The Mirror Made My Home Feel Like a Real Gym

We purchased The Mirror home gym so our reviewer could put it to the test in her home. Keep reading for our full review.

Not too long ago, home gym equipment was bulky, clunky, and single-purpose. Chances are, you only had room (and money) for either a cardio machine or some industrial-looking strength training equipment—neither of which you wanted taking center stage in your living room.

Enter: The Mirror. On the surface, this sleek device looks exactly like the kind of full-length mirror you’d find in a high-end home decor store. But under the reflective glass is an LCD screen that, when controlled via an iOS or Android app, streams unlimited (and personalized) cardio and strength training classes. 

With the required $39/month subscription, you can tune into 70-plus new live classes per week, or choose an on-demand workout from the thousands already streamed and saved to the app’s library. Trainers like Nike Master Trainer Alex Silver-Fagan and former professional soccer player Lance Park lead classes in everything from boxing to Pilates, and you can even sign up for personal training using the Mirror’s built-in camera for an additional $40 a session. 

It’s that interactive, multi-purpose experience that sets the new wave of at-home fitness equipment apart from its predecessors. The Mirror brings the perks of a boutique studio workout—multiple workout choices, personalized attention, and engagement with other exercises—right into your living room. 

Setup: Find a friend to help you hang this

Previously, The Mirror came with a “white glove” delivery service (meaning, a professional would assemble it for you). Due to the climate at the time, however, my delivery was made to the threshold of my apartment. You can either mount The Mirror directly onto the wall, or attach a carbon steel stand to the bottom and lean it against the wall. I opted for the latter, which seemed easier for me to navigate on my own. 

The Mirror is heavy—it weighs about 70 pounds—which made assembling it solo a little tough. But it was just a matter of screwing one plate onto the back of the Mirror, screwing an anchor plate onto my wall, and screwing the stand onto The Mirror, which I was able to manage in a relatively short amount of time (and without any damage to the device). 

The app and the included heart rate monitor were easy to pair. Once I powered up the Mirror, I simply followed the instructions on the device to link it to my WiFi, I then strapped on the heart rate monitor and synced it to the app, and was ready to work out in just a few minutes.  

Design: You could buy it for the aesthetics alone

Mirror bills itself as “the nearly invisible home gym,” and that description is right on the money. It takes up just two feet of floor space, and is so unobtrusive it’s hard to imagine a room it wouldn’t look good in. I set it up between the couch and bookshelves in my living room, and it looked so seamless that I kept finding myself wondering why I hadn’t thought to put a mirror there sooner. Whether it’s mounted on the wall or just leaning against it, the only additional space you need is enough room to unfurl a workout mat. 

The same design functionality extends to the app, the brains behind the Mirror. When you first pair the device, the app asks for your age, height, weight, workout frequency, activity level, workout goals, and preferred class types, as well as any injuries or limitations.

From the home page, you can navigate to the library of classes, a calendar of live classes, a page that tracks your workout progress, and a very user-friendly settings page where you can connect your Mirror and your heart rate monitor to the app. 

The app will populate recommended weekly workouts for you based on your workout history, as well as upcoming live classes you might be interested in. In the workout library, you can browse through 14 workout categories. Or you can filter the workouts by genre, instructor, equipment, difficulty level (beginner to advanced), and duration (typically 15, 30, or 45 minutes) to find the exact kind of class you’re craving. 

Workouts: Personalized encouragement makes classes more engaging

There are lots of multi-workout fitness platforms you can stream from, but most pieces of fitness equipment tend to stick to one genre of workouts. Not so much with The Mirror. Workouts include cardio, strength, yoga, barre, stretch, Pilates, dance, chair, prenatal, postnatal, toning, boxing, and kickboxing.

The Mirror comes with a heart-rate monitor, six resistance bands (two smaller looped bands and four longer ones), and a glass-cleaning kit (a special solution and a cloth). You’ll need to have your own mat, as well as any other equipment you might want to use—workouts include gear like dumbbells, foam rollers, kettlebells, and yoga blocks. 

During workouts, you’ll see your instructor’s image at the center of the Mirror. They’ll walk you through every step of the workout, doing the majority of it with you and demoing moves from different angles. The instructors will also call out form cues, exercise modifications, and encouragement.

