mike, let's talk about serious stuff for a second, we need to start going to Crunch... -g-
The Girls Are Stripping At The Gym
About 15 minutes into class, the instructor shrieks: "Are you still wearing
clothes? Ladies, take off those shirts!" Jeffrey Costa pumps his hips with
gusto and watches the class bump and grind in the mirror. The ladies
hesitate and steal furtive glances at their classmates. One T-shirt drops to
the floor. A few others follow. The wooden floor reverberates to the booming
bass line of Destiny's Child's "Independent Woman" and Costa shouts
encouragement to the group of about 20, punctuated by sharp sighs
reminiscent of Michael Jackson in mid-moonwalk.
The routine is a weekly ritual for 31-year-old Costa, who cooks up a
different program each week for the class in "Cardio Striptease," billed by
fitness temple Crunch as a way to shed both pounds and inhibitions. Strip
aerobics, which debuted in mid-June, marks the New York-based chain's
attempt to attract beautiful people and wannabes bored by run-of-the mill
aerobics. Other innovations aimed at the same trendsetters have included
"Cycle Karaoke," "Circus Sports" and "Gospel Moves."
The frenzy of innovation reflects an increasingly competitive market. The
number of U.S. health clubs rose 6 percent last year to a record high of
16,983, according to an industry group. "Health clubs are now more than ever
making a huge effort to accommodate all different kinds of people, from the
elderly with bad knees to the young with the short attention spans," said
Margo Faiman, a spokeswoman for the International Health, Racquet and
Sportsclub Association.
Los Angeles was the launch pad for the aerobics craze of the early 1980s,
which was promoted by Hollywood celebrities like Richard Simmons and Jane
Fonda, and the city remains an important laboratory for innovation. "News
spreads like wildfire, especially in L.A.," model and actress Angelica
Bridges says after a recent strip workout. "If something's hot, hip and
happening, then everybody wants to do it, and I think that's what's going to
happen to this class."
"I want you to fall in love with yourself," Costa tells his class. Several
students shoot sexy gazes and seductive smiles at their reflections. Others
maintain looks of fierce concentration, particularly during the raunchiest
bits. Stripping off gym clothes in front of a group of strangers is not
everybody's idea of a good workout. Even Bridges, who romped through the
television series "Baywatch" in swimwear, admits to being a bit apprehensive
before her first class. "I hope there are a lot of shy people who come to
this class because that's the point," Costa says. "It's to do things that
maybe someone told you were bad or wrong or dirty and say 'You know what,
this is human nature.'"
The discomfort level rises visibly during a recent class when a good part of
the gym assembled to watch through the studio's glass walls. Some have
suggested passing around a hat so bystanders can tip for the show, Costa
said. Most eyes are riveted on his teaching assistant Blayne, who chose to
withhold her last name. Her high-heels clack along the wooden floor as she
whirls through the room, pausing to toss her blond ponytail through the air
and show some skin. She likes to wear stretchy things that she can "pull
down and play with," Blayne says.
First-timer Miri Pardo was a little intimidated by the whole affair. She
described herself as "very shy" and said that, for her, "Cardio Striptease"
is as much about boosting self-esteem as it is about losing weight. "As we
were walking in I saw all the plastic and all the make-up and I thought
'uh-oh, am I in the right place?,'" the 36-year-old said.
Though the name might suggest otherwise, "Cardio Striptease" won't end with
everyone bouncing around naked. Most choose to stop at their sports bras and
exercise shorts. No one should feel obliged to take their clothes off or
even wear anything particularly revealing, Blayne says. Sometimes it's the
quiet ones who turn out to be the wildest. Blayne says she's often surprised
that folks who appear a bit conservative and inhibited at first sight pull
out all the stops once the music starts. And some women who didn't dress up
at all for class later confided they felt so inspired that they went home,
put on some high-heeled shoes and a bra and danced in front of the mirror.
But if someone should get carried away and start tearing their clothes off
in time to the music, Blayne says they'd have her blessing, though
California law enforcement might have something to say about it. "I think
that if someone really got into it and started feeling a little
exhibitionistic, then more power to them," Blayne says. Bridges, a
red-haired Missouri native who has graced a dozen magazine covers, including
an upcoming "Playboy," says she was relieved to find that the class is as
much about exercise as it as about exhibition. "I thought they would be
using poles and straddling chairs and doing all this crazy stuff, but it's
actually the best workout I've ever had," Bridges says. |
