about slow movement
Studio Lagree
Once you're on the machine, you can perform hundreds of exercises for full-body conditioning — but you do so at a slow, controlled pace, really engaging your muscles.
Lagree trainer Linda Robson told Business Insider that the slow movement is one thing that differentiates the method from other workouts.
"That's why it's so challenging," she said. "When we move that slowly we're not able to use or leverage the system of momentum. We want the muscles to take all the tension."
Studio Lagree
While thee slow movement is what makes it "slightly excruciating," it's also what makes it so effective.
"The slower you go, the faster you'll see results," she said.
According to Sebastian Lagree, "The principles of the Lagree Method are that it works muscles to failure with very little rest, and this results in a workout that burns maximum calories in a short time, whilst also developing significant muscle tone and strength."
However, Robson stressed that it isn't a Pilates class, which people often mistake it for.
"We're using the movement of the carriage to intensify the range of movement you can get and to intensify the work," she said.
It's a tough workout — but not a sweaty one
Studio Lagree
Within five minutes of the class, we'd already done a few plank variations while holding ourselves up on the machine, and my abs were shaking. I was struggling to hold each position.
The other biggest challenge for me was balance. On more than one occasion, I was afraid of falling off the Megaformer.
Luckily, while the movements are slow, the class is fast-paced and you change position frequently, so it goes by quickly.
Strangely enough, when it was over, I wasn't sweating, but my whole body felt strong.
I could see why it would be the perfect workout for a busy, high-profile person like Markle. However, at £30 a pop, it's not exactly affordable.