Published: Nov 18, 2019: Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
- Published: Nov 18, 2019.
- Running Shoes & Gear.
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Connected fitness has invaded our home gyms, so you can join a studio class whenever your schedule permits. Take, for example, Peloton’s Tread and bike, where you have high-energy trainers putting you through morning intervals or a spin session. NordicTrack treadmills have a coaching feature that guides you through a run, and the machine itself automatically responds to changes in speed and incline. And now, you can do more than run or ride with Mirror, which is basically a high-tech shiny television that beams top-notch trainers into your living room.
What It Is
Hanging on your wall, Mirror looks like, well, a mirror. But you won’t hide this full-length reflective surface on the backside of your bedroom door. Instead, it’s designed to be positioned in your living room or workout space, where you can spread a yoga mat and have room to do pushups or swing kettlebells.
Fire it up, open the app on your phone, and select a live or prerecorded class to take. There are a wide range of workouts, including cardio, strength, yoga, HIIT, and more. An instructor appears and coaches you through each move, and you can see your form alongside the instructor’s to ensure you’re doing each rep correctly. We found the speakers are loud enough that you can clearly hear directions for each move, plus you can independently control the volume of the instructor’s voice and the background music.
Why We Like It
There’s a huge library of classes already on the new platform, and classes are being added every day from a broad range of instructors. Our test staff loved that variety most of all. One editor recovering from a recent marathon opted for 15-minute stretch sessions and light cardio workouts to shake the soreness and get back to fitness. Another editor, though, preferred intense 30-minute strength workouts at lunch and post-work yoga routines.
In any situation, we love that we can check our form right there on the screen, just as if we were in a gym. And the instructors are engaging, with a high energy level that makes the time zip by. They even give real-time shout-outs to people taking the classes, much like you’d get in an actual studio.
We also love that we can take any class at whatever time that fits our schedule. Put the kids to bed and end the day with yoga? Sure. Want to wake up with a cup of coffee and a cardio bootcamp? You can. And you can see others are doing the same, with names and locations displayed across the mirror.
Not Quite the Real Thing
Our testers said that while they loved the instructors and flexible scheduling, the experience isn’t quite the same as taking a real studio class. First, the Mirror is fairly narrow, so if you do a side hop you’ll numbers out of view of the screen—and your reflection. It’s a small annoyance, but one tester realized just how intently he was checking his form on some moves.
Plus, you’re actually alone. While Mirror includes names of other class participants on the screen, there’s no info beyond a name and city. “Even knowing Raul in NYC was doing the same workout, it didn’t have the energy (and, yes, competitiveness) I feed off in classes,” said another tester.
But, the Mirror’s convenience factor can outweigh those minor gripes, says our test team, if you’re committed to at-home strength sessions—and have $1,495 to spend up front.
Jeff is Runner-in-Chief for Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
