I recently visited Los Angeles for the Kayla Itsines Sweat Tour — but made sure to pack my schedule with some other fun workouts in the LA area, too.
First on my list was a Megaformer class at The Studio (MDR) near Venice Beach, CA. One of my best friends had been telling me about the Lagree Method for months, and I was dying to try one of her favorite studios. In a frantic flurry of text questions, I asked her, "But wait, WTF is a Megaformer? Sounds terrifying. Is it like a transformer? Optimus Prime?" to which she responded with something to the tune of "It's a super gnarly version of a reformer machine — it's crazy." But her obsession with the class meant two things: it was a good workout, and it was working for her. I was sold.
Walking into the studio, my eyes locked on the room full of what looked like medieval torture machines, and I knew right away they were the Megaformers. To be clear, I've never even taken a reformer Pilates class. So not only was I new to the Megaformer, but I'd also never even been on a similar machine. "That's great," said my instructor, Melissa Kusack, "because this isn't Pilates!"
I loved this class for many reasons, even though I jumped in as a total beginner (an intimidated one at that). My instructor was kind, helpful, and so informative; I didn't disclose ahead of time that I work for POPSUGAR Fitness, and Melissa still gave me tons of attention, help, and adjustments to ensure that I had an excellent first experience. The format of the class was straightforward, easy to follow, and easy to modify for a newbie. And you know what? The machine totally wasn't a torture device . . . my abs and obliques might be on a different page, but that's their problem.
I've gathered up some of the best tips my instructor shared during class, so if you're trying to check out a Megaformer class near you, get your grip socks on, grab a bottle of water, and read on.