The screen also displays a countdown clock (I especially liked when it counted down how much time was left in HIIT intervals), what segment of the workout you’re in, an estimate of your calories burned, and avatars of other people currently taking the class. If you’re wearing the heart rate monitor, the screen will show whether you’re above, in, or below the target heart rate zone. If you’re not, encouraging messages like “you can do it!” and “push harder!” might pop up mid-workout. 

If you’re looking for a little competition, keep your eyes peeled for classes with a trophy icon. These classes use Mirror’s algorithm to track your ability to achieve, maintain, and recover from target heart rate zones. You earn points as you stay in your target zones and try to chase a personalized target score created for you based on your historical performance.

At the end of each workout, the screen displays your stats, including the duration of your workout, how long you were in the target heart rate zone, your average heart rate, and calories burned—those are also stored for reference in the Progress tab in the app. 

Live Workouts: Video and audio capabilities take interactivity to a new level 

Even though I didn’t get to take any live classes (they were temporarily suspended at the time), the on-demand workouts felt more immersive than any other streaming platforms I’ve used in the past—including the ones with live workouts.

There was something about watching and listening to an instructor while simultaneously seeing myself execute the moves that made me feel more like I was actually in a boutique studio than any other at-home workout. (Live classes are now available again, with trainers filming remotely from their homes.)

The Mirror feels like you’re in a Zoom workout minus the fuzzy video, technical difficulties, and gallery view. During a live class, trainers can view your heart rate and your user profile, which includes information such as injuries and goals, and leverage that information for real-time personalization and encouragement during class.

The Mirror also comes with a camera that’s only on during personal training sessions (you’ll see the camera icon on your Mirror when it’s on, and the company also provides a physical lens cap for privacy with every purchase).

If the live classes aren’t personal enough for you, you can book one-on-one sessions with trainers using Mirror’s two-way audio and video. You’ll be matched with a trainer based on your preferred workout, trainer motivational style, session length, and schedule, then the trainer will customize each session based on your goals, preferences, and skill level. During a session, the trainer provides real-time feedback, form cues, and motivation.

Personalization and Compatibility: The hardware works, the numbers are questionable

The Mirror optimizes your workouts in a couple of waves. First, you can set your fitness goals and class preferences in your profile, and list any injuries that may require exercise modifications. The app uses this information to recommend new classes each week and to personalize your workouts.

During class, the Mirror uses that same info to provide text-based form tips and encouragement, as well as videos showing alternate exercises if you have a limitation. 

The Mirror also comes with a heart rate monitor—a minimalist chest strap—that’s super easy to pair with the device.

1. First, dampen the plastic area on the strap
2. Tighten the strap around your chest just under your breastplate or bra line, making sure the plastic is touching your skin
3. Enable Bluetooth on your phone, then open the Mirror app and select “Connect a Heart Rate Monitor” in the settings tab. (I had to do this every time before I started a workout.)

The Mirror is compatible with other Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitors as well (like Polar, for example). 

You can also sync your Apple Watch, which tracks heart rate, to the Mirror by downloading the Mirror app to my Apple Watch, then choose the watch under “Connect a Heart Rate Monitor” in the settings tab. Android smartwatches that run on Google's WearOS can be synced as well, but as of right now, devices including Fitbits and Garmins aren’t supported.

Confusing Data

While the devices were easy to connect, the heart rate and calories burned data on the screen was a little confusing. When I wore the heart rate monitor and simultaneously tracked my workouts with my Garmin Fenix 6x, there were major discrepancies between what I saw on my wrist and what I saw on the screen.

The Mirror told me I burned 315 calories and had an average heart rate of 90 beats per minute in a 45-minute total-body strength class, while my Garmin said I burned only 218 calories and had an average heart rate of 100 bpm. While my heart rate was the same on the Mirror as on my Apple Watch, my calorie burn was still overestimated by the Mirror or underestimated by my wearable. 

If you’re not wearing a heart rate monitor or watch, the Mirror estimates your calorie count based on an algorithm that incorporates your stats like your weight, age, and max heart rate, and the intensity of the exercises in your workout. 

Price: If you’re willing to invest, it’s worth the money

There’s no arguing with the fact that the Mirror is pricey. At $1,495 plus the $39-a-month subscription, it’s an investment. When you do the math, though, that comes out to around $2,000 a year—the same price as a $160-per-month gym membership, minus any of the hassle of getting to and from a gym, registering for classes, and sharing equipment.