STRONG by Izzy review price, challenges and my experience

Her app at a glance: highlights and watch-outs

How to start with STRONG without overdoing it

What is STRONG by Izzy?

STRONG is the paid training platform of Izzy Samuel, whose YouTube channel has more than 2.6 million subscribers. Many people know her classes as "Pilates by Izzy", thanks to her viral 25-day challenges. STRONG describes itself as "strength based, Pilates inspired", and that's exactly how it feels.

There are two teachers on the platform: Izzy and Georgia. Both teach the same method, so you can switch between them without feeling like you've changed programs. You train through the STRONG app or website, on your phone, tablet, laptop or TV.

Is Pilates by Izzy real Pilates?

It's Pilates-inspired strength training, and STRONG says so itself. The classes borrow from Pilates mat work: control, a strong focus on the core, and small, precise movements. Then they add dumbbells, ankle weights, bands and balls, and some classes add low-impact cardio.

So if you're looking for classical mat Pilates, this isn't it. If you want strength training that feels like a mix of Pilates and the gym, it's exactly that.

In my own words, as a yoga teacher who practices Pilates: it isn't classical Pilates, it's Pilates-inspired. The movements and the focus on control come from Pilates, and the weights turn them into strength training. STRONG describes its Strength classes as contemporary Pilates combined with strength, and that's a fair way to put it.

Inside the platform: what you get

Once you sign up, you're not just handed a library and left to figure it out. Most of what you do on STRONG is planned for you.

Three weekly schedules

Every week there's a new schedule in three versions. You choose the one that fits your week, and you can switch from week to week.

• Express

  Every class is 45 minutes or less. Good for busy weeks.

• Hybrid

  A mix of full-body days and days for upper body, lower body and core.

• Advanced

  The most demanding schedule, with more volume and harder progressions.

A real week: Advanced, November week 1

This is one full week from the Advanced schedule, so you can see the style and length of the classes.

1. 42 Mon Full Body Stronger Medium to heavy and light weights, ankle weights , 42 minutes
2. 63 Tue Full Body Sweat & Sculpt Light weights, ankle weights , 63 minutes
3. 39 Wed Lower Body Stronger Heavy weights, band, block , 39 minutes
4. 58 Thu Full Body Strength Light weights, ball, ankle weights , 58 minutes
5. 37 Fri Full Body Sculpt Block, wrist weights , 37 minutes
6. 40 Sat Upper Body & Core Strength Light and medium weights , 40 minutes
7. 42 Sun Full Body Stretch & Flow A slow, restorative class , 42 minutes

StrongerStrengthSculptSweat & SculptStretchNumbers are minutes

My tip: before you choose a schedule, open it on the platform and look through the whole week, Monday to Sunday. You'll see right away what kind of classes are waiting for you. Even the "rest" day on Advanced is a 42-minute stretch class.

Challenges

Challenges are my favorite part of STRONG, and they're a lot of fun. Each one has a class for every day, and the idea is to train every day until you complete it. That doesn't mean you have to do it every day, though. You listen to your body, and I'll tell you how I did mine below.

Right now there are challenges from 15 to 31 days, like Hybrid 25, the 31 Day New You Challenge, the 21 Day Sculpt, Sweat & Stronger Method and the 15 Day Sweat & Sculpt Challenge.

You don't need a membership to do a challenge. You can buy a single challenge on its own, from $64.99 to $99.99. Hybrid 25, for example, is $84.99. There are also smaller class collections from $34.99.

Programs, including prenatal training

Besides schedules and challenges, there are longer programs:

• Four Week Foundations: STRONG's recommended starting point. It teaches the method, the exercises and the sequencing over four weeks.
• The Progress Principle: a four-week program.
• Cycle Syncing: adjusts the intensity and focus of your workouts to the phases of your menstrual cycle.
• Prenatal training: trimester by trimester, from week 5 to week 38. Georgia filmed it during her own pregnancy.

How a class feels

Most classes start with a warm-up and core work. Then each series is built in layers, one move added on top of another until it becomes one long flow. After that, the flow comes apart and ends with pulses. This is where I start saying words to Izzy that I can't write on a yoga website. Izzy can't hear me, which is probably for the best.

What I love most is how creative the classes are. Izzy and Georgia are both incredibly creative. They put moves together in ways that keep surprising me, and some flows are just fun. Sometimes it feels like I'm dancing with my whole body, only slow and controlled, and that's a big reason I keep coming back.

Both Izzy and Georgia cue really well. They explain every move so clearly that you don't need to look at the screen at all. You do need to learn the moves and their names first, but once you get the hang of how they teach, you can just listen and keep moving. I really appreciate that, and it shows how good they are at what they do.

The easiest way to get a feel for it is one of Izzy's free YouTube classes, because they're built in a similar way to the classes on the platform. On YouTube you'll only train with Izzy. To practice with Georgia too, you'll need to join STRONG.

Class styles: Strength, Sculpt, Stronger and Sweat & Sculpt

The class styles change what you hold in your hands and how fast you move:

• Strength: Pilates-style work with light weights and ankle weights.
• Sculpt: slower and focused on form, but still hard work.
• Stronger: heavy dumbbells and functional, targeted strength work.
• Sweat & Sculpt: lighter weights and more movement, so your heart rate goes up.
• Stretch: slow classes for recovery.

Stretch a little longer

As a yoga teacher, I love a good stretch, and this is the one thing I'd like more of. Izzy has given stretching more time lately, but I usually add a few of my own stretches after class. Most people skip stretching, I know. If you have five extra minutes, many yoga poses make lovely stretches, and you'll find them in my yoga poses hub.

