About

We are all about results and community. 
The best of Pilates and strength training all in one efficient, effective, 45 minute workout. Sculpt long, lean muscles and build epic core strength, all without impact on the joints! 
Lagree is great for getting back in shape, pregnant and postpartum moms, athletes looking for cross-training, and anyone who wants serious results. There's a reason why actors, models, and professional athletes do Lagree to stay fit and cross train. These stars have access to the best of everything, and they choose Lagree! Swing by Motion Lab to find out why!
Woman exercising with resistance bands in a gym, with other people in the background working out and a large mirror reflecting the scene.

Challenge Your Body, Transform Your Mind

Why is Lagree so effective?

A woman with long blonde hair exercising on a treadmill in a dark room with pink and purple lighting. 
  • Because it incorporates strength, endurance, cardio, balance, core, and flexibility in EVERY SINGLE MOVE, not just in every single class.
  • Slow, continuous tension of all major muscle groups increases heart rate, giving you a great cardio workout. More cardio = more calories burned during the workout. 
  • Slow, continuous movement also engages the slow-twitch, fat burning, lean muscle building fibers. More slow-twitch muscles recruited = more “afterburn effect” = more calories burned after the workout, long after you have finished exercising. 
  • Low impact = safe for joints = you can push yourself while minimizing injury risk. 
  • Because it’s FUN! And it FEELS GOOD! Why not do a workout you actually enjoy?
Group of women doing exercise on treadmills in a gym, with a woman in front leading a workout class, smiling, wearing pink shorts and a white top.

What to Expect

  • To work hard and have FUN!
  • Each client will have their own Megaformer, ample personal space, and plenty of attention from their instructor.
  • Expect to shake and sweat during the class, and to be sore 1-2 days later!

Our Story

A young man and woman pose together in a gym. The man is standing behind the woman, both smiling at the camera. The woman is wearing a pink sports bra and matching leggings, and the man is wearing a blue t-shirt. The gym equipment is visible in the background.

WE BUILT THE STUDIO WE WANTED TO EXIST.

Motion Lab started with a simple idea:

What if working out could make your life better—not just change the way your body looks?

I fell in love with Lagree because it was unlike anything else I had tried. It was challenging without being high impact. It made me feel strong. It pushed me mentally and physically. And somehow, 45 minutes on a Megaformer could completely reset my day.

When I came home to Iowa, I couldn't find anything like it.

So we built it.

FROM AN IDEA TO IOWA'S ORIGINAL LAGREE STUDIO

When we opened Motion Lab, we wanted to bring something new to Des Moines.

But we didn't just want to open a fitness studio.

We wanted to build the studio of our dreams.

A place with incredibly effective workouts and instructors who actually teach you how to do them.

A place that feels beautiful and elevated without feeling pretentious.

A dark room, loud music, shaking muscles, laughter, and people who genuinely like being around each other.

A place where you can walk in after a terrible day and walk out feeling a little more like yourself.

And most importantly, a place where people feel welcome.

You don't need the right outfit.

You don't need to look a certain way.

You don't need to already be fit.

You just have to show up.

THEN I BECAME A MOM.

Becoming a mom changed the way I thought about fitness.

Suddenly, strength meant something different.

I didn't just want to be strong because I liked the way it made me look or because I could hold a harder position on the Megaformer.

I wanted to be strong for my life.

I wanted the core strength to carry my growing family.

I wanted the energy to keep up with my child.

I wanted to take care of my body so that hopefully, decades from now, I'm still moving, traveling, playing, and doing the things I love with the people I love.

And I needed an outlet.

Something healthy that was mine.

Because when you spend your days taking care of patients, employees, children, families, clients—or anyone else—it's incredibly easy to put yourself at the bottom of the list.

Sometimes you need 45 minutes where nobody needs anything from you.

Motion Lab became that place for me.

HELPING THE PEOPLE WHO HELP EVERYONE ELSE

I'm a physician, a mom, a business owner, a wife, a friend—and like so many of our members, there are days when it feels like I'm carrying a hundred things at once.

That's shaped what I want Motion Lab to be.

I want this to be a place for the nurse coming off a long shift.

The attorney walking out of a stressful day.

The mom who has spent the last ten hours taking care of everyone except herself.

The woman in her 50s who wants to feel strong and athletic again.

The pregnant mom learning to trust a changing body.

The person who hasn't worked out in years and finally decided today's the day.

And the person who already loves fitness and wants to be challenged in an entirely different way.

Our members don't all look the same.

They don't have the same jobs, bodies, ages, fitness levels, or lives.

But they have something in common:

They're here because they want to become stronger.

STRONGER FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.

Yes, we love seeing our members' bodies change.

We love hearing that someone feels muscles she didn't know she had or that her core is stronger than it's ever been.

But some of my favorite Motion Lab milestones have nothing to do with appearance.

It's the member who realizes she can finally hold the move she couldn't do six months ago.

The pregnant mom who continues showing up and moving her body.

The woman who came in intimidated and now walks through the door like she owns the place.

The friendships that started on neighboring Megaformers.

The person who tells us that Motion Lab is the best part of a really difficult day.

Because eventually, you realize that the strength you're building in that dark room doesn't stay there.

You start believing:

I can do hard things.

And you take that feeling home with you.

MORE THAN A WORKOUT.

What started as Iowa's first Lagree studio has grown into two Motion Lab communities in West Des Moines and Ankeny.

And as we've grown, what matters to us hasn't changed.

We want to provide exceptional workouts.

We want our instructors to know their stuff.

We want you to get stronger.

But we also want to add something positive to your life.

In a world that can sometimes feel stressful, negative, and disconnected, we want Motion Lab to be a place of movement, encouragement, laughter, connection, and strength.

Come after the best day.

Come after the worst one.

Come when you feel strong.

Come when you don't.

We'll turn down the lights, turn up the music, and give you 45 minutes to yourself.

The workout is hard. The people are good. And there's always a place for you here.

— Ellie & Matt
Founders, Motion Lab

WEST DES MOINES • ANKENY