Tracy Anderson’s Guide to Life Fitness

With summer naturally comes the urge to get into peak physical condition so we can feel comfortable and confident to sport any swimsuit wherever you may be. Now there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people trying to give their opinion on what works best and “quick fixes” to get you into top shape fast and as tempting as they are, fitness should be a more well-rounded course of action than that. Sure, being motivated is a great first step but creating a fully balanced lifestyle is what being healthy is really all about. Lucky for us, we were fortunate enough to ask Tracy Anderson, the queen guru of incorporating fitness into your life, some key questions about how we can stay motivated and in great shape not just during the summer but all year round.

Being motivated to begin exercising can easily be the most difficult part for many people (yours truly included). What are some of your top tips that can help some of us get off our butts and get to work to get into shape?

Every day that you don’t work out properly you are gaining weight or staying the same. It is the only proven component to fight accelerated aging, problem areas, disease, and keep your hormones balanced.

Now that it’s officially summer, what are some of your favorite ways to take advantage of the outdoors when it comes to getting in shape?

Be really happy that you do your focused workout each day so that you can enjoy the amazing daily outdoor activities that come with summer. Paddle boarding, skiing, throwing the football on the beach or frisbee golf. Don’t try and make a workout out of play. Your workout is what supports your life and we are meant to move. If you take the strategy out of your workout you will not be able to maintain balance in your body long term.

Just to clarify, what do you mean by ‘strategy’ in your workout?

“Strategy” means putting a plan in place to reach your body goals and create balance where there’s imbalance in the body. Each one of our client’s is put on a custom body prescription plan, with strategic movements that change every 10 days to shape the person’s individual body type. Over the past 16 years the Tracy Anderson Method has grown and evolved, though the basic premise remains the same: Tracy continues to develop thousands of new routines to ensure that no client ever plateaus.

You do such an incredible job producing results for your clients. What are three key components to your work-outs/mantras/lifestyle that you feel contribute to this?

1. My mission has always been to create balance where there is imbalance in peoples bodies. For me that isn’t me making people (believe) what I think is balanced. I hear where my clients feel imbalanced and I have created the largest bank of fitness content ever created to support my mission.

2. I don’t guess; I wait until I know. I have a huge growth mindset which allows me to always incorporate scientific advancements yet navigate at a pace that doesn’t tarnish my trust with my clients. So many people want to be the “next big thing” or feed the “drink the koolade” mentality, but that isn’t what really supports people’s hopes and dreams for their relationship with their bodies.

3. Don’t ever want to look like someone else. You will completely miss the opportunity to be you.

What do you do when people become frustrated if/when they plateau?

I have a really straight conversation with them so that we get to really heal what keeps them from getting “there”. I can get anyone the results they desire if they are willing to take the consistent steps to stay focused and learn how to show up for themselves.

Summer means an abundance of wonderful produce at everyone’s disposal. Do you take advantage and create healthy snacks/meals from them to give you energy but don’t weigh you down? What are they?

I eat all organic. I am super passionate about people supporting all organic farming because none of us want to face what the chemicals do to our health and beauty. I love my vita mix and I will toss a pear, mint, papaya in and have an immediate pick me up for your skin and your energy. You don’t need to add a lot of powders and nut milks that add a lot of calories to your snacks. A banana makes any smoothie good and I prefer that to anything processed. When you do you make a snack become a meal replacement and that is a big mistake a lot of people make. I also love eating whatever is fresh and in season at the local organic farms. You can’t go wrong there.