Tracy Anderson Madness

TAM=  Tracy Anderson Method

TRACY ANDERSON is a tiny, blonde fitness goddess.  She is very interactive with her clients and keeps her fans up to date through her website.  She puts out little webisodes, shares interviews and tips, and is just a badass in general.  There are several DVDs to choose from in her online store and she has a book called Tracy Anderson's 30 Day Method that can be purchased online or in most bookstores.  My story goes like this.

I'm not a tiny or a giant person, I'm 5 feet 7 inches tall and I have broad shoulders, a broad rib cage, long monkey arms and long legs.  I had a baby.  I gained almost 30 pounds.  Lost most of it easily after the baby was born but had zero tone and endurance after 11 months of sitting on my ass, eating bread and pasta.  I did P90X and liked it alright but I build muscle very quickly and I didn't like the bulk it gave me.  I did some Jillian Michaels stuff but we didn't get along very well.  Pilates next, which I loved but I get bored with easily.  I've done stability ball workouts, videos that use the big rubber band things, and yoga.  I have the attention span of a 3 year old so I like to change it up frequently.

I bought the TAM book first.  It comes with a meal plan, recipes and a DVD that includes 3 mat workouts and 2 dance cardio sequences.  The music sucks but I just mute it and make playlists on my ipod.  I lost a lot of weight the month I did the 30 day method.  It's pretty hard but worth it.

Tracy came out with the Metamorphosis series which is the holy grail of 90 day workout plans.  You choose which body type you are so it's not like a cookie cutter type series.  There are 4 DVDs with multiple sequences to follow.  Yes, it's hard.  Yes, some days you feel miserable.  Yes, you will see really fast results if you stick to it.  Yes, the dance cardio gets much easier with time.  Yes, you still feel ridiculous when someone walks in and catch you doing dance cardio.

Sometimes I follow the meal plan (thanks, Tracy, for not forgetting vegetarians!)  Sometimes I only do the workout 5 days a week instead of 6.  I don't always follow the program exactly like she urges you to but I'm only human and sometimes it's hard making time to do all of this crap.  Maybe if I had a nanny, a chef and a serene studio on my property like Gwyneth Paltrow, I could keep myself in check a little better.

Ok.  The meal plan pretty much sucks but if you follow it, you will be tiny like Tracy.  If you don't, you'll look more like me.  I don't own a juicer nor do I plan on owning one anytime soon so I replace the weird kale juice with Naked brand juice you can find at the grocery store.  Some of that stuff is high in calories so be careful which one you get.  I like Blue Machine.  If I don't have time to prepare gazpacho or sweet potato and corn pudding-  I eat a Kashi Go Lean roll or eat a little Special K protein cereal with unsweetened almond milk.  Most days I'm down to half of a Diet Coke and I drink hot or cold green tea-  I like Bigelow Green Tea with Mint.  You aren't supposed to use splenda or honey but I'm a rebel so I sometimes do.  Yes, I live on the edge.  I eat a lot of salad and veggie protein soup during the week for lunch.  I like egg whites or protein cereal for breakfast.

Am I at my ideal weight?  Nah.  I don't really care though because I have really great legs.  I do, it's genetic so thank you, mom and grandma.  As I get older, I'm much more comfortable with myself.  I like my body to feel strong, i like to have excellent posture, and I just like the stress relief exercise provides.  It's good for your mind and energy level.  Oh, AND Tracy lets your drink a little wine.  Just don't get drunk and eat Taco Bell at 2am.  It's easy to do- I KNOW.  I also know if you do happen to do that, always remember you are allowed to enjoy life any time you want.  Taco Bell in moderation.

One more thing.  I went to a Barre3 class in OKC last Monday and loved it.  Ballet, pilates, and yoga inpired barre work.  My hamstrings died as did every muscle in my arms but I didn't even realize how much it worked until I felt it the next day.  And the day after that.  I wanted to go again this week but I've been busy so next Monday it is.  You should definitely try it out if you live around the area.  The studio is cool too.  Duh, it's in Classen Curve so it's all fancy pants.

The end for now.  If you have any questions I didn't answer, don't hesitate to contact me or leave a comment.  These are the songs I'm working out to this week.  I change it up usually every 4 or 5 days.  I listen to a weird mix of artists.  I like to sing along and yes, pop songs are really easy to dance to.  I like to keep it fun.

My TAM Mat playlist:
East Harlem- Beirut
Summertime- Penny Hill
Daydreaming- Dark Dark Dark
Wild Palms- Sun Airway
Boy You Loved to Watch Me Cry- Madeline
Rachel-  Sleigh Bells
Cape Dory-  Tennis
Swimmers- Broken Social Scene
Infinity Guitars- Sleigh Bells

My TAM Cardio playlist:
Kids-  Sleigh Bells
Baby Say Goodbye- Wavves
3- Britney
Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Floating Vibes- Surfer Blood
I Follow Rivers-  Lykke Li
Last Friday Night- Katy Perry
Relator- Pete Yorn & Scarlett
Crazy for You-  Best Coast
My Prerogative- Britney
How I Met You- Jenn Grant


If you live around here, let's work out together!  If you're into that sort of thing.  I'm not doing dance cardio unless you do it to.

xo ♥ Jaguar Paw