Let's settle this properly
Lagree vs Pilates.
Two practices. One community.
Both live at Tula. Both are worth your time. Here's my honest take on the difference — and why I chose to offer both under one roof.
Now at Tula Al Furjan
Let's start here
Two different methods. Both deeply intentional.
I get asked this question every week — sometimes every day, usually by someone standing between two machines looking mildly suspicious of both. And it's a fair question. From the outside, Lagree and Reformer Pilates do look like siblings. Same spring-loaded machine energy, same low-impact promise, same instructor hovering nearby making sure you don't do anything heroic with your spine.
But take one class of each, and the illusion evaporates immediately. The experience, the intensity, the intention — all different. Not better, not worse. Just different, the way espresso and matcha are both "a way to become a functioning human" without being interchangeable.
At Tula, I've come to believe that difference isn't a problem to solve. It's a gift to your practice.
"Reformer Pilates built the foundation of this community. Lagree is the next layer we're building on top of it."
— Tula Master Trainer
Side by side
What each method is actually built to do.
Reformer Pilates
Developed by Joseph Pilates
- Over a century of refinement sits behind every single movement.
- Builds precise body awareness, postural alignment, and deep spinal stability.
- Low intensity, low impact — therapeutic and restorative in its approach.
- Emphasises breath, control, and the quality of every movement over the quantity.
- Exceptional for rehabilitation, flexibility, and long-term joint health.
- Heart rate stays moderate — the work is neuromuscular, not cardiovascular.
Lagree
Created by Sebastien Lagree, on the Micro Pro
- A patented method with 184+ innovations built in.
- Builds deep core strength, muscle endurance, and metabolic conditioning, all at once.
- High intensity, low impact — demanding, without asking your joints to file a complaint.
- Emphasises slow tempo and sustained tension — the slower you move, the harder it works. Yes, on purpose.
- Exceptional for body transformation, muscle tone, and metabolic change.
- Heart rate climbs to 135–200 BPM — cardio and strength, negotiated into one 50-minute session.
The honest comparison
At a glance.
| Feature | Lagree |
|---|---|
| Impact on joints | Low impact |
| Intensity level | High intensity |
| Heart rate elevation | Significant — 135 to 200 BPM |
| Core focus | Deep and endurance-driven |
| Body transformation | Visible within weeks |
| Rehabilitation-friendly | With modifications |
| Mindfulness of movement | Built into the slow tempo |
| Session length at Tula | 50 minutes |
Our honest take
They don't compete. They complete each other.
Reformer Pilates is the foundation. It teaches you to move well — to connect with your body, breathe into effort, find stability before you go chasing strength. At Tula, it has always been the heart of what we do. That's not changing, not now, not ever.
Lagree is the next chapter. Once your body knows how to move properly, Lagree asks it to do more — to hold longer, work harder, and dig into the kind of deep muscular endurance that quietly rewrites how your body looks and feels over time.
The members who do both keep describing the same thing I've noticed myself: Pilates makes your Lagree sharper. Lagree makes your Pilates stronger. The two are in constant conversation inside your body, in a way neither can quite manage alone.
I
New to movement?
Start with Reformer Pilates. Build your foundation, get to know your body, develop the awareness that makes everything after this more effective.
II
Already a Pilates member?
You're ready for Lagree. That body awareness you've built is exactly the unfair advantage that makes Lagree work harder for you than for anyone else in the room.
III
Want both?
That's the Tula practice. Two methods, one community, one studio. I'm building it here at Al Furjan, and it's everything I hoped it would be.
Both classes are yours at Tula. The only real question left is where you want to start.