Tracy Anderson Method - Day 0

New Deal
I received the book, the Tracy Anderson 30-Day Method, as a birthday gift, but only browsed through it without trying any full-length workouts. Today, I decided to give the full workout a whirl to get an idea of what it's all about. I'll call it flirting for now, since I want to get a feel for the exercises before "submitting" my body to Tracy Anderson.

The Method
Tracy Anderson's method is based off of 3 components: 1) muscle design, 2) cardio, and 3) menus. She insists on the menus as an essential part of the plan. You'll notice this is a stark contrast to Jillian Michaels, who does not include a food plan with her 30 Day Shred. Tracy also insists on being "religious" about doing her exercises. And not just any cardio will do. She says that if you want results, you must do her cardio program.

What I Tried Today and My Thoughts
Muscle Design - The moves were harder than I thought they'd be. I got a workout mirror installed, based on Tracy's recommendation, to be able to watch my form. When you do each move correctly and precisely, it really makes a difference and makes the moves harder. When you see yourself in a mirror, you feel compelled to look like you know what you're doing. All of the moves are mat-based and remind me of old-school Jane Fonda. Tracy employs what she calls cross-vectors and "attitudes" (90 degree leg angle) to train your small muscle groups. I definitely felt as though I was working parts of my body that don't normally get worked out.

Cardio - I have never felt more like I had two left feet than while trying this video. Granted, it was a lot of fun bouncing around looking like a lunatic leprechaun on a sugar high. But just pause a minute and picture how that looks. Then tell me if you want to be seen in public like that. I guess this is the beauty of home DVDs. The cardio portion of the method is on a DVD that comes with the book. It consists of two 10-minute routines that Tracy wants you to do twice through each for a 20-minute workout. I tried each one once through today, and broke a mild sweat. I did not nearly keep up with any of the steps because I simply don't have that type of coordination. My goal was to keep on bouncing and doing my best impression of a Russian dancer for the kicking moves.

Menus - This is the part I am really not ready to commit to. Horrifying. Juiced kale leaves for lunch. Ummm.......

Overall
Trying out these moves was really fun and I will give them a shot again tomorrow.