Tracy Anderson

Today's FWOM workout was the cardio and mat workout from Tracy Anderson's metamorphosis series (Hipcentric).

I have been intrigued by Tracy Anderson's 'method' for a while, I suppose in a shallow way because of all the celebrity hype. Although this may have put me off as much as it attracted me to the workouts.

I was a little sceptical about Anderson especially her dancing and weird arm movements
making her look like a slightly mad little chimp.

True to form, I didn't like the cardio dance part of the workout at all, it was quite fun but I couldn't really get into it. However I did think the mat workout was excellent we worked the arms (although not much), abs and hips with a lot of repetitions with low or no weights.

I thought the core part was great and my abs actually ached afterwards which doesn't happen often! The final part was a 'muscle exhaustion' series which targeted the hips, it seemed to be pretty effective.

Overall, I would say that the exercises were good. The only real criticism I have is that there wasn't enough instruction. She claimed that the effectiveness of the moves was down to specific angles and movements but then gave little to no instructions...weird!? And she would move on to the next series of moves without giving any warning which is one of my pet peeves with workout DVDs.

It definitely felt like this at times:

   

I suppose,for now, no one can replace Jillian Micheals in the role as best DVD fitness instructor :)

Food wise, it was a great day!
Started off with a 'stack' of banana pancakes with honey. 
They were really easy to make and a nice change from my usual beloved porridge.
Just mash two ripe bananas, mix with an egg and a tablespoon peanut butter until smooth. Then pour in little pancakes onto a non-stick frying pan and cook!

 I experimented a bit for lunch as well making a baked sweet potato (bake for 40-50 min at 190) with tuna mixed with red onion, red pepper and yoghurt and a tiny bit of low fat cream cheese instead of mayonnaise. Tuna with red onion and pepper works soooo well!

Then dinner was just a veggie stir fry with sesame seeds.

One of my favourite snacks is trail mix. I have experimented with different combinations but I think the best is: bran flakes, raisins, dried apricots, almonds, and yoghurt covered blackcurrants.

Perfect for when you are studying or reading....or anytime really!