What to wear for Lagree, and which socks?

Grip socks, the only real piece of equipment

Lagree is practised on a machine with a moving part: the carriage slides on rails while your feet or hands press on it, or on the fixed platforms at each end. In many exercises, one foot is on the platform and the other on the carriage. The grip of your footing is part of safety, which is why grip socks are essential on the Micro Pro.

An ordinary sock slips on the carriage as soon as the position becomes unstable, which happens often: that balance work is part of the method. With a grip sole, you stay focused on the movement rather than on your feet. You never step onto the machine in shoes.

• Socks with grip dots or a non-slip sole, like those sold for yoga or Pilates.
• No need to look for a special Lagree model: any pair of grip socks will do.
• No pair? RYTHM lends them.

Close-fitting clothes, to move and to be corrected

Choose sportswear you are comfortable in and that follows your movements: leggings or sports shorts, a fitted top. There are two reasons. First, on the carriage, loose clothing can catch or get in the way during planks and lunges. Second, the coach needs to see your alignment to correct it: at RYTHM, there are six people at most per class, one per machine, and every position is corrected individually.

Pick a breathable fabric: the method is slow, but the muscle stays under tension from start to finish, and you will feel it. If you have long hair, tie it back: many exercises are done in a plank, head down.

What is best avoided

A few details matter more than you might think on a carriage machine. None of the following stops you from coming, but avoiding them makes the class more comfortable and safer. If in doubt, wear what you would wear for a yoga or Pilates class: that is exactly the right kind of outfit.

• Very loose clothing or wide trousers, which catch in the carriage or hide the position of your knees.
• Zips, buttons and metal accessories, which rub or catch when you lie or lean on the carriage.
• Jewellery: rings, bracelets and watches get in the way of your grip on the handles and platforms.
• Socks without grip, and shoes even more so.

Why so little equipment is enough

Lagree needs no dumbbells, no resistance bands and no trainers: all the resistance comes from the machine. The Micro Pro sets the effort with springs, which the coach adjusts machine by machine. A beginner and a trained athlete can therefore follow the same class, side by side, with different settings.

That is also why the only two things left to you matter so much. Your footing, on the carriage and the platforms, is your only contact with the machine: hence grip socks. And your position is what the coach corrects for fifty minutes: hence clothing that lets it be seen. The machine and the coach take care of the rest.

What the studio lends, what you bring

At RYTHM, you have nothing to buy before coming. The studio lends grip socks if you have none: just ask when you arrive. Bring something to drink, and your sportswear. For any other practical question, the studio answers on 06 48 78 20 11 (+33 6 48 78 20 11 from abroad).

Arrive ten minutes early. That time is for getting set up on the machine with the coach: where to put your feet on the carriage, how to set the resistance, how to get on and off. The guide to your first class covers it all, from booking to the first sensations, and the article on the Micro Pro describes the machine itself.

Trying it at RYTHM, in Carmes

RYTHM Lagree Studio runs its Lagree classes in Toulouse at JBM Sports, 32 rue du Languedoc, 31000 Toulouse, 100 metres from Carmes metro station. Each class lasts fifty minutes and takes six people at most. The class can be taught in English on request.

The trial class costs €30, with no commitment. It is booked online from the site, or in the Xplor Active app with the studio code Rythmlagree.