Friday, June 24, 2016

TAK

I don't know what it is, but it would seem that all roads lead me back to fitness, and health, and wellness, and taking action toward those ends. I grew really tired of only writing about fitness on my old BLOG, so I started this new one to talk about other stuff and yet here I am about to launch into more fit info. Can you even believe it?

What can I say I love a good workout!

The title of this post is TAK. What the hell is that you may be asking. Patience noble reader, isn't that part of the fun of reading?

If you know anything about me at all, it's most likely the fact that I am a long time Tracy Anderson Method junkie. Love her, love her workouts, love all of the guidance and support that she has provided over the years that I have been doing her workouts. She not only helped me lose those twenty pounds that crept on after marriage... you've heard of the freshman twenty right? That's where you go off to college and eat all the shit your parents forbid you from consuming in copious amounts, you party, drink and of course study, and then you pack on the pounds. Well there is a thing in later life too it's called heavily ever after and it happens after you tie the knot. You're just so dang blissful and happy you lie around in bed and feed each other cake then BAM, same thing you pack on the pounds. 


But I digress.

I was neck deep in my heavily ever after when I learned about Tracy Anderson on Oprah or someplace (like we all did back then I believe) and I started with her Mat DVD, this is old news though. You know all this. If you don't, feel free to click the link above, I've spent a good five years of my life writing about it! I stuck with her and while I have had my ups and downs with dieting, kicking sugar, falling off the wagon, then kicking it again (86 days sugar free and going strong) I've managed to mostly keep those pounds off. Not all of them mind you, but for the majority of the past six years, over half. Not a bad average.

Still, I'm getting older and things they are a changin'! My metabolism is starting to slow down in a real way and a few things have shifted around my mid-section. Now before I go any further, I want to state it loud and clear that I am and always will be a Tracy Anderson Method devotee. I am never giving that girl up. She promised me that she was going to be doing this into her 80's well Tracy, I'm going to be doing it right along with you.

However, that said, a few elements of the workout have changed. If you're familiar with Tracy's work, you know that she is always evolving and honing her Method. I have a unique body type. Well Duh, Shan we all do! Yeah yeah, but I mean I am thick around the middle. Even when I'm thin, my mid section goes up and down it does not curve in at the waist. It likely never will but I certainly do not need any additional musculature happening around that area so I have really had to tailor my streaming workouts to avoid some of those oblique challenging moves.

Allow me to take you back to 18 months ago when Tracy launched her online streaming workouts. This took us from working out at home along with one of her pre-recorded DVD workouts, to working out live with her (still at home) while she filmed her actual studio classes. Along with this launch she had a streaming contest where a whole bunch of at-homers got to connect with one another and it was here that I met the amazing and contagiously happy Emily Kirsch. You can find her HERE.

She was onto Tracy in the early days and the girl just has her thumb on the pulse of all things fitness. It was Emily who turned me onto a new trainer that she'd been working with who she had fallen madly in love with. Katia Pryce of DANCEBODY.

Now listen, I've had a lot of people tell me about a lot of trainers over the years, but Tracy was the one for me. There was no one else. I mean I love and adore Anna Kaiser one of Tracy's former trainers, but her workouts were not for me. Then there is Body by Simone and Yin in the Zone. I'm sure these ladies are all terrific and are absolutely the right trainer for someone, they are just not for me. I am not a trend hopper. At least not anymore. If you'd talked to me seven years ago I'd have told you I'd done them all, Jillian Michaels, Chalene Johnson, P90X etc. and none of them worked for me. But now I am a TAM girl through and through.

Which brings me back to Katia.

She too is a former trainer of Tracy. Emily directed me to her website and I tried the couple of tutorials that she had there with some simple dance routines. They aren't on the site anymore sadly, but guess what? Low and behold I was able to follow along. This girl could teach this old dog a new trick. I mean not only am I am old dog, I'm an old dog with two left feet. I could never do Tracy's dances. My brain just didn't operate that way. But something about the breakdown and four count and balance from left to right with Katia made me think there was hope for me yet!

Katia began offering free periscope workouts, both sculpt and cardio. At first I was only in it for the cardio because you know me, I hate the dance cardio and that hate is compounded further by the fact that I cannot dance. But I really want to be able to dance so this was a way for me to possibly learn. However, as time marched on, I found myself trying the sculpt classes and absolutely loving them. I began to really tailor by workouts between Tracy and Katia and I'm actually starting to notice a shift around my midriff. It's... SHRINKING!!!! I can't believe it.

All this time off sugar, giving up gluten, no processed foods and I still had a muffin top. I'm back into my original skinny jeans people. The ones I got into at the end of The 30-Day Method!!!

So what do I do? I do the arm section of Tracy's live stream class, a wee bit of cardio with Katia, like maybe one song or two on a good day, and then I do between 30 and 50 minutes of her legs depending on which periscope class I'm following. Now I know what you're thinking: fat lot a good that does me, I haven't been doing her periscopes!

