Most of us can only dream about having just a fraction of the personal training wisdom (and discipline) that Madonna has amassed over the years. From a soft and voluptuous “Material Girl” to the muscular warrior physique she now sports, Madonna’s iconic body gets about as much attention, if not more, than her music career, chameleon-like wardrobe and her controversies.
A few years ago, Madonna was introduced to the pint-sized trainer and former dancer, Tracy Anderson, through her best friend Gwyneth Paltrow. Anderson helped Gwyneth get in the best shape of her life following the birth of her second child, Moses, and now this ballerina-turned-trainer is a fixed presence within Madonna’s entourage of stylists, artists, chefs and dancers on her Sticky & Sweet Tour.
Anderson keeps her tiny body and many others in fabulous shape through her own signature method that revolves around variety. From cardio to strength-training, Anderson pushes her A-list clients, like Madonna, to the max by having them perform hundreds of repetitions of weight-based exercises that work muscles at different angles so that the muscle (and you) never becomes bored.
She was inspired to take her body into her own control when as a dancer, she was consistently told that yes, she could dance, but no she didn’t have the body for it. At five feet tall and very muscular, Anderson was not born with the lithe body that ballerinas have. Rather than giving up, she spent years researching how the body’s muscles function, move and grow. Out of this came her own specific method of exercise in which she created thousands of moves that isolate certain muscles and result in the dancer’s body that she also dreamed of having.
The good news is that Anderson has just launched 3 new DVDs that share some of the magic behind her intense workout programs that shaped her own body and Madonna’s: A mat workout, a dance workout and a post-pregnancy workout. In order to get a killer body, be prepared to workout hard for 30 minutes a day, six days a week.
And if you really want to go full-force, follow Anderson’s low-cal, low-carb and low-fat diet for a few weeks. Expect to eat no more than 3 small meals a day and a snack. A sample day includes, one cup of Kashi cereal for breakfast with low-fat soy or rice milk, 3 oz of chicken breast and 1 cup of raw veggies for lunch, mixed berries for a snack, and 3-5 ounces of grilled sea bass with a 1/2 cup of steamed spinach for dinner.