It feels like every muscle in my body is quaking as I attempt to “pike” on a Megaformer machine. I am at Psycle’s newest outpost in London Bridge, trying the fitness studio’s Lagree class, and realising in live time that whatever I thought I was doing to stay in shape had absolutely not been working. The name Megaformer should tell you everything you need to know. It’s a contraption with not one but two moveable platforms, and has more bars, additional straps and more springs than a regular Pilates reformer. The “pike” involves leaning my forearms on one platform while my toes grip on the other behind me, which I am supposed to move back and forth while raising my bum into a downward dog. As the sweat pools I look over at my modelesque neighbour, who is gracefully piking back and forth, and incorporating the additional modifications for the experts in the class. I wonder if I will die to the soundtrack of Dua Lipa’s Levitating.
I have put myself in the line of fire because I am aware that this studio, among the first to bring luxury boutique fitness to London, is behind some of the capital’s most toned physiques. And damn it, I want in.
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The London Bridge studio was opened in response to the growing interest in cross-training
Psycle was opened in 2014 as London’s answer to the boutique studio trend. It launched as a single spinning studio on Mortimer Street, and in the years that followed it has opened seven studios across London (Notting Hill, London Bridge, Shoreditch, Victoria, Oxford Circus, Bank Street and Clapham). Now it teaches seven different exercise techniques, employs 105 instructors and has over 2,500 members. The classes include cycling, barre and reformer Pilates, Lagree, strength, infrared classes and yoga. Psycle takes an “immersive” approach to exercise, meaning all the studios are dimly lit and have high-end audio systems. When it comes to instructors, only the most engaging and well-trained make the cut. It also helps that the studios are clean and sleekly appointed, plus stocked with Sachajuan shampoo, conditioner and body wash, GHD blow dryers and straighteners and ColourWow leave-in conditioners.
Over the last decade Psycle has been agile with its offerings, updating its roster of classes in response to the latest exercise trends. The London Bridge studio was opened in early 2026 to respond to the growing interest in cross-training and creating optimised workout “splits” for the best results. At this studio, the idea is that you alternate between spinning and Lagree, bringing together cardio training with strength training, a combination that Alvin Moros, the head of ride at Psycle, tells me is a highly effective way to approach your fitness. “Different training systems actually create the most functional body and mindset,” he shares. “People want to burn calories through their cardio, but we want to build muscle around that as well, because if you just go into eating less and doing cardio, you’re going to lose muscle.”
Instructors at Psycle are engaging and highly trained
Lagree was created by a French-American fitness professional, Sebastien Lagree, and is a higher-intensity, more strength-focused form of reformer Pilates. Rather than using a traditional reformer machine, Lagree uses the bigger, more robust Megaformer. Part of the challenge stems from the focus on slow movements that emphasise “time under tension”. As one of my instructors put it, “This isn’t really Pilates, this is strength training.”
Meanwhile the studio’s ride classes offer a high-intensity, low-impact way to get your cardio in. There is a no-phone policy in every class and performance metrics are intentionally excluded. “It’s so people can feel safe that they’re not competing against themselves. They can just come in and switch off,” says Maria Eleftheriou, the brand’s director of concepts. Moros explained that the music is programmed “to keep people working without exhausting them, while also keeping them excited”. This is certainly true — you almost always leave a class wanting to keep dancing.
I’ll admit that when I started my stint at Psycle I was eager to try Lagree, but sceptical that I would enjoy dusting off the old cycling cleats. I grew up in California in the heyday of SoulCycle, where between 2012 and 2016 every fancy teenager, twentysomething yuppie and yummy mummy across the state was driving around with spinning shoes in the trunks of their cars. They were fighting for both the parking spots in front of the studios and the affections of whichever instructor had become a local celebrity. The experience was stressful (read cultish), tough on your body and didn’t offer the variety — or the full spectrum of results — that coupling it with strength training can. Eventually I burnt out (completely unrelated to being bitter about never getting a candle placed at my feet during the final song, I swear).
The ride classes offer a high-intensity, low-impact way to get your cardio in
But at Psycle I was pleased to find I actually enjoyed bringing the higher-intensity cardio back into my routine, which for the last eight years has mostly consisted of yoga and walking. Not only did Psycle’s version of spinning feel more down to earth, I had also forgotten that it’s a lot more fun to move your body to great music in a dark room for 45 minutes than dragging yourself on a run. I also conveniently encountered some news that will probably keep me on the bike for the long haul. A study has found that 117 to 586 minutes of aerobic exercise a week (between 17 and 80 minutes a day) was one of the more powerful cancer prevention tactics. According to the study there is compelling evidence that it can even help limit cancer mortality. And if that’s not enough, there’s also the endorphins. They’re no joke.
What makes Psycle’s new cross training proposition so great is that it offers a clear plan of action — perfect for flakes like me — which also includes the variation needed to see a change and not get bored. Pretty soon after my initial near-death experience, I started to leave classes feeling stronger than ever, more full of energy, and also like I’d just had a hit of club music — freeing me from ever worrying about going to an actual club again. As Eleftheriou put it, the space provides “escapism in the best possible way”.
Details Unlimited memberships are £350 per month, psycle.com