Good news noble reader, Katia - KPDANCEBODY is about to start her own streaming and you do not have long to wait. She is launching it on Monday June 27th!!!! Isn't that so exciting!?!! I absolutely cannot wait.

So has it clicked in yet? Have you figured out why the post is called TAK??

It's my new preferred method of movement. Tracy Anderson and Katia T.A.K.
I love it!


Aren't they just adorable? Don't you want to hug them both? I LOVE these girls.
Now before I go I've got to get one small thing off my chest...

When these periscope classes first launched, there was a young lady on Instagram who sent out a call about loyalty. It's a topic I know a thing or two about being a fiercely loyal person to the people I love and respect! What this young lady was suggesting was that if you are someone who does the Tracy Anderson Method or TAM as it's been shortened to, then you should not partake in Katia's workouts because there was bad blood between the two former colleagues.

To that young lady I say: Whatever happened between these two women is absolutely none of my business. It's got nothing to do with me. You telling me if I am doing one I cannot do the other is the equivalent of saying that if I shop at Saks I'd better not be caught shopping at Macy's.

I am a TAK girl all the way! 



xo
Shan



15 comments:

  1. That is so dumb, I hate those instigating Internet people. IF YOU ARE EXERCISING AT ALL, IT'S A GOOD THING. Anyway, interesting post. Do you have any KP links? This is the first time I've heard of her. Thanks Shan for sharing :)

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    1. Hi Heidi, I agree. It's so high school. I connected you to Katia on IG. Her prices are so amazing. You can go weekly for $12.99 or do a 2 week trial for $14.99 that's crazy good. And a month is only $34.99. Love it.

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  2. Heh, well I'm really not loyal as I've dropped TAM almost completely! I guess the streaming didn't. Work for me? My legs looked terrible and I looked like I had no waist. I pulled out some Firm workouts from 10 yrs ago and I'm seeing results already.
    My abs are flatter, metabolism is nudging up and my legs have shape. Plus, the 40+ minutes of took a toll on my knees and elbows. No more joint pain.
    As a matter of curiosity I did TA recently and my knees are crunching again :(.

    I feel oddly free, too . No guilt over the cost and I'm free to do whatever method I want! I can mix it up to my heart's delight! I think doing that is better for the joints and the mind.

    So this was a long winded, self absorbed way of saying "You do what's best for you!"

    I'm glad you found something that's helping you reach your goals!
    As for the loyalty thing, that's just weird to me? It's not like TA was giving it away for free? Not sure anyone owes her anything. It's still a product and a business.

    Can't wait to read more about Katia! She looks like a cutie patootie!

    P.s. If you want to try Simone de la Rue she has a free workout on YouTube . Shes adorbs but I'm a sucker for a cheeky accent!

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    1. Hey Gia,
      No judgement here love. We do what works for us. I am so sorry that you had issues with your legs and knees. But it's brilliant that the Firm is bringing you great results. Lets all be happy and healthy and move our bodies in ways which we find enjoyable.
      As I said above I love Tracy and never intend to give her up. Just adding the lovely Katia to the mix!

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  3. Thanks for this great post. I still love love love TAM, but cardio is too fast and dancy. The past 3 weeks I've been doing the first 10 minutes of each, more my style. I do need the cardio to see results and have not been doing it too much because of it being too dancy and fast. Also, my hip has limited me too.... See specialist July 7th, pretty sure I need a hip replacement. Ugh... I want to make sure that I will be able to exercise afterwards. I have a labral tear, hip impingement--- can't bend over without pinching and arthritis!!!!how can that be... I'm only 48! Anyway, right now I can still do tam mat work with just a few modifications, and basic cardio, side to side, jumping jacks. Katia's cardio looks super doable for me... Am going to sign up tomorrow. Thanks for posting and sharing. Keeps us all moving forward.. If your not doing something, you're either staying the same or regressing!!! (Tam said something like this!!)

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    1. Oh Tricia, a hip replacement sounds so terrifying but I am certain that because you have stayed in such great shape you'll be dancing and moving again in no time.
      I'm with you, I need a cardio that I can follow and if I can learn a routine and feel cool doing it I'm much happier than misstepping like a klutz to dances that spin all over the place. Super excited to have access to both these amazing trainers. Tracy and Katia. It's exciting times. I'm so delighted that you've sighed up.
      Please keep me posted on how it goes on the 7th. xxo

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  4. Hey Shan!
    I've completely fallen off the workout wagon as of late, so this is just what I needed to motivate me. I ended up cancelling my streaming after 3 months again, hurt my hip again, but went back to Meta and have been doing arms and standing abs and occasionally lying abs,and since I too hate cardio, I have really been skimping on it. Just yesterday I added a walk back in my routine when I realized how much weight I was gaining in my hip and ab area. So, I'll join you on this journey... I likely will never completely give up TA either, but look forward to trying something new and motivating.
    I love that you still talk about diet, fitness, workouts etc.... Its what we all struggle with! Many days you say exactly what I'm thinking, so good to know I'm not alone in this! xxx Kelly
    P.S. I'm going to message Sue and see if she will give it a go too!

