Madonna & Gwyneth's Personal Trainer - The Tracy Anderson Method Dance Cardio Workout [DVD]

I've been intrigued by the `marmite nature' of the reviews for this product - it's either loved or hated. And I think I may have worked out why... I'm a real fan of exercise DVDs. I have a wide range and use them four to six times a week. I'd heard about the Tracy Anderson Method and it seemed to be appealing - I love dancing and was keen to try something a little more challenging.

The workout consists of a short warm up, eight dances of approximately five minutes each, but no specific cool down. Furthermore there are two versions of the workout on the DVD, one where Tracy faces you and one where she has her back to you. There is also a section where Tracy breaks down the dances as during the actual workout the dances are done without Tracy talking and you are required to simply repeat the sequence of moves as the song plays (eight songs, eight routines).

I had my eye on the DVD for a while, but was put off from getting it sooner by the negative reviews complaining that it is just too hard. Eventually I caved...

Day 1... My first endeavour... I start with the breakdown section for dance number 1. All seems fine until I try it at full tempo. It wasn't easy to say the least... Still, I am determined. So on Day 2 I try Dance 1 again and have a go at Dance 2. I can't get that one at all. I give up in disgust, vowing never to be sucked in again. However... about a week later it's still bugging me that the DVD got the better of me, so I decide to give it another go. But I change my approach. I decide to just throw myself in and do the breakdown, followed by the uptempo version in the workout itself (The version where Tracy has her back to you). Within two weeks I've mastered the first four dances, which in themselves offer quite a workout.

Two months on, I'm now doing the whole workout about four or five times a week and I love it. It's the most physically challenging workout I own. So I return to the reviews and I just don't understand them. They talk about the dances taught not resembling the ones on the workout, loads of mistakes, unhelpful camera angles. And then it occurs to ... I have been doing the workout version where Tracy has her back to you. So I decide to try the version where she faces you... and it is terrible! I can't believe the number of mistakes in the dances. Plus it's very hard to have learnt the steps one way and then have to reverse them to do the mirror of what she is doing. So perhaps this is the answer to the conflicting opinions.

The workout is great, BUT there are some downsides (in addition to the poor production of the front facing version). I don't think it's a workout for beginners or inexperienced exercisers. I think the warm up is rather short and I make additions to it to ensure I am adequately warmed up for the rigorous requirements of the workout. Furthermore with no cool down on the DVD I repeat the warm up at the end of the workout, again adapting / adding to it to avoid injury. I can only do this because of the many exercise DVDs I have seen over the years, which have allowed me to find suitable stretches to supplement what the DVD offers. I agree with other reviewers that it is quite dangerous to release an exercise DVD with insufficient guidance in these areas.

I would also say it is important to ensure adequate footwear is worn and attention paid to the moves and placement of the feet - I would imagine the high impact nature of the dances could easily lead to injury if care isn't taken.

Of the eight dances, I think numbers 2, 3, 7 and 8 are the most challenging to learn, number 4 really raises the heart rate, and number 7 seems to be the one most likely to cause injury if done sloppily.

I love the workout and can really feel (and see) the benefits. In fact I've been so impressed I've now ordered the mat workout from Amazon.com. I think this is a great choice for someone who already has a moderate level of fitness, who loves dancing and is good at dancing. And I would advise always doing the version with Tracy's back to you - it's much clearer to follow. Only watch the other version if you need to check the way the dance looks from the front. If you do decide to 'take the plunge', take your time, persevere and work up to all eight dances in a row gradually. Even half of the workout is better than no workout at all.

A great DVD for me, which would have got 5 stars, were it not for the downsides.

To start off, I will say I am a complete gym and workout junkie! I have been exercising since I was 19 and I am now 35, it is a part of my life, like eating, sleeping and working. I am lucky in the sense that I enjoy it. But as with everyone, I get bored with routines and repetition.

I stumbled across Tracy Anderson in my usual quest of trawling the internet trying to find a new and effective way of working out. Initially I was not sold on the idea of working the accessory muscles as opposed to working the major muscle groups as this is what we are taught to focus on in the majority of workout routines etc but being of the mesomorph body type (athletic and potentially bulky) I was drawn to the concept of a leaner more feminie form. It was for this reason that I purchased the cardio workout followed by the mat workout.

I will not try to fool anyone in saying that the cardio dvd is easy as initially it was very difficult. It was more than incredibly hard and frustrating to learn. I must have spent 3 hours solid on a saturday trying to learn the first 3 combinations...boy was it hard, but with perseverance I managed it. For me, I did the routine with Tracys back to me and the option of doing this was such a benefit and refreshing change to most dvds. Now, the next day I was as sore as you could be but after a few days rest I worked my way through the rest of the dvd and now I can manage the dvd from beginning to end (trust me, when you get there it is so satisfying, so please as hard as it is, stick with it!)

I wear a heart rate monitor for all my exercise and I burnt enough calories to happily compare with two back to back half spin classes. Great!! I have to agree though with other reviewers that you need a good supportive pair of trainers as some of the moves potentially could cause some damage but with me I always have this in the back of my mind so I am very aware of this risk therefore hopefully reducing any chance of injury.

Now onto the mat workout which I managed to get from the States. If I could give this a rating out of 5 it would get a 7! As mentioned before, I am a mesomorph (easily build muscle, trust me despite what you read etc it can happen to a woman!!) and I have been blighted all my training life of potentially being bulky when going to the gym. This dvd has completely and utterly changed how I look, I cannot infact stress how much!! At 35 I am the happiest I have ever been with my body after much frustration of working hard and seeing too much gain muscle wise. I was very doubtful that using no more than 3lb weights (as Tracy recommends) would give me the lines and definition I wanted but after 3 weeks I saw a change in my body that surprised me and also my friends.

I do the workout 5-6 times a week which for most is difficult due to other commitments, but I am sure if I did it every other day it would still be as effective. I honestly do not do the cardio workout this often as I know I would get bored of it, so I still do my spinning classes regularly in conjunction with this. I always bulked with spinning but doing the mat workout as well I find that it counteracts the potential bulking.

I have also recently purchased the Tracy Anderson Connect web videos and am loving those too. So all in all, I am a very happy gym bunny who is enjoying this new transition in my workout regime and figure. Long may it last!!!

This video is great. I am starting afresh having injured myself two years ago, so I am essentially starting with basic fitness. the dvd has a very simple format, it is divided into learning the routines, then dancing them one after the other. There are 8 routines and some are more complex than others.

The dance workouts are a little difficult to learn, but the video provides a good break down at a slow pace, and although it takes some time, you are exercising while learning. So I view the learning part as a good way to get back into exercise. Most importantly, this is so much fun!! you get to move everything around and bounce along to music. There are no distractions or awful music. I actually look forward to doing the routines (or trying!).

In the interview with Gwyneth Paltrow she says it took her a long time to become co-ordinated enough. I think if you are expecting to be able to do everything perfectly from the off, this is not for you. But if you want to have some fun getting there, buy it!