Workout Barbie
I just finished gagging my way through this NYT profile of celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, who was quoted as saying (p. 2):
She said a woman should never lift more than three-pound weights. “Most gym programs overwork major muscle groups,” she said. “Repetition builds and bulks muscles.”
Judging from her arms, it looks like she takes her own advice. Madonna and Gwyneth should sue.
February 12, 2009
No wonder you’re annoyed. I don’t blame you one bit. It’s astounding that there are still people who spout this sort of tripe. 3 pound weights? Are you freakin’ kidding me?
No wonder this woman looks “skinny-flabby” (thin, but no muscle tone).
Earth to Tracy… there’s not enough testosterone in a woman’s body to make her look big and bulky. And, if you happened to be a genetic anomaly who did get “big and bulky”, it’s not like it would happen overnight. Building muscle is a process that takes years, not weeks. Duh.
February 12, 2009
She’s cute and obviously possesses business “smarts,” but she exemplifies everything that sticks in my craw about “women’s” exercise and how it’s marketed. It’s all about looks vs. substance. The notion that a woman should never lift more than a 3 pound weight is the equivalent of saying that a woman should never study calculus; or a woman should never pick up a hammer to fix things – it’s LIMITING.
I would have no particular problems with her, if she presented her program as A way for some women to work out, who want to accomplish goals similar to those of her celebrity clients. But no, it’s presented as THE bestest and only way for ALL women to work out, because…doncha know, we all want to look like Madonna…and it doesn’t matter whether she can climb up a rope, throw a good punch, pick up a heavy box or do anything else that’s particularly useful or real.
Gag me.