The Lululemon Studio Mirror Replicates (Much) of the Magic of In-Person Exercise Classes

When it’s time for a workout, I typically pick something that gets me out of my home, which also doubles as my office. I relish a change of scenery and often choose to break a sweat outside, whether that’s by running, walking, hiking, or biking. Sometimes, to switch things up, I’ll go to the gym to swim, strength train, or take a yoga or indoor cycling class—the camaraderie of which makes it easier for me to push myself.

But as anyone with a busy schedule can tell you, it’s not always possible to get out of the house for a quick session, which can make at-home workouts come in clutch. In fact, for tons of folks they really are the best-slash-preferred way to fit in exercise, in large part because they save you time and the hassle of commuting. Plus, a recent influx of smart fitness equipment means at-home workouts are becoming more advanced and better able to replicate the experience of an in-person session.

So when I got the chance to test out the Lululemon Studio Mirror, I was intrigued yet skeptical. Could this be the at-home fitness tech that finally changes my mind?

About the Lululemon Studio Mirror

The Lululemon Studio Mirror is aptly named: It’s a full-length mirror that, once switched on and paired with the Lululemon Studio app, turns into a giant screen where you can stream at-home workouts. The instructor appears on the screen as a cut-out figure, which leaves ample space so you can see yourself and compare your form to what’s being demoed.

Through the Lululemon Studio app, you can stream an impressive variety of content to the Studio Mirror, including 19 different workout genres (think: barre, boxing, cardio, dance, yoga, strength, and tai chi) as well as content from eight big-name fitness studios, such as Dogpound, Pure Barre, Y7, and Rumble Boxing. You can take Lululemon Studio classes live or on-demand; those from other fitness studios are prerecorded and available on-demand only.

The basic Lululemon Studio Mirror is priced at $995, and the Lululemon Studio app membership costs an additional $39 per month with a one-year minimum commitment. With your subscription you can add up to five household members—each of whom can have their own profile—to your account for no additional cost.

How I Tested

I tested a sample of the Studio Mirror courtesy of the Lululemon team. My review is guided by SELF’s expert-recommended criteria for evaluating high-tech at-home fitness systems, which includes factors such as equipment requirements, instructor credentials, and the quality of the display and instruction.

Over the course of three weeks, I took 11 classes on the Studio Mirror that ranged in length (5 to 45 minutes), difficulty level (beginner to advanced), and workout type (Pilates, barre, strength, chair yoga, bodyweight Tabata, and more). Here’s my full Lululemon Studio Mirror review.

A delivery and installation team brought the Studio Mirror to my home and set it up in a corner of the basement that my fiancé and I jokingly refer to as “the dungeon” due to the minimal natural light and lackluster ambiance. The process was incredibly seamless and took about 10 minutes tops. I was impressed off the bat with how visually appealing the Studio Mirror is: The carbon steel frame is coated in a mineral bronze powder, which gives the product a sophisticated look, and there’s a nice sepia tint to the screen, which adds an extra-luxe feel.

Once the installation team departed, I turned on the Studio Mirror with a simple button click, downloaded the Lululemon Studio app, followed basic instructions for synching, and filled out a simple questionnaire on the app. This asked about my fitness goals, preferred activities, if I had any physical limitations (like knee, back, or wrist issues), and what exercise equipment I have access to. In all, this portion of the setup took me about 10 minutes to complete. As someone who is embarrassingly un-tech-savvy at times, I appreciated the simplicity of the process.

Through the Studio Mirror, you can take classes from 20 Lululemon Studio instructors, plus a bunch of others from their partner fitness studios. Though you can read a brief bio on any given instructor when browsing specific classes, it’s not readily apparent what fitness certifications they hold. As a fitness writer for six years, I’m of the mindset that it’s super important to look for credentials when choosing an instructor. The fact that this info wasn’t easily available onscreen constituted a minor red flag in my book—I would have liked to see specifics, like “certified personal trainer” or “registered yoga teacher.”

One of the biggest pluses of the Studio Mirror is that it’s a stunning, sleek, and high-tech piece of equipment. The LED screen is a 43-inch, full high-definition 1080 pixel display with a massively wide viewing angle (178 degrees), which means the quality of the workout videos is extremely high: It almost made me feel like I was in the same room as the instructor.

Moreover, because the screen is so big, you can easily see what the trainer is doing without having to crane your neck at weird angles, as commonly happens with virtual workouts streamed from a phone or laptop. Additionally, the sound quality is seriously impressive: Lululemon uses a bunch of fancy terms to describe their audio (like “embedded omnidirectional microphone”), but all I know is that it’s movie-theater-quality good, which is helpful for really immersing yourself in the ambience of a virtual group fitness class.

Most important, the screen display allows you to see yourself in the Studio Mirror while also viewing the instructor, which gives you the chance to check your form throughout a workout. For instance, when doing overhead triceps extensions, I could easily compare my arm positioning to the instructor’s in real-time, and thus I ensured my elbows were pulled in tight next to my head and not flared out to the sides (a common form mistake). Though checking your reflection isn’t quite the same as an in-person trainer giving you tips, it does provide a simple, effective way to ensure your movements are pretty much on point.

The Studio Mirror is large (56 feet high, 22.2 feet wide, and 1.4 feet deep) and hefty (70 pounds). You can either mount it on the wall or have it on a stand; we chose the latter since mounting it felt a bit excessive for just a three-week trial.

Our “dungeon” is not the most inviting atmosphere, but it really was the only area that could comfortably house the Mirror. Not only do you need the space to prop it up, but you also need ample room to stand far enough back so you can see your full reflection while you squat, lunge, and plank. So if you have a tiny apartment, the Mirror may not be the best fit for you.

