Madonna’s secret Body : The fitness guru who’s given the 50-year-old singer the body of a 25-year-old

Love her or loathe her, you have to admit that Madonna looks incredible. Set to turn 50 this year, the striking blonde could be a woman half her age.

Whether posing provocatively in a T-shirt with Justin Timberlake or slumped against the ropes kitted out in boxing gear, she looks ready for action.As the first single off her new album, Hard Candy, comes out this week, people are asking: how does she do it?

The paparazzi photos tell part of the story. As a lithe and lean Madonna is pictured making her way out of yet another gruelling work-out session, there is an increasingly common fixture at her side.

A petite and pretty blonde is regularly spotted walking silently behind the Material Mum in London, New York and Los Angeles. She is fitness revolutionary Tracy Anderson and she is quickly becoming the secret slimming weapon of the A-list.

It was Madonna’s friend Gwyneth Paltrow who found her first. After giving birth to baby Moses in 2006, the health-conscious actress was confronted with a weight gain of more than 21/2st.

Following a strict diet, the star managed to shift half of it within several weeks, but that last stone proved to be impossible; and for months she resorted to wearing two Spanx girdles at a time.