Meet Yoo Mee From Studio Novo

Studio Novo instructor, Yoo Mee sat down with us to  tell us more about eight years of practicing the Lagree method. She trained with the founder of Lagree, Sebastien Lagree, and she opened up her own studio in Columbus, Ohio.

Born and raised in California, Yoo Mee has been an avid fan of Lagree Fitness since 2007. Having rowed competitively in college she had developed a healthy but thick figure. Introduced to Lagree Fitness at Pilates Plus West Hollywood by one of her coworkers, Yoo Mee fell in love with the workout immediately and experienced amazing results after just a short time, completely changing her body. After working out at Pilates Plus taking classes with Sebastien Lagree for over three years, she was transferred to Washington DC for work and tried every type of group fitness to try and replicate the same results she received from Lagree Fitness. With no success, she found herself in Columbus, Ohio two years later and decided to open a studio just so she could have her workout back. After opening and operating her studio in Columbus for two years and opening a second, she decided to get back into corporate America and started to look for jobs only where there was a Lagree Fitness studio, where she found herself in Nashville and is excited to be teaching at Studio Novo. She is Lagree Fitness certified having completed five various levels of training in Los Angeles, Boulder and Columbus and has been trained by Sebastien Lagree founder of the method. Additionally, she is a Mad Dogg certified Spinning instructor.

WS: With six  years of experience in Lagree, what can you tell students that you have learned over the  years?

Mee: I have learned that Lagree Fitness is one of the safest and most effective workouts for all levels of fitness. Sebastien was originally a body builder, so he understands muscle structure, how to build muscle mass and lean out the body, with his Pilates training he teaches the importance of a balanced body which is so integral to yoga and Pilates. Lagree Fitness marries the two principals of building muscle and creating a balanced body to create a workout which is incredibly effective and safe on the joints and spine. I have also learned that the body is much more capable and stronger than we can conceptualize, we all just need a little push to get us there.

WS: Lagree fitness is your part time job, what is your full time job?

Mee: I am a business analyst for Brookdale Senior Living in Brentwood. I am a numbers junkie, I love to find trends and understand the data to predict future performance.

WS: Even though Lagree is part time for you, what keeps you involved?

Mee: One of the things that I love about Lagree Fitness is that it is truly evolutionary. Sebastien is constantly developing the workout and modifying it based on his research with his team of engineers, doctors, physiologists. It isn’t like other workouts in that it stays static. If he sees that something can be improved upon, like the way you do an exercise, he is not afraid of changing it whereas in other types of workout have developed their method and it rarely changes. As an example when I started out with Lagree in 2007, a significant portion of the exercises were done on the back because it was supportive of the spine and allowed people to develop and strengthen the core, today very few exercises are done laying down because Sebastien has created exercises that achieve the same result but also integrate other muscle groups and strengthen the core at the same time, making that one or two minutes of the exercise much more efficient and effective. I have a great respect for his continuous quest to make a better workout even though the workout is amazing the way it was in 2007, the way it is today, and the way it will be as he continuously modifies and improves it.

WS: Each instructor is different, what sets you apart from other instructors?

Mee: I think the thing that sets me apart the most from the other instructors is that I push hard. I know in my own workouts if I am given an easy and a hard option, I tend to choose the easy, so if I am only given the one option and realize I am capable I will power through it even if given modifications to make it easier. So in my classes I tend to give the option that pushes everybody and then give modifications for those that actually need it. Our bodies don’t change unless we get out of our comfort zones and I tend to push everyone into the uncomfortable zone at the start instead of the other way around.

Thanks so much Yoo Mee. And you are interested in taking one of her classes, visit Studio Novo Cool Springs located at 9040 Carothers Parkway, Franklin on Thursday evening from 5:45-6:45.  Your first class is always FREE at Studio Novo.  Make your reservation online at Studio Novo. 

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