This Thoroughly Modern Fitness Tool Brings Countless Instructor-Led Gym Classes into Your Home

Scouting Report: The MIRROR fitness tool is unlike any other you'll try. You can use pre-recorded workouts as well as attend live classes, all with the ability to monitor your form at home.

The first time you step in front of the MIRROR, you might be skeptical, maybe even self-conscious. How is this going to be all that different from doing a workout tape like people have been using since the first time neon spandex and leg warmers were cool? After all, isn’t what you’re doing just following along to a pre-recorded workout routine?

MIRROR Fitness Tool

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Well yes, inasmuch as you are indeed doing a pre-recorded workout routine. But said routine will be picked based on the time you want to spend (15 minutes all the way up to an hour), the type of workout you want to complete (arm and chest-focused strength, yoga, kickboxing, total body fitness, and so forth), your desired level of challenge (amateur through advanced, e.g.) and, as you get familiar with the trainers, you can choose your favorite instructors, too.

But hey, lots of workout videos offer that level of customization, right? Sure, albeit not all in one easy-to-navigate package controlled via smartphone or tablet app. What truly takes a MIRROR workout to the next level is the physical mirror itself. Your instructor appears there on the screen, his or her presence a verisimilitude of in-person presence, and what’s more, you see yourself as well. It’s not about vanity, it’s about form. Does your shoulder position or leg spacing – wait for it – mirror that of the trainer? You can self-correct in real time, something no Jane Fonda workout tape or YouTube video can ever help with.

It’s strange, because it is a pre-recorded experience, not a live one, but the motivation is close to what you feel when participating in a class at a gym. I know this, because right up until the pandemic shutdown, I did Orange Theory classes several times a week, and until I started using a MIRROR, no home workouts I tried came close to replicating the experience.

And for the record, so far we have only talked about the pre-recorded classes. Each and every day you can also participate in live classes, as well. A remote instructor leads you and a few dozen (or often a few hundred) other MIRROR athletes through a workout in real time, regularly calling out to participants just like a trainer would in a physical gym setting. And again, while a bit unusual at first, soon you find yourself strangely committed to the workout, despite being in your own living room, garage, or, in my case, basement laundry room. It also doubles as a regular old mirror when you’re not working out (just like that elliptical doubles as a closet, right?) and it doesn’t take up any floor space when not in use.

Want to take it one step farther? You can book one-on-one live training sessions with instructors, too. They cost extra, sure, but not as much as flying your favorite trainer in and booking them an Uber to your door.

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