One of the biggest perks of the Studio Mirror is that it offers a huge (and sometimes overwhelming) variety of content. Through the app, you can pick from a library of 10,000 classes and use tons of different search filters (like workout type, difficulty level, length, or instructor) to find routines that tickle your fancy. With the Studio Mirror, I was able to try new-to-me forms of fitness, like a chair strength workout and chair yoga, that aren’t offered at my local gym. I also liked that the Studio Mirror offered plenty of 15-minute workouts, which were easy to fit into my schedule and required minimal time commitment. Additionally, it was cool to take classes from raved-about boutique studios—like Pure Barre and Aarmy—that I hadn’t yet tried and otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

My biggest bone to pick: Unless you opt for a more expensive version of the Studio Mirror, it doesn’t come with any home gym equipment. And while there are certainly lots of bodyweight workouts you can do, if you really want to get the most out of this expensive piece of tech, it helps to have a plethora of at-home exercise tools at your disposal, such free weights, resistance bands, a boxing bag, yoga blocks, a Pilates ball, a step, etc.

Acquiring all of them—if you don’t have them already—can cost hundreds of dollars on top of the price of the Studio Mirror itself, so that’s something to consider when weighing whether this investment is right for you.

Special Features

The app is robust and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate to the library of classes, check the schedule of upcoming live options, review your recent workouts, and control settings on the Studio Mirror. Thanks to all the filters, I was readily able to find classes to try.

I also liked all the extensive descriptions included on the app—in many cases, you could read exactly what exercises you’d be doing and for how long. This provided me with valuable intel on whether or not I actually wanted to take a class. For instance, I’m just not a fan of push-ups, so when I learned that a specific strength workout I was eyeing included lots of ’em, I opted for a different routine instead. Another plus? You can also stream classes from the app, so you can continue to work out even if you’re away from your Mirror.

There are a number of metrics displayed on the Studio Mirror while you work out, including exercise name, total workout time remaining, time left for a particular exercise, and name of your next move. 

In the middle of the screen, there’s a video of the instructor demoing all the moves, and below that, more info: number of assigned/completed reps and sets; heart rate (if you chose to sync the device with an Apple Watch or other Bluetooth heart rate monitor); and your “class score,” or how much cardio, strength work, and/or recovery work you’ve done. (You can also get a “universal health score,” which is the summation of all your class scores.) You’ll also see the number of “classmates” working out along with you, as well as a rotating stream of their usernames, locations, and photos. 

This sounds like a lot, I know, but it’s presented in a very tasteful and minimalist way—I never felt bombarded or distracted by the various data points.

The Studio Mirror includes a camera, and if you participate in a live class, you can turn yours on if you want the instructor to see you and potentially provide you with personalized feedback. Just note that if you do so, you’re also giving your classmates the ability to see you as well—a fact that weirded me out enough to not use this feature. 

During the three weeks I tested the Studio Mirror, I never heard an instructor give personalized feedback, so I’m not sure how much value the camera actually provides in live classes. (There is the option to purchase and participate in one-on-one sessions with an instructor through the Studio Mirror, in which case the camera would absolutely be useful.) 

I did hear the instructors call out members during live classes—saying things like, “Good morning, Mike B. from Florida!” and “We’re almost there, Stacey!”—which helped foster a community vibe. There was also the option to answer trainer questions during the class (like “What did you all think of this plank variation?”) by submitting an emoji, which made a bodyweight Tabata class I did more engaging and fun. I’m still partial to the IRL energy and robust interactions of in-person group fitness, but the interactive elements of the Studio Mirror Live classes did make them more enjoyable than I expected.

One of my favorite parts of the Studio Mirror was the rad music selection, which featured actual artists—not just covers, like lots of workout apps do. Every class is paired with a soundtrack, and in many classes you have the option to switch it by selecting one of 25 different radio stations offered through the app. These stations run the gamut, from country and power pop to hip hop, ’90s throwback, and low-fi yoga. Music can really make or break a workout vibe, so I appreciated all the options provided on this front!

You can upgrade to options that include accessories like a heart rate monitor, Bluetooth dumbbells (which count your reps and allow you to receive weight recommendations), a yoga mat, mini foam roller, fitness bands, and more. These packages range in price from $1,185 to $1,450. You can also buy these accessories à la carte.

One cool perk of buying the Studio Mirror is that you become a Lululemon Studio Member, which automatically provides a slew of money-saving benefits, including a 10% discount on Lululemon gear, free hemming, a 20% discount on in-person classes at partner studios, and unlimited experiential classes hosted at Lululemon stores.

Should You Buy It?

The Lululemon Studio Mirror is a beautiful, impressively high-tech platform, so if you’re someone who’s all about sweating it out at home—and you have ample space and lots of exercise equipment at your disposal—then chances are you’ll love what this smart mirror has to offer. It’s an especially great pick for folks who get bored easily with exercise programs, as the dizzying array of content means you’ll never do the same workout twice. 

As someone who went into my Studio Mirror trial much preferring outdoor and IRL workouts to indoor virtual sessions, I wouldn’t say I’m an at-home exercise convert. But after three weeks of testing the product, I do have a newfound appreciation for all the ways technology can help replicate some of the magic of in-studio classes. If I had to commit to an at-home workout program, it’d be tough to find anything that beats the high-quality experience offered by the Studio Mirror. 

That said, the Studio Mirror is not the smartest choice for folks on a budget and those residing in tight living quarters. And if you’re someone who enjoys only the occasional at-home workout, the up-front charge and recurring monthly fees may not be worth it. Not quite sure? Try the company’s 30-day trial. At the end of that month, if you decide the Studio Mirror isn’t for you, they’ll pick it up for free and provide you with a full refund.