Tracy Anderson Mat Workout DVD - Full Body Fitness Routine for Women - Home Exercise & Toning Workout for Strength, Flexibility & Core | Perfect for Yoga, Pilates & Dance Enthusiasts

I'm 40. About 3 years ago, my father died and I almost immediately gained 20 pounds. I became pregnant soon after and could not lose the weight after my child was born. I'd always been able to maintain my weight via dance class (6 times a week), but this kind of commitment became impossible once I had a small child (travel to class=45 minutes, plus 1 hour and a half class, plus 45 minute return trip, 6 times a week =hefty babysitting expenses for vanity).The name Tracy Anderson started popping up on blogs. She had her ardent defenders, but quite often, the "elite" bloggers seemed to make fun of her. There was plenty of reason to--if you are a skeptic and married to your skepticism. Anderson was training Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. Her methods were often in direct opposition to what a decade of weight training for women had dictated (lift more weights!). She seemed to have emerged from nowhere to live a charmed life. She was accused of putting people on starvation diets and helping the already thin become more thin. Gwyneth moaned about her shar pei like pooch and yet, none of us ever saw any glaring defects in Ms. Paltrow's posterior. And Madonna--hadn't she always been dancing and showing off her body? It wasn't as though Anderson had brought someone like, say, Jennifer Hudson or Kirstie Alley back from the abyss.Still, something about her "method" intrigued me. As a dancer, I was accustomed to relying on ballet to firm up my hips and butt and thighs, jazz for abs and hip hop for arms. Then there was floor barre class and the extra Callanetics I did at night. It was a substantial investment of time. More than once I wondered why someone couldn't just condense the very best of these moves. I tried Pilates and it can be effective, but it still works best in conjunction with dance. It's not a surprise that so many dancers teach pilates--my own ballet teacher always said to me: "If you can do ballet, then do ballet. It's better than pilates."Tracy Anderson has in fact put together a magical method that borrows from the very best of all these exercise traditions, and others. I used this Mat DVD and in 10 weeks, my body changed substantially. I lost 3.5 inches from my waist, 3 inches from my hips and 4.5 inches from my thighs. I did not follow her diet (which you can find online if you look hard enough, or pick up in one of her books), but stopped eating most white flour and stopped putting sugar in my coffee (I am now back eating some whole grains and maintaining my weight). I lost 11 pounds. The weight change, though, wasn't as remarkable as the re-shaping. I literally don't have a single pair of pants that fit any more. All this took 10 weeks. I now weigh what I did in my late 20s at the peak of my dancing mania. And for those who say that Anderson's method primarily relies on weight loss, I would like to point out that the clothes I wore in my late 20s are also too large--it is not just weight that you will lose, but inches.If you are a fitness devotee or a dancer (or ex-dancer), then you'll pick up the moves easily and intuitively understand what she is trying to do. I do not think this DVD is for a beginner, though I would certainly never stop anyone from trying to do the workout. I have now moved on to Anderson's Metamorphosis program, though I still occasionally supplement that with moves from the Mat DVD--it's that good. I finally have a way to work out at home. And while I have not given up dance--I find that Anderson's method actually complements dance class very well--I do feel relieved that I have a way to workout whenever I want to.As for how this Method compares to similar exercises: as I mentioned above, Tracy's moves target the body's troublesome areas in a way that one dance class can't. To replicate in dance class what Anderson does in an hour (or less), you'd literally have to be a professional dancer, in the studio 6 hours a day. This is not a realistic way to live or work for people who just want to reach a high level of fitness.I have loved Callanetics in the past, but do find the moves begin to stall. There was never enough variation in Callanetics, and there was never a true cardio component (research Anderson's programs and you'll find a cardio component) and the arm section was always weak. With Anderson's DVD, I actually have rather sleek arms for the first time in my life. Also, Anderson's found a way to put a program out there that will help fitness seekers continue to improve. With Callanetics, there was always a point where you were going to stall, or simply maintain. It's more fun to work out if you feel that you are constantly trying to excel. That's why dancers dance in part--to always do and learn something new. There is no point to just doing a plie over and over again without it leading to something else. Anderson's program understands this psychology, and continues to give its users something new to learn to do.As for the weight lifting debate--some trainers are incensed by Anderson's limiting of weights to 3 pounds. I'm a mesomorph. I can lift a lot of weight, but I did not like the way my thighs, calves, shoulders and neck changed as a result of lifting (which I also tried for a period in my twenties). Perhaps I didn't bulk exactly (as we are told over and over again that women cannot bulk), but my muscles did tighten up and the overall effect was not something I liked--I just looked thicker. I did not like the way my clothes fit. I did not like that I gained muscle weight. This doesn't happen with Tracy's program.I've never written a review for an exercise DVD before. I write very few reviews period. And I'm about as skeptical as they come--the tyranny of celebrities and hype surrounding personalities in general irritate me. Anderson's introduction into this world was certainly helped by the friends she made. On the other hand, there is a reason that successful women flock to her--Anderson actually delivers the goods. If you do what she ways, your body will change. The program will not fail. I can't recommend this DVD--and the Method in general--enough to women who want to change their bodies.