For a quarter of a century Tracy Anderson has studied the human body both as art and science. More often than not she’s sculpting bodies that are in pretty decent shape to start with.
Celebrities and the rich and famous are still making a beeline for Anderson, who made her name as a fitness trainer for Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham among others.
Our bodies are living structures, says Anderson, who has studios in Manhattan. She also says getting in good shape demands “precision, intelligence and respect”.
It is the respect, however, that seems to be lacking in gyms from New York to London and beyond. Anyone who tries to work out cannot help but notice the trend for self-promotion and the proliferation of phones at gyms.
The Tracy Anderson Method studio, which charges upwards of $10,000 an annual membership, is taking action by banning phones in its classes. TikTok users have been recording themselves sweating as they perform the same workouts as Jennifer Lopez and Olivia Wilde, which are done in rooms kept at a sweltering 35C.
The president of the studio, Steven Beltrani, has ordered visitors to keep their phones inside lockers. “Visitors must keep their phones inside the lockers during class time. This policy will be added to class reservation confirmations and strictly enforced across all studio operations and front desk associate teams,” the memo wrote, according to the New York Post.
“Thank you all for your understanding and cooperation as we continue to honour the integrity of the studio experience and the work happening within our community,” it added.
Madonna and Tracy Anderson Antony Jones/UK Press/Getty
The ban only applies to non-members — those who pay for a single class — and does not include members or instructors who will continue to be allowed to film the 30-minute workouts.
Anderson, 51, trained to be a professional dancer before becoming an exercise guru with a global fitness empire. She grew up in Indianapolis where her mother ran a ballet school and her father was a serial entrepreneur and painter. Her method, designed to target and “confuse” muscles, was tested on the mothers of pupils of a dance school she ran, before rolling it out in studios in New York and Los Angeles.
In 2006 Anderson was called by Gwyneth Paltrow, who had just given birth to her second child and was trying to get in shape to play Pepper Potts in the first Iron Man film. Paltrow was unable to go out jogging without developing an entourage of paparazzi and, by Anderson’s account, could do barely any exercise without her feet hurting.
“I had to get a mini-trampoline for her,” Anderson said. “She literally texted Madonna on her way out from her first session and was like, you have to do it.”
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley leaving the Tracy Anderson Gym in Los AngelesShutterstock Editorial
In February, Anderson attempted to sue a former employee for copyright infringement, claiming they stole her choreography. However, it was ruled that the fitness routines are uncopyrightable methods, not the “choreographic works” Anderson claimed them to be in her lawsuit.
The Surrenne fitness and wellness centre at the Emory Hotel in Belgravia, which is the only place in the UK to offer the Tracy Anderson Method, told The Times it also does not allow guests to film classes.
The club said the rule was not imposed by the Tracy Anderson brand but was part of a hotel-wide “no recording” policy — enforced across all public areas to maintain the privacy of hotel guests.