I'M bumping. I'm grinding. I'm taking it off. But there's no two-drink minimum and nobody's waving dollar bills at me. I'm in a gym, not a strip club.
It had taken some courage to show up at 24 Hour Fitness in West Hills and pull off clothing -- as a dancer, I'm more of an old sofa than a Chippendale. But cardio striptease is supposed to be the newest way to get fit, so there I was at the new "24 Tease" class on a recent weekday evening. (I'd worn a couple of extra layers, even in the steaming Valley heat, just to have something to peel off.)
One other male -- and 16 women -- had gathered in a large room with a polished wooden floor surrounded by mirrors, the usual home of step and aerobic classes, to learn striptease moves and get a workout. I tried to hide in the back of the room, next to the spinning machines.
Although normally about 90% of the participants in group exercise classes are women, adding the strip element cuts male participation to 5%, instructor Tina Kendall said. "Men's perception of group exercise is that it is dancing, not a workout," she said.
It's true that for many men a liberal infusion of beer or the hope that dancing is foreplay is needed before they'll get up and shimmy. And the Hair Toss is especially difficult for guys like me who don't have tresses like Fabio's.
But striptease workouts are gaining mainstream acceptance.
The exercise programs combining moves usually seen in topless bars with aerobic training have been around since at least 2001, starting in small, boutique exercise studios. The routines have also been available on DVDs, including several by Carmen Electra.
Now the general population appears to be ready for the sexy workouts -- if they are done tastefully, says Donna Meyer, corporate director of group exercise at 24 Hour Fitness. The club began rolling out the classes at nearly all of its 362 locations nationwide in June.
Other local and national gyms offer similar classes, though not all are coed. Some, for women only, place more emphasis on the sensual than the cardiovascular, but all claim to make workouts more enjoyable.
"Being in touch with your sexuality is something that makes everyone feel better about themselves," Meyer said. "It's a fun way to get a cardio workout -- it's more like a party than stripteasing."
