Tracey Mallett

All photographs courtesy Tracey Mallett.

Fitness and wellness expert Tracey Mallett started dancing at age 4 and was later accepted at The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Britain's oldest theatre arts training school. After completing her studies, she began her dance career in ballet and jazz across Europe before moving to the U.S. in 1996. "A former professional dancer, I was introduced to dance conditioning which was basically Pilates," says Tracey. "I was hooked from that day onwards, so off I went to take my Exercise to Music certification to teach aerobics. This led into group exercise, I felt it was a natural progression of educating people to be healthy. I've been in the fitness and Pilates industries for over 20 years."

She teaches barre workouts from her Los Angeles-based studio (ATP Specific Training), combining disciplines--Pilates, calisthenics, yoga, ballet, and other dance forms. "There are a lot of high-impact workouts on the market. I wanted to create a low-impact program that was safe, effective and could be done for life. My workout, the Booty Barre, is based on two of my passions: Pilates and dance. While it's dance-based, you don't have to be a dancer to do it. It may be called the Booty Barre, but it really is a total body workout, everything you need in order to be fit: cardiovascular, flexibility and toning components. The program targets the abdominals--if your center is strong, the rest of your body will be strong." Based on high reps and light resistance counterbalanced with flexibility movements, her workouts appear regularly in publications including Prevention, Fitness and Shape and she runs instructor certification programs across the nation. Her classes are now in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Ireland.

Her daily routine includes interval and weight training, Pilates, dance, Booty Barre, and a 25 minute run. "I always like to mix it up. You don't need any fancy equipment to get a fabulous body. All you need is your own body weight for resistance, some dumbbells and good workout tunes. You have to make exercise a priority and stick with it." For class locations, DVDs and instructor certification information visit Tracey's website.