As if working out