The reason you keep hearing about TRACY ANDERSON

You know that period of time in which you intend to start a new workout regimen but you’re not quite ready, so you spend time shopping for just the right clothes or equipment and you wait until inspiration strikes before diving in? I always thought this period of time was called “mentally preparing to begin working out.” But recently, someone told me this period of time is called “avoidance behavior.” If you happen to want to get in shape but are engaging in avoidance behavior, here’s something that might spur you to action:  Yoga, pilates, kickboxing—all of these things may or may not get your body small and tight, but a Tracy Anderson workout is a sure thing. It will transform you. This is why Tracy Anderson is famous, why Gwenyth Paltrow promoted her on Oprah, why Jennifer Aniston, etc. go to her studios in LA and NYC. The key to her workouts’ effectiveness is that each features a sequence of moves that exhaust your larger muscles first (say, your thighs), such that your smaller, accessory muscles are forced to “kick in” for the remaining exercises, which results in a smaller, tighter bundle of muscles. Anderson’s “Metamorphosis” DVD series offers a program tailored to each body type and her site has a quiz to help you determine which you are: Abcentric, Glutecentric, Hipcentric, or Omnicentric. Each DVD set has several workouts so that you never plateau, and I have to say, it’s nice to switch routines every 10 days (and each routine is better than the last—there’s not a disappointing one in the bunch). After just a couple of workouts, you will see a subtle but encouraging improvement. After 10 workouts, you will be able to look at yourself in a bathing suit without cringing. After 20 workouts, you will be shopping for clothes that show your body rather than hide it.