Former pop star Sinitta is a creature of habit. Every morning, the self-confessed ‘health nut’ completes a lengthy routine designed to optimise her health and get fitter than ever, including one specific workout: The Tracy Anderson Method.
The method – created by former professional dancer Tracy Anderson – was born out of a five-year research study conducted by Anderson herself on 150 women, which investigated how to effectively move without doing damage to your body. It’s often described as heated dance cardio: the 50-minute sessions are performed in a studio heated to 35 degrees Celsius and involve following aerobic-style dance choreography, based on more than 3000 moves that work the small muscles rather than the big muscles, with the aim of producing a ‘feminine and dancer-like’ shape.
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Speaking of why she loves it so much, Sinitta told Bella: ‘The class is hard enough, but the studio is heated like a sauna. You’re working out and sweating profusely at the same time, but you feel incredible afterwards and your skin is glowing. By 8am I’m in the car, heading home, when everyone else is just getting started.’
Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, J Lo, Cheryl Cole Olivia Wilde are also on Anderson’s client list, and in 2024, the first London studio opened at SURRENNE in Knightsbridge. Elsewhere, the method is taught online on the TA studio (try a free 14-day trial) and at eponymous studios in New York, Los Angeles, Madrid and the Hamptons.
So, besides the fact it’s neither a traditional strength training workout, nor strictly a dance or cardio class, what makes it so unique – and why is it so effective? When we tried the class ourselves, there were a few notable factors:
1. The instructors are silent, both online and in-person
When we asked Anderson why, she said: ‘There are a ton of studies that support that being in your body with no verbal instructions actually improve physical performance, boost your metabolism, and heighten your coordination. It makes sense: when you’re not distracted by what the trainer is saying, you can actually listen to what your body’s telling you.’
2. Every class is choreographed to a specific playlist
Anderson told us: ‘Music is paramount to my Method. I’m very intentional with my playlists, as it’s essential for me to choreograph to music that is deeply authentic and truthful. When the music resonates with me on a deep level, I know that it will enhance all the profound work we’re doing in class. I often mix different genres, and play with beats to take you on a journey through your own body’s rhythmic patterns. Music and the mind are harmonious.’
3. If you try it in person, every studio is heated
Anderson said: ‘Our signature heat and humidity systems are calibrated to create the ideal environment to move your body. This warms up your muscles and loosens up your entire body for you to experience new ranges of motion in your body. This also signals to your thermoregulating system and mind to prepare for a bit of healthy stress. It’s never overly heated or uncomfortably humid: the goal is for the climate to free up space in the body – not to exhaust it with extremes.
‘Another reason for the heat is that breaking a sweat is a super important ritual for holistic health, as you sweat out toxins from your body. And the secret to beautiful skin texture at any age is a good sweat. I tell my clients all the time that the number one thing you can do for your skin is sweat on a daily basis.’
4. It uses light weights and high reps over heavy progressive overload
Anderson explained: ‘If you consistently perform the same repeated movements, and simply add more weight each time, you’re going to experience two things: 1) over empowerment of larger muscle groups, greater chance of injury, muscular imbalance, overuse and degeneration of joints, and 2) limited range of motion.
‘That said, my workout is far more complex than just “light weights, high reps”: it’s a dynamic experience that invites your body to explore new planes of motion, lengthening, mobility and longevity of every single muscle in your body (including the smaller accessory muscles that are often neglected in everyday life).’
5. There are no set rest periods
Anderson said: ‘By staying dynamic and fluid throughout class, you’re heightening your balance, flexibility, coordination, and strength – all while reducing the risks of strain and injury. You never need a day off from this practice because I am a fully regenerative practice that never tips into degeneration.’
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
