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Tracy Anderson in Fake Lashes on Today

Tracy Anderson visited the Today show this morning, and demo'd her super special workout Method. (Recall that Madonna swears by T.A., as does Gwyneth, with whom she has partnered to open an uber premium gym in Tribeca.) We watched the video -- embedded below, complete with annoying Pledge ad -- and came away thinking The Method looks a lot like Pilates done up against a kitchen counter. Also, that Tracy is wearing fake lashes and looks like she's had lip injections. Not that we're judging.

Tracy's big thing is lot's of reps with tiny weights. She points out there are over 600 muscles in the body, and says she targets the small ones, which she calls "accessory muscles." Activate those with her "strategic sequencing," and the results can be "truly miraculous," even trumping "genetic limitations," to give you a "Victoria Secret butt." In particular, Tracy warns women against working with heavy weights: "I'm not making the larger muscle groups larger, which is basically fitness as we've known it," she says. "I really care about moving, because who wants a massive core? Especially a woman?"

So, now we see why the cool fitness bloggers love to hate this woman. Will massive reps of water bottles really give everyone a Victoria's Secret butt? And what exactly does a massive core look like? The point is, she's working -- presumably knowingly -- with shoddy science. Contrary to popular opinion, lifting heavy weights does not significantly increase the size of women's muscles. It will increase definition, and burn fat, but it will not create "bulk." Fact is, all the cool girls are way into heavy weights these days. Here's what Fitness Fixation has to say about Tracy and her three pound weights....

Could you technically lose weight with 3-pounders using T.A.’s methods of lifting them a million times for three hours? Sure. Could you lose weight by working on your yo-yo skills for twelve hours a day? Yes. Could you lose weight by dry-humping the couch? Oui.

Right, we're not saying Tracy is a total fraud. (Although, her ex-business partner and some others in Indianapolis, where she got her start, don't have very many nice things to say about her.) We're just saying she seems a bit cheesy -- the predictable creation of our celebrity-and-vanity-driven fitness industry.

You want to get ahead in this business as a trainer or teacher? You've got to invent a product, build a brand, and get on Oprah... Tracy has done all that, and props to her for making the big time. Then again, pandering to weakness, and selectively ignoring research would seem a dubious path to healthy mind and body.