As a body-conscious 20-something, you can trust me when I say that I’ve tried many workouts in Manila. Indoor cycling, group boxing, CrossFit, yoga, Muay Thai, a regular gym — you name it, I’ve probably tried it in the name of looking good naked. Recently, Ultra Lagree opened in Estancia Mall in Capitol Commons, Pasig City, and you bet your bubble butt I was there to try it out.
But first things first: What in Manila Hell is Ultra Lagree? For the uninitiated (myself included), the Lagree workout was founded by Sebastian Lagree. It’s a high-intensity, low-impact, full-body workout that targets your core strength, cardiovascular endurance, balance and flexibility. If that sounds like a mouthful, that’s because it is. It’s intense. People have compared it to Pilates, which I have not tried, but I’ve heard that it, too, is intense.
But don’t get me wrong: this isn’t just another rich tita workout. Before the class begins, you’re told by the instructor that you won’t actually burn a lot of calories doing Lagree, compared to, say, indoor cycling. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s useless. It’s kind of a low-and-slow workout, with lots of repetitions per movement. First, you get on the Megaformer — a contraption that looks like a massage bed of sorts, with a sliding board in the middle and two static, smaller platforms on both ends. Beneath this little bed are springs that you can attach to the machine’s front to add resistance.