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    1. Kelly,
      I am so sorry that you hurt your hip again too. Grrrr that's so frustrating. Injuries just absolutely suck.
      I can never give up Tracy. Her arms are the arms for me. They really have given me the ballet arms I've always dreamt of. I have to be careful with Katia's arms because there is a lot of tricep work that doesn't work for me. But the rest of her stuff? Out of this world! I have actually learned one or two dances so with streaming, having the breakdowns will make a massive difference. Who knows girl, we might fall in love with cardio yet! So happy to share this journey with you!!!

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  5. I love me some dance. You know this. I dance every day with such fervor it scares Smally and he hides under the guest bed. I'm not even kidding. He's like the dad from Footloose. He hates the dance. Anyhoo, I'm so glad you found someone/something to tap into your into dancer!! Hooray!

    I think you sent me a link a while back, and I checked into her Instagram page and website, and I loved it. But sadly, I do not Periscope. Instagram is my one and only social media platform, so I never go to try a class. (I literally get dizzy and a little nauseous if I look at a Facebook page...so. many. things.) Anyhoo, I'm always interested in new and fun ways to bust a move. Maybe I'll do that trial, if it's not too expensive.

    I'm always so interested in hearing how other bodies respond to programs. We've had the opposite reaction in our torsos. ;) TA is the only program ever (and I taught and practiced yoga, pilates, dance and group classes for ages) that has flattened and defined my mid section. I'm not abcentric really, but I don't have a naturally defined waist. I'm more like a ruler with an arse. So Tracy has been just magical for me, especially the streaming (thanks again for all the info and the gentle push to sign up). I think it's awesome that you found a complementary program to mash up with TA that seems to be working great for your particular body.

    And it seems to be that you can have loyalty along side of exploration and participation in other forms of movement and fitness. You're a loyal customer and devotee to Tracy Anderson and are actively engaging in other complementary ways to use and engage your body. I use Insanity/Asylum/T25/Max30 as my cardio often and just alter the deeps squats and lunges. It's great and the pacing and style is different enough that sometimes its just the shake up I need. Plus, sometimes I just need someone to tell me that I have 60 seconds to do as many burpees in a row, and I'm all, "YOU WATCH ME SHAUN T....I WILL DESTROY!!!" Dang, maybe I need to do a Max30 today. It appears I have some pent up spunk.

    xox,
    myla

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    1. I honestly can't imagine Smalls hiding. I sort of picture him like Rama, just looking at me as I (attempt to ) dance, and then he just sort of rolls over with a "boring" sort of look on his face.
      I so can't dance but I really want to learn. I think I can be taught if someone totally baby steps me through it. I did learn how to do some dances from Tracy's early DVD's but I need a LOT of breakdown. lol.
      I am totally a ruler! from all angles. No butt no boobs nada. lol that's such a great description. But when I gain weight I become a marshmallow on toothpicks.

      Thank you for saying that about loyalty along side of exploration. That really means a lot to me.

      I'm still laughing over you "Watch me Shaun T" seriously I can't wait to meet you and hang out. You are my people!

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  6. Ha! Marshmallow on toothpicks. I just become a larger, bottom-y ruler. ;)

    I know you can do it. Sometimes a different set of dances and different is just the ticket. Dance girl! Dance!!!

    And me too/amen! You are totally my people! Love you to bits!

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  7. This is a great post. Tracy Anderson transformed my body and I will always be grateful. I would only trust her with toning. But this year I got hooked on Shine Dance Fitness cardio as a supplement; it just had such a peppy energy, but I'm not sure it's quite as effective. I'm hoping KPDancebody might be the best of both worlds, so I'm looking forward to trying it. I like your blog; I'm also Indigenous so you caught my eye on Tracy's newsletters a while ago. Your writing is fabulous. xoxo

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    1. Hi, thanks for stopping by, it's nice to meet you. Here's to great health, fit bodies, and first nations my friend!

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  8. I've read your blogs about TAM before and yesterday came across this particular one. I worked out with TAM exclusively for a few months and got fantastic results, especially in the bottom area. No workouts had been able to create a visible lift between my butt and thigh until this year.
    For a number of reasons, though, I decided to turn to Dancebody streaming service and I'm hooked! I love its community and cardio as well as its combining different moves during the sculpt sessions. I want to see if it alone can keep those stubborn little muscles of mine engaged, otherwise I'll incorporate some TAM moves from here DVD's.
    Do you still workout to both methods/streaming services? Thank you for your thorough posts!

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    1. Hey Maria, Sorry I've been away from the blog being very busy with work lately, so I do hope you get this message. I am an exclusive dance body babe these days.
      I don't have time or money to do both and I was enjoying my workouts a lot more with Katia, so have elected to stick with DB for now. Hope you're enjoying your workout whatever you choose to do!

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