Say goodbye to breaks (then take them anyway)

Izzy's classes have very few breaks, often none at all. That doesn't mean you shouldn't rest. Pause the video whenever you need to, and I really encourage you to, because rest is when your body gets stronger.

When I started, I paused after almost every part of a class and rested for one to two minutes, sometimes longer when a part was really intense. Now I can get through most classes without stopping, maybe with one short break. I wasn't a beginner when I started, and I still needed that time. I gave my body the space to build the strength and resilience it needed.

My challenge story

I started using STRONG at the very beginning of 2026. I wasn't a beginner, but my body wasn't ready for this kind of training yet. So I built up slowly, one challenge at a time.

1. New You challenge

   2 to 3 times a week

   The challenge was meant for every day. I did it two or three times a week, and that was right for me.

2. Sculpt, Sweat & Stronger Method

   4 to 5 times a week

   My body was getting used to the work, so I trained more often.

3. Hybrid 25

   Every single day

   The first challenge I did every day, from start to finish.

Is STRONG by Izzy worth it?

For me, yes. I have never been stronger, and I have never felt stronger, than I do now. Since January I've learned to move my body in ways I never had before, and I feel beautiful in it. That's what kept me coming back, week after week.

What makes it worth paying for, compared with her free classes, is the structure. Someone has already planned your week, the challenges give you something to look forward to, and new classes keep arriving.

Is STRONG by Izzy good for beginners?

STRONG isn't built for beginners yet, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. I've seen beginners online who started here and kept going.

Coming soon: a beginner program. Izzy shared in her Instagram stories that she's adding one to STRONG. I'll update this review when it's live.

If you're new, start with one or two classes a week so your body has time to get used to the work. Go slowly and learn each move first. When you don't know an exercise well yet, rushing through it is how injuries happen. The Four Week Foundations program is a good place to learn the moves, though its classes are still 35 to 50 minutes long with weights.

Many people who review Pilates by Izzy online suggest another route: start with Move with Nicole, whose free mat Pilates classes are gentler, and move to Izzy after a while. I took a different path, but it's a popular recommendation. If you're not sure which style suits you, take my yoga and Pilates quiz.

Looking for classes made with beginners in mind? Read my review of Amina Taha's Honey Studio. It has classes for every level, including complete beginners, and her Living Room Yoga Sessions: Beginner series is where my own practice started.

Izzy Samuel on YouTube vs STRONG: what's the difference?

Izzy has more than 100 free workouts on YouTube, including the famous Pilates by Izzy 25-day challenge in two seasons. She also sometimes uploads a class from STRONG, so you can get a real taste of the platform for free.

My advice: start with YouTube to see if you like her style. Move to STRONG when you want a plan to follow, instead of choosing classes yourself every day.

What equipment you need for Pilates by Izzy and STRONG

You can start with less, but this is what STRONG recommends for the full library:

• A yoga mat, 4 to 6 mm thick
• Light dumbbells, 1 to 4 kg, for Strength and Sweat & Sculpt classes
• Heavier dumbbells, 5 to 25 kg depending on your strength, for Stronger classes
• Ankle or wrist weights, 0.5 to 2 kg
• A small Pilates ball, 15 to 17 cm
• A medium to heavy resistance band
• A cork yoga block
• A Pilates ring, if you like (optional)

Every class lists what you need before you press play, so you can pick classes that match what you have at home.

STRONG by Izzy price, promo codes and free trial

Here's what STRONG costs and how to pay less. All prices are in USD.

• Monthly$39.99 a month
• Yearly$383.99 a year, about $32 a month
• One challenge$64.99 to $99.99, no membership needed. Hybrid 25 is $84.99.
• Class collectionsSmaller packs from $34.99
• Free trialNone, but more than 100 free classes on YouTube
• RefundWithin 48 hours of your first membership bought on the website
• CancelAny time. You keep access until the end of the period you paid for.
• GiftYou can gift a subscription to someone else
• Promo codesMany STRONG ambassadors on Instagram share codes you can enter at checkout, under "Discount & promo codes"

It's worth following Izzy too. A few months ago she gave her subscribers 30% off forever, so she may do something like that again. Prices and policies come from the STRONG memberships page, checked in November 2026.

Find your people

Motivation is the feeling we have at the very beginning of something. To stay consistent, you need people who are doing what you want to do. Whatever program you choose, find them on Instagram or TikTok. They will push you on the days you don't feel like it.

For me, it started with Vanda, a Hungarian girl I'd followed for a while. Watching her journey is what made me decide to try STRONG. These are the women whose journeys I love to follow:

• @vanda.zalavari
• @itsmekerryv
• @ashleyburdsall
• @pilates.kaily
• @maddy.pilates

Follow Izzy too, for new challenges and the occasional discount: @izzysamuel and @strongbyizzy.

See it through other women's eyes

I did the Pilates by Izzy 25 day challenge (honest results) Melanie Clarke on YouTube

This review shares my own experience and isn't medical advice. If you're pregnant, recovering from an injury or living with a health condition, check with your doctor before starting a new training program.

My scores

Overall: 4.9 / 5

• Cueing5 / 5
• Beginner friendliness4.5 / 5
• Class variety5 / 5
• App experience4.9 / 5
• Value5 / 5

FAQ

Explore other reviews

• 

  Honey Studio review

  Amina Taha's yoga and Pilates app, with classes for every level.

• 

  Move with Nicole review

  One of the most loved free Pilates channels on YouTube. Is it a good fit for you?

  Review coming soon

Written by Emilija

RYT 200 certified yoga teacher since 2021

I practice Pilates regularly, but I'm not a certified Pilates instructor, and I say so in every Pilates review. Nobody pays to be reviewed or ranked here.

Emilija on Instagram: @emm_yoga