(song: Fooled Around and Fell In Love/artist: Elvin Bishop)
Shhh...Don't tell the Butt Master, but I've met someone else. Her name is Tracy Anderson, and I'm really into her Mat Workout DVD. I don't know much about Tracy, except that Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are two of her clients, which means nothing to me since they are not formerly fat people, but still, I gave this workout a try and I LOVE it!
Apparently, she was once an aspiring ballet dancer but she's crazy short so she tended to look more "bulky" than lithe, like a ballet dancer should be. Her workout is designed to tone and create chiseled lines without making you look like a budding body-builder. There's no weights. Tracy has a bunch of different DVDs on the market. I've only done the Mat Workout.
Here's what I love about it:
-It's kind graceful, almost ballet-like. The movements are constant and fluid throughout the the workout. I dare say, I feel kind of sexy when I'm doing this DVD. Because it's flowy, you're fooled into thinking it's going to be easy...it's not.
-The background music is pretty good. I mean, with any DVD that you do a lot, you're going to get tired of hearing the same music, but so far, I still really like it. It's not as cheesy as some other DVDs. (I'm talking to you Butt Master.)
-She has a great arm series that's hard as hell but works every angle and muscle on your arm so it's awesome. I love love love it. (She does use three-pound weights on the arm series, but no weights anywhere else.)
-The ab series on the floor is rad. I still love The Butt Master's Tummy Tuck DVD, but Tracy kills it on abs too.
-It's a full-body workout. She starts with a standing leg series, then standing abs, then killer arms, then you go to the floor for more legs, then abs. It's 57 minutes of awesomeness, you'll be sore as hell after the first time, but you'll be dying to do it again the next day. At least, I was...
Here's what I don't like:
-She barely talks. When you do the DVD the first few times, you have to constantly look up to see what she's doing because she gives very little instruction. The moves aren't complicated, but she switches sides without saying anything, so you might end up moving one leg for an entire series, without realizing she's moved to the other leg.
-The standing ab series is super hard and complicated. She basically slides all around her ribcage for three minutes in a way I don't think I'll ever be able to do, but I keep trying. While she's going all diagonal, I usually keep moving side-to-side. I find this section very hard to follow, but I don't just skip it. I modify...
-The leg series is great, but I still have a lot of fat on my thighs so I personally feel her workout is geared toward flabby, not fat bodies, that need toning and sculpting, not more weight loss. For my saddle bags, there's only one DVD program that works for me. (I'm talking to you again Butt Master.)
-She's kind of cold and blah. I'm used to Chalene Johnson's and Leandro's bubbly demeanors. Tracy is not bubbly. She's quiet and serious and barely smiles. I would have hated this DVD when I was a size 16 and couldn't walk a mile without sweating. She's not much of a motivator. But then again, this is her first DVD and she may be more comfortable on-camera in her more recent DVDs.
Don't worry, I will never divorce Leandro or Chalene, but sometimes, you have to mix it up to keep things fresh and exciting. I've always got room in my heart for one more hard body. Welcome to the family Tracy!
