Gym Dandy

Five new fitness clubs that are hard-core, exclusive and ready for their close-ups

- BY CAROLINE AKSICH

Reformd

Neighbourhood: Entertainment District Who Goes Here: The mat-Pilates-is-forpeasants crowd Best Perk: Flattering selfie lighting Bougie Factor: 4/5 What It Costs: $34 per visit or $360 a month for unlimited classes

The punishing Pilates-adjacent workout known as Lagree has a cult following.

It’s long been rumoured to be the secret behind toned, firm celebrity bodies—at least pre-Ozempic. The draw is as much status as sweat: you're not just working out; you're joining a sect, and each muscle quake is a revelation.

Reformd, Sweat and Tonic’s new Lagree studio, leans into that devotion. It's housed in a super-luxe 6,000-square-foot space with a private lobby, heated floors in the change rooms and fancy toiletries. In the main studio, 30 gleaming Mega Pro machines are arranged in rows beneath an instructor platform, altar-style. Most Lagree studios squeeze in a dozen machines, but Reformd expands the boutique burn into a full-blown congregation.

The Mega Pro looks like a medieval torture rack reimagined by a sci-fi set designer: a carriage that slides between two platforms with handlebars at each end, plus springs, straps and pulleys. From the outside, the workout appears modest, all slow lunges and tiny pulses, but that seemingly relaxed pace makes muscles beg for mercy. Salvation comes by way of quads on fire.

Since opening in 2019, Sweat and Tonic has perfected the nightclub-meets-gym aesthetic, and Reformd carries that DNA. It’s fitness in rave drag: pounding bass and pulsing lights create a sensory overload that distracts from the brutality of the workout.