As the weather cools down as we inch closer to fall, many of us are seeking a new fitness routine tailored to the season. While outdoor walks may have been your go-to workout of the summer, the Lagree and Guan Jing methods are the perfect workout as you transition into your fall and winter workout routine.
Created by experts Sebastien Lagree and Ting Ting Guan, these fall-focused workouts help maintain and build strength, while also restoring mobility, balance, and a sense of inner calmness. Even better, these unique workouts are adaptable for all levels, providing the sustainable results you seek. Below, Lagree and Guan share their best tips on how to start these low-impact, high-result workouts this autumn.
What is the Lagree Method?
Lagree fitness is a type of high-intensity, low-impact workout that is designed to build strength, endurance, and core stability — all in one efficient session. Created by
Lagree explains that this workout is one of the only ones that combines low and high-intensity workouts into one. Typically, this exercise will take place on what is known as a “Megaformer”, a device that was originally inspired by the Pilates reformer. Exercises like planks and lunges are performed, yet with a unique twist. Additionally, many Lagree-specific exercises are performed, designed to focus on the timing of the muscle contraction with super slow movements and isokinetic movements. Similar to pilates, classes are about 50 minutes and provide a full-body workout that’s not quite as intense as a HIIT workout.
Many high-profile celebrities, including Meghan Markle, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Obama, and Jennifer Aniston, use this workout method to maintain tone and metabolism as outdoor activity slows in the cooler weather. Using slow, controlled movements keeps the body’s muscles under constant tension, sculpting, strengthening, and improving endurance without joint strain. For celebrities and those with busy schedules, Lagree offers super quick results, another attractive benefit.
What a Lagree routine can look like
In general, Lagree recommends that this workout routine be performed two to three times per week for the first six weeks, adding one more session for the next 6 months. Eventually, you’ll be able to work yourself up to two sessions per day. This exercise plan focuses heavily on endurance, which means you’ll need to allow time to work up your stamina.
Who should try Lagree?
Lagree exercises are a great option for individuals seeking a high-intensity, low-impact exercise that produces steady results. Unlike traditional HIIT exercises, “You have less chance of hurting yourself moving and controlling the weight vs. lifting the weight with zero control. Plus, you get more muscle fiber activation the slower you move,” says Lagree. Lagree recommends this exercise program for beginners who seek a challenging workout that is slightly more intense than Pilates.
What is the GuanJing Method?
Created by trauma-informed embodiment teacher Ting Ting Guan herself, the GuanJing Method features somatic movement and sound-based practice blends Chinese medicine, martial arts principles, and modern nervous system science. This type of exercise helps release tension, improve mobility, and regulate the nervous system—making it ideal for counteracting seasonal stress, stiffness, and fatigue. The name GuanJing method carries its essence in the name itself, as it translates to “moving through life’s steepest challenges”, with the grace of wind weaving through cliffs, and the persistence of water carving valleys through stone.
Unlike yoga and pilates, Guan says GuanJing creates a balance that is “Both powerful and graceful, disciplined yet nourishing, meditative yet alive with expression to dance with the energies within. It is meditation in motion.” The method helps regulate the nervous system and build resilience during seasonal shifts by guiding the body back into harmony with nature’s rhythms (making it a great exercise practice for the fall). Unlike intense, overstimulating exercises, this method focuses on teaching the art of moving with ease, helping to calm the mind and release stored tension in the fascia and the muscles.
In discussing the GuanJing method, I also discovered that the practice is often paired with an intentional sound, such as a gentle sigh, hum, or healing tones. “These vibrations move through the tissues and organs, helping to dislodge stagnant energy and unprocessed emotions that the body often holds. This combination creates a release that is both physiological and emotional: muscles unwind, fascia loosens, and the heart feels lighter,” she shares.
What a GuanJing routine can look like
Practicing GuanJing is easy to work into your routine, requiring only short 30-minute sessions. For example, Guan recommends a 30-minute practice that has the GuanJing Basic Forms Sweeping Autumn Leaves”, “Coffee Press”, “Bathing in Radiance”, and “ Opening the Heavenly Gates,” which all focus on opening the chest and lung cavity, sending energy downward, and the cleansing of the auric field.
Many of these practices include grounding techniques, such as gentle breathwork, mindful awareness, and warm-ups of the spiraling formations to release tension and quiet the nervous system. From a physical standpoint, these grounding movements also encourage the Large Intestine’s function of release, paired with an emotional release that encourages downward energy without the pelvis. A GuanJing routine can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the type of movements and sequences performed.
Who should try GuanJing?
If you’re looking for something different than a traditional high-intensity workout, the soft, gentle movements of the GuanJing method may be worth trying. Per Guan, the movements in these exercises are simple and ancient. She compares the method to leaves falling. “The leaves constantly remind us of letting the dead things fall away. Shaking off any habits, ideals, stories in our head, tension we hold in our bodies that are elevating us deeper into our purpose and joy.” Anyone who finds high-intensity workouts to be too much for their nervous system may find the gentle nature of GuanJing more suitable.
