Spruce Up Your Body - Tracy Anderson

Have you ever longed for Gwyneth Paltrow’s toned legs, Madonna’s seemingly ageless rear-end, or Shakira’s amazing abs and arms? Well, the woman behind sculpting many of the entertainment industry’s elite female bodies has now revealed some of her secrets to the rest of the world through a series of DVD workouts.

Tracy Anderson

Tracy Anderson, a beautiful 5 ft. tall pint-sized blonde, has made quite the impact with her unique approach towards cardio and toning. Anderson, a trained dancer, found that her small frame quickly bulked up when engaged in traditional forms of fitness and weight training, so she developed her own fitness method. The Tracy Anderson Method comes from over ten years of testing and research to determine how to shape almost any body into a tiny, sexy, dancer’s body. Her own method came in especially handy for Anderson after she gained over fifty pounds during her pregnancy. Trust me, if you devote yourself to her principles and techniques (and this is by no means easy!), then you will see results you never thought possible!

“Make no mistake: getting rid of problem areas on your body is truly an art. Your muscles are completely manipulative and your body is a sculpture that you can design. Just be careful who you let sculpt you!” – Tracy Anderson

For detailed information about Tracy Anderson's method and her Mat Workout DVD, click on the link below...

Anderson combines dance exercises with stretching, Pilates and numerous repetitions. She targets the accessory muscles (the smaller muscle groups) to help create a tight knit group of small muscles that pulls in the larger muscle groups. Her exercises, if done four-to-six times a week, will seriously help create a leaner, longer and sexier figure.

Madonna

"Tracy Anderson's Method changes your body in a way that no other exercise can. You will see remarkable results...a feminine sexy body!" - Courtney Cox

I am now a devout follower of the Tracy Anderson Mat Workout. You’ll find that Anderson is not peppy in the typical DVD fitness instructor sense (hooray for that!!). It's as though Anderson is right there with you guiding you through her intense mat routine. Her demeanor is kind and supportive, but in a more subtle way that I appreciate.

I should also note that you’ll have to look past the fact that Anderson occasionally undercounts (this can be torture when leg raises are involved!) and sometimes forgets to mention when she switches to a different exercise. I suggest that you watch this DVD the whole way through at least once before attempting to do it yourself. The sets are not intricate, but they are likely to be challenging for beginners and pros alike.  Once you have followed the DVD for about a week, you'll get used to Anderson’s instruction and the sets will seem much more bearable. The amazing results you will soon see will greatly outweight any slight stylistic imperfections the DVD contains.

Gwyneth Paltrow

"It is such a fantastic work out. It targets intensely those areas we all panic about in a unique way that keeps your body and mind agile! I absolutely love it. It is so invigorating that it becomes more of a way of life than the dreaded trip to the gym!" - Emily Blunt

Spruce's Overview of the Mat Workout:

(Approximately 60 minutes long)

Warm Up - Anderson starts out with a short warm up. I encourage that you do a version of your own warm up beforehand, as Anderson skimps on stretching to allow time for the more laborious activities to follow.

Standing Legs – You will need a regular dining room chair to accomplish this series of rigorous leg, thigh and butt lifts. Please don’t let the number of repetitions discourage you. You might not be able to finish all of the sets your first few weeks, but I guarantee that you will get stronger and more able as the weeks (even days) go by.  You'll feel a huge sense of accomplishment when you're able to get through the whole routine without stopping!

Standing Abdominals – This might be the most difficult series to grasp. Not necessarily in the sense of it being too physically demanding (it’s really not), but in the sense that it actually takes awhile to get used to doing the moves as Anderson does them. We recommend that you practice some of these sets in front of the mirror. Once you get the hang of it, these standing abdominal exercises almost feel like you’re dancing. Yes, they’re actually fun! The key is to isolate your core. The standing abdominal exercises help you achieve a sexy and defined stomach, not an intense six-pack stomach that traditional crunches often provide.

Tracy Anderson

Arms – These are absolutely killer!!! When I say killer, I mean that in the most loving way possible. Anderson guarantees that if you stick with her standing arms series (the majority of the series calls on you to continuously keep your arms stretched out from side-to-side while doing small lifts and circular motions), then you will absolutely lose the beloved “grandma arms” that we all hate. My arms have always been my weakest area, and I must say that I have already seen tremendous results from doing these regularly. They truly and honestly work.

Arms With Weights – Anderson continues to exhaust the arms with a series of exercises involving 1-3 pound weights. She asks that you not use weights heavier than 3 pounds, because anything heavier might help create bulk. While these weights are not necessarily heavy, it’s not really about the weight; it’s all in the number of repetitions. Trust us – regardless of how strong/toned you think your arms are, you will be dying towards this end of this portion.

Legs (Floor) – The next series calls for you to lie down on a mat, towel, or carpet. You continue to exhaust your leg, thigh and butt muscles on the ground for a series of leg-firming and butt-firming lifts.

Abdominals (Floor) – You continue to work your abs on the floor through a series of Pilates-inspired sets that definitely work the lower and upper abs.  You will feel a nice burn at the end.

Cool Down – Again, Anderson skimps on the cool down and stretching portion. We recommend stretching on your own in addition to Anderson’s cool down.

If you buy this DVD (roughly $30) and stick with the program for at least one month, four-to-six times a week, I guarantee that you will feel great and see noticeable results (you will be shocked!).

As always, maintain a healthy diet and try to get in four-to-five days of cardio per week. The Mat Workout will sometimes leave you breathless, but it does not replace cardio and should always be done in conjunction with a cardio program. You can tone and shape your muscles, but you need to do the cardio to shed actual fat.

Anderson also sells a set of popular Dance Cardio DVDs. She recommends that you do these dance cardio DVDs along with her mat workout to see maximum restults. I wasn't as impressed with these DVDs, but they are sure to be effective if you’re able to keep up with the fast-paced moves (and if you have ample space in your home to accommodate all of the jumping around). I prefer to do cardio on my own either outside or at the gym on the elliptical machine, but some individuals might really benefit from her cardio instruction as well.

Spruce tip: While I definitely recommend purchasing the Mat Workout first, you should also invest in Tracy Anderson’s Post-Pregnancy DVD (even if you haven’t recently given birth, the DVD will do wonders for your abs and thighs). If you become a fan, then you might even want to invest in her Perfect Design Series Set. This series is a set of three DVDs that also works the legs, thighs, butt, arms and abdominal muscle groups (although she doesn’t place as much emphasis on the arms as she does in the other two DVDs). Keeping your routine fresh is a vital part of the process, so if you find yourself becoming too used to Anderson’s exercises over time, then it would behoove you to get all five DVDs and alternate them for the best results.

To purchase Tracy Anderson products, please click here.

Written by Kaisa Talaga