Since the start of the pandemic, at-home workouts have been king. If you're already working from home, why go out into the world to get a workout in? Decking out a home gym means you'll skip out on gym membership fees and you'll never have to worry about smelling other people's sweat while you exercise.
For folks who don't have the cash or the space to build out a full home gym, fitness mirrors are the next best thing. These wall-mounted or freestanding workout machines bring studio-style workouts to your living room with minimal space required. Launched back in 2018 and rebranded in Sept. 2022, the Lululemon Studio Mirror was the first of its kind in the fitness tech space, and it's held up to a whole onslaught of competitors since then.
What is the Lululemon Studio Mirror? How does the Lululemon Studio Mirror work?
The Lululemon Studio Mirror is just that — a mirror that also doubles as a screen to stream live and on-demand workout classes from home. It acts as an actual mirror when the screen is turned on or off, allowing you to check your form during workouts while blending into your home decor when not in use. While some fitness mirrors are touchscreens, the Studio Mirror doesn't have touch capabilities. Instead, it's controlled through a partner smartphone app where you can select classes, music, and more.
Upfront, the Lululemon Studio Mirror costs $995 (a steep $500 discount from its original retail price of $1,495) with no added accessories and requires a $39 per month membership to access all of the classes through the app. There are also other more expensive packages that include workout bands, a heart rate monitor, or Mirror's new smart weights if you want to up the ante of your workouts from the get-go.
When turned on, the Studio Mirror shows a trainer on the screen leading the selected workout class. Simultaneously, the paired smartphone app will give you all the necessary controls to customize your experience, from music selection to volume to time elapsed. Lululemon Studio also offers personal training sessions that use the device's installed camera, but these cost extra on top of the membership fee.
What types of workouts does the Lululemon Studio Mirror have?
After the big rebrand from Mirror to Lululemon Studio Mirror towards the end of 2022, Studio Mirror owners got access to tons more classes — many from popular boutique fitness studios. New partners include DOGPOUND, Y7 Studio, AARMY, Rumble, FORWARD_Space, Pure Barre, Yoga Six, and AKT. All of these new additions make the price of the Studio Mirror and monthly membership way more worth it than they were previously.
Mirror offers the following workout types: dance cardio, pre/postnatal, Latin dance, meditation, barre, kickboxing, stretch, pilates, competitive, ballet, strength, boxing, cardio and strength, yoga flow, kettlebell, weight training, sculpt, family fun, arms and abs, restorative yoga, chair, tai chi, and bootcamp — six more categories than were offered before the rebrand. Within each of these genres, all classes can be filtered by difficulty, length (from five minutes to 60 minutes), instructor, equipment needed, impact, and history (whether you've taken the class or not/bookmarked it).
In addition to thousands of on-demand classes, there's a pretty decked-out schedule of live and encore classes if you want to really get into the studio feel. In terms of new live classes, there are about 10 to 15 per day depending on the day of the week.
In comparison to other workout apps, the Mirror is very beginner friendly. There's a whole slew of beginner-level classes that require zero equipment, so it's motivating for folks who don't have built-up strength just yet. With the addition of so many new studios, there's basically a class for every type of user. During testing, the Rumble and Y7 Yoga classes were my favorite. I actually used to attend both of these studios in-person pre-pandemic, so bringing the classes into my home feels extra special. For folks who want to do more serious lifting with the Mirror, you'll have to have your own weights or invest in a set of Mirror's smart weights.
Is the Lululemon Studio Mirror worth it?
The Lululemon Studio Mirror will be worth it for a few groups of people:
Folks who go to (or previously went to) in-person studio classes and are looking to save money
People who want a home gym but don't have the space for multiple machines
People who prefer body weight and free weight exercises to cardio
If you previously paid for an in-person studio membership (which can cost hundreds of dollars per month depending on location), the Lululemon Studio Mirror will save you some money after the initial upfront cost and a few months of the membership fee. The mirror is a cool piece of tech that allows you to watch yourself while working out and gives you a real studio experience during live classes, but it doesn't give you the form corrections some other fitness mirrors do and doesn't include any strength training equipment.
If you're dead set on having a fitness mirror and plan to take live classes, the Lululemon Studio Mirror is a solid option. We get that buying a high-tech, pricey piece of fitness equipment can be a big motivating factor for some folks, and if that's you, feel free to take the plunge. Getting your money's worth on the Mirror will definitely require you to use it regularly, which may mean you end up working out more than if you just had a fitness app membership.
Now that the Lululemon Studio Mirror is sitting at a retail price of $995 with frequent sales and discounts dropping the price into the $700s, we recommend it more than we did when the price was $1,495. While the brand recently added even more boutique fitness classes from cult-favorite studios like DOGPOUND, Y7 Studio, Rumble, and more, Lululemon hasn't raised the monthly membership price from the original $39 per month price point. In comparison to fitness mirrors like Tonal, which have skyrocketed by up to $1,000 in price since launch, the Lululemon Studio Mirror is a great bang for your buck — especially if you get it during a sale.
On the flip side, if you don't care about live classes, having the tech, or being able to see yourself while you work out, getting a Peloton membership or other fitness app membership and playing it on your TV will give you a similar, cheaper experience.
UPDATE: Mar. 21, 2023, 5:00 a.m. EDT This story has been updated to reflect the Lululemon Studio Mirror rebrand.
Topics Reviews Mashable Choice Fitness Tech
