The Essentials With Tracy Anderson

For Tracy Anderson, movement is both a career and a way of life. Anderson is best known as the founder of the Tracy Anderson Method, a fitness program beloved by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez, but staying active is simply in her ethos. “It’s part of my character to move my body,” Anderson tells Observer. “It’s built in and it’s a belief system. I believe that to honor our health and our life and to optimize our mood, we have to move. I’m a naturalist person and I always look at the natural thing first.”

The latest addition to Anderson’s ever-growing fitness empire is her new London studio, part of the members-only Surrenne Spa & Health Club that recently opened in Knightsbridge. It’s the first time Anderson’s studio has been franchised, an opportunity that has been a long time in the making. 

“We know that there are so many people who really want the in-person experience and this is our first one that we’ve done in that model,” Anderson says. “It was very surreal, surreal to walk in. We have these incredible people that believe in our experience and who wanted to do the big lift to make it happen. To me, the most exciting part of it was that they care as much as we do. It’s my dream studio.” 

The London studio may be Anderson’s first opening in the British capital, but she has a long-time love for the city. She has previously lived in London and spent a lot of time working there with private training clients, including Paltrow. 

“We always knew we had an audience there,” Anderson says. “This was one of those magical things where everybody stepped in and exceeded expectations. The space is very beautiful and very thoughtful and the members will definitely improve their lives there.” 

Aside from in-person studios in New York, Los Angeles, the Hamptons, Madrid and now London, Anderson also helms an online studio, where devotees can take advantage of regularly-scheduled classes. Earlier this year, she debuted a set of rose quartz-embedded weighted energy trainers called HeartStone to use with her HeartStone app, home to bespoke workouts that fuse movement and meditation and emphasize Anderson’s interest in “healing powers and heart-opening energy.” It’s already a busy year for the fitness founder, who wants to share her love for wellness and health with her followers. 

Observer caught up with Anderson on her current essentials, from skincare to wellness to the new Taylor Swift album. 

Favorite places in London:

I’m excited to go back this summer. I’m taking my daughter to see Taylor Swift in London for her second Eras Tour show. When I lived there, I really loved Selfridges. I was more of a Selfridges shopper than a Harrods shopper. They have more of an edge.

The park, are so beautiful—I love Hampstead Heath. There’s a bakery called Hummingbird Bakery, and I love their cupcakes. I really love the theater scene. I also used to go to the Soho Houses there a bit. 

Favorite vacation spot:

We have a ranch in Montana. I love going there because it reminds me we’re part of something so much bigger than us. The nature there is like the Taylor Swift song “Bigger Than the Whole Sky.” It really is bigger than the whole sky, and the mountains are beautiful. I also love a place in the Maldives called Soneva Fushi. It’s spectacular. It has organic gardens and you don’t wear shoes and there’s no cars on the island. 

What she’s traveling with:

I won’t eat airport or airplane food. I would rather go hungry. So I bring a ton of snacks. I always bring an apple, a banana and these little GoMacro MacroBars. And then I bring a bag of Cocomels. I don’t like processed food, but some are much less toxic than others, so I’ll take the ones where I can pronounce all of the ingredients. 

I also like to take a mini fan, especially if it’s a long flight, because the air can feel stuffy. I always take a good moisturizing mask. I love this Biologique Recherche mask called Masque Biofixine. I always take my Got Physical Balm to rub on my neck and back—it has transdermal magnesium in it, and helps me to relax. I always have something cashmere, because nothing warms me up like cashmere, and nothing keeps me so cozy. I take more books than I could ever possibly read. I don’t love situations where you’re trapped and not in control, so I like to be in my own world with books and earphones and music. 

Her beauty routine:

I take my skincare routine very seriously. We have a clean beauty store on our website now, and I lean into that so much. I’m obsessed with this new hair brand called Crown Affair. I use a cleanser by Veracity. I use Biologique Recherche P50 toner. I love this brand called Eighth Day, and I use their Regenerative Serum. I don’t have any injectables in my face, but their serum is so hydrating and it keeps my lines in check. I’ll use my Eighth Day and then I’ll do the Goop Youth-Boost Peptide Serum. 

I actually use a mask as my moisturizer, [Biologique Recherche] Crème Masque Vernix. Most people wouldn’t do this; it’s sticky and it doesn’t smell good, but after I put my serums on I put it on my forehead and around my face, and my skin looks tighter. I also like David Mallet Hair Serum #DM027 and The Beauty Sandwich Snatching Sauce. 

Favorite fitness gear:

My favorite thing is the Power Mesh Shrug; it’s part of the Tracy Anderson collection. There’s something I love about layers when I’m exercising. I’m really into a onesie that doesn’t have any bands anywhere. You can just feel like you’re in your own body and your own skin. I’ll layer shorts and a mesh shrug over that. I’m also really into this Hermès tennis shoe right now. It’s not practical, but it looks good and it performs well. 

Her on-the-go fitness routine: 

I absolutely have to move. I’m lucky that I know what to do. But that’s why the online studio that I create for and perform for every single week is so important for people to lean into. You can take it anywhere. You can put a towel on the ground. It doesn’t matter if you have the small ankle weights or small hand weights. Just moving your own body and using your own body weight through the sequences will dramatically change your life. Sometimes I do my own online studio if I don’t feel like creating something for myself off the top of my head. 

Her wellness routine: 

It’s food, exercise and sleep, and it’s learning how to manage your stress. But food is huge. I have dated vegetables and a vegan diet for the last year, and now I’ve fallen in love with it. I grew up on meat and potatoes; on cheeseburgers and fries and milkshakes. I know what all of that feels like, and I know what all of it tastes like, and I know what it’s like to crave it and feel so satisfied by it emotionally, and not think that it can hurt you physically. I also know what it’s like to struggle with my weight, as I did in my very early twenties. And I know what it’s like to be able to get the body that I desired while not changing my diet. But where I sit today is that I wish for everybody to date vegetables and to fall in love with understanding ingredients, and having integrity with what you put in your body. I have wine and I have sugar, but 90 percent of the time it’s getting vegetables. I couldn’t be happier—I don’t feel deprived at all, and I’m never hungry.

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What she’s listening to:

I’m a huge music lover. I create to music. I am instantaneously in love with The Tortured Poets Department. It’s so deeply poetic. I can’t create to things that don’t feel smart, and Taylor Swift amazes me. She’s so smart. I also think Beyoncé made such a beautifully-crafted musical experience on Cowboy Carter. Those two albums, for me, are so inspiring. I’ll also go back to play the same things over and over, like Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam. But I feel like I was given such a gift with The Tortured Poets Department. I can’t wait to create to it. I’m a huge Swiftie. 

What she’s watching: 

Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me… Now: A Love Story. I think it’s incredible when artists are brave and vulnerable enough to show how art can be so healing for all of us. I think it’s such a beautiful thing. She’s such a talented performer and a talented dancer, as well as a talented musician, so to watch her use all of those different elements and storytelling and bring it so vividly to life. I watched that with my daughter Penny, and we were both equally moved and amazed. I love all these powerful women creating amazing pieces.