Tracy Anderson: Precision Toning

Let me start by saying I love Tracy Anderson workouts and have been doing her metamorphosis / continuity for close to 3 years now. When I got this in the mail, I had it in the DVD player, ready to work out in a flash.This DVD is broken up into four 15 minute segments of Arms, Thighs, Butt and Abs.For the arm workout, she uses 3 and 5 lb. weights. Good stuff, but tough! I kept wanting to take a break, but I stuck it out all the way through. I love how in this workout she actually explains the arm movements, such as "Pretend your handing me something and then push it away." It's nice to have verbal cues because sometimes her arms move so quickly it's hard to see where her hands are and what they are doing.The thigh workout was another toughie. There are quite a few deep squat moves, so if you have knee issues, this might need to be modified. My quads were still screaming at me two days later. She does 25 reps of each move, and 7 or 8 exercises (can't remember now), first on the right, then the left. She uses a chair for balance on the standing exercises and then drops to the mat for kneeling / all fours exercises. She counts every single rep.For the butt workout, she uses ankle weights. I can't remember if she mentions the weight, but I used 1.5 lbs. This was my favorite section. I was surprised at the difficulty. In this section she does 40 reps for each move, with 5 exercises, first on the right and then on the left. Again, she counts every single rep.And then the ab section was wonderful, as I love TA ab work and find it to be super effective. I was finding it to be the easiest section, now that I was laying down, but then she does a bunch of plank work in different variations, with a lot of twisting and resting the hip on one side, then lifting up and twisting to the other to rest the hip. It was very challenging and I had to "rest" a few times by just holding a plank and taking out the twists.I kept with TA on every rep and did the entire workout without pausing the DVD, which makes it a winner in my book. I appreciate knowing that this is exactly 1 hour (or 15 minute segments) without the need to pause.I personally found it to be a nicely challenging workout.I also loved how she explained all the angles and moves. I had a lot of "ah-ha" moments throughout. Her personality shined on this one and she smiled a lot.All in all, this is a winner for me.My one con: Can we get some new music already? Thank goodness for music off option.

So I had been doing the Tracy Anderson Method for almost two years when I became pregnant with twins in the Fall of 2012. She got me in the best shape of my life, and then BAM! Pregnant with twins!! I took about a year and a half off from exercising, and just took it easy with slow walks and stretching. Fast forward to February 2014.... So when I tried to dive back into her craziness (but you gotta love it, the girl gets you RESULTS) I almost DIED doing this DVD. If you are just getting into fitness or have been away from her method for a long while, I would definitely say WORK UP to this one. Feeling a bit defeated but unwilling to give up, I decided to order her newer "Method for beginners" DVD and also her Post Pregnancy DVD, to use and work at to be able to build up to this one. I don't have a bunch of time during the day with two 12 month olds crawling around, so I devoted 30-45 min to her Method, and did the beginner DVD faithfully for a month as the first program, than month two I devoted to her Post pregnancy DVD (GREAT FOR ABS after pregnancy!!) THEN, this past week was the start of month 3, and I popped this one in my DVD player and I am happy to say, it's still classic Tracy, meaning, super challenging, but do able if you set your mind to it. I will probably work at this one for another month or so, then move on to another DVD of hers.....she is not for everyone, and her moves Will seem strange at first, but if you stick with her for at least 60 days, no matter what your fitness level, your body WILL change. She got pretty rich doing what she does cause her stuff works. I don't do her Method exclusively, but I will say that her programs comprise at least 75% of my exercise time. She is the only fitness personality that has been able to capture and hold my attention for a long period of time, because I get results and she encourages you to constantly change it up. Now, whether that's because she wants us to constantly buy new DVDs, who is to say, but it's not good to keep doing the same moves over and over again anyway. ...I find that too boring, especially if you are an at home exerciser like me. Oh....I also recommend reading her Book if you are completely brand new to her method. I feel like all her diet advice is a bit too crazy and restrictive, but the book is a GREAT Primer to her exercise philosophy and gets you pumped to try her new "wicked" ways.....try it and you'll see! More than likely, you will come back for more like I did.