Meet Gwyneth Paltrow’s long-time trainer, Tracy Anderson: the fitness entrepreneur counts J. Lo and Victoria Beckham as fans, but how did she come up with the Tracy Anderson Method?
- The entrepreneur recently opened a studio in London’s coveted wellness club Surrenne – an addition to her massive fitness empire that encompasses DVD workouts, a global streaming service, and more
- Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow credits Anderson for helping her lose her baby weight and became her business partner in 2008; the 49-year-old has also trained Nicole Richie and Robert Downey Jr
With almost 84,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and around a million followers on her Instagram account, at the time of writing, fitness entrepreneur Tracy Anderson has officially reached celebrity status.
Harper’s Bazaar reported that London’s latest longevity-focused members’ club Surrenne opened on April 14 with an entire floor dedicated to Anderson, including a studio and retail space. “Bringing the Tracy Anderson Studio was a perfect opportunity due to the synergy between our method and the UK’s health-conscious culture,” Anderson said.
So what do we know about the self-titled “fitness pioneer” beloved by celebs?
Did Tracy Anderson always want to go into fitness?
She actually originally wanted to be a professional dancer. But after moving to New York City on a dance scholarship when she was 18, she gained 18kg, per her website’s bio. Genetic predisposition to obesity on her father’s side didn’t help. Despite over-exercising and under-eating, she could not lose the weight, and had to abandon her dreams. But – of course – she’s come a long way since then.
What is the Tracy Anderson Method?
After years of research, according to her bio, Anderson managed to transform her body and came up with an early version of the Tracy Anderson Method in 1999. Over five years, she created custom workouts for a group of 150 women and tracked her findings, per Grazia. Anderson’s approach is defined by over 200,000 exercise moves – but also by the focus on smaller accessory muscles. She found that while the women who came to her had varied genetic backgrounds and body types, they were all able to attain a more muscular physique with Anderson’s help.
Eventually, in 2011, Anderson launched the Metamorphosis video series: an at-home fitness programme customised by body type and organised as a set of DVDs, one for each 10-day sequence across 90 days total.