Maybe Tracy Anderson Had it Right All Along

A little over a year ago I wrote an article on how the Tracy Anderson method, as it was described by the developer, wasn’t quite happening the way it was reported by going through some of the physiology and anatomical considerations. It was well received, but more than one commenter said they doubted I’d ever gone through a workout and therefore couldn’t really comment on whether the workouts were effective or not.

Well, for the last 6 months I’ve been secretly doing the workouts from her Metamorphosis program in order to see what the end result was. I even went on the dietary plan, which called for an average of about 800 calories a day, and for a guy who normally sits around 240 lbs at 3% body fat, 800 just seems so right.

I was tired of being a bulky bison and wanted to be a sleek puma. After every scientist who studied sciencology (not to be confused with Scientology, which is complete BS) came out saying the stuff Tracy discusses is both wildly inaccurate and detrimental to the health of those who participate, I still had questions as to whether it was true that people were getting as many results as they were. I mean, her recommendation of never lifting more than 3 pounds or you’ll get bulky only reaffirmed many people’s notion that she was crazy. But all you have to do is look at astronauts who live in zero gravity for weeks on end and how skinny they are when they get back to earth to see that it could play a big role. Maybe the next big thing in fitness will be negative resistance to counteract the bulking effects of gravity?

I have to say that after completing these workouts I was completely wrong in discounting their approach. She rolled out some new workouts geared towards men, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to give them a try after being selected in a lottery where I only had to pay a non-refundable $20,000 up front deposit to secure my spot. I found within the first workouts my muscle were more toned and noticeably shaped differently. I noticed my posture improved and my strength went through the roof, even though I wasn’t lifting anything more than 3 pounds, and listening to the repetitious techno dance music was very calming to the nerves.

Here’s a pic of me from a few years ago when I was in the middle of my most bulky bison-like phase:

And this is what I looked like yesterday. Canadian winters are murder on tans.

My weight went from 240 down to 140 in only 6 months, and while my body fat percentage went up significantly, as did my cholesterol, systemic inflammatory blood markers, diabetus, and creatinine kinase, I have been told by many Bookface forum contributors that it’s not something to worry about, as I’ll have much nicer skin as I age.

So please consider this my public retraction of ever saying a bad thing about the Tracy Anderson workouts. They obviously work, and she’s insanely ahead of the curve when it comes to science. I mean, her years of researching magazines for the image of what she feels women want to look like clearly trumps any academic knowledge from those who simply study details of how things work. I’ll now be putting all my clients through these kinds of workouts as they clearly work, and am looking at becoming a master trainer for the Tracy Anderson Method.

This is something I’ve had a hard time coming to terms with, as it flies in the face of everything I’ve known or been lead to believe with Big Fitness, but after discussing it over matcha teas with my spirit animal, it’s just something that feels so right. It’s a big life change, but with the loving support of my wife and two dogs, I’m sure I can make it a successful life journey. I’ve consciously uncoupled myself from the concept that strength is a necessary aspect of looking and feeling healthy and I’m hoping you can come to the same conclusion in time.   #blessed

Also, April fools. Hope you enjoyed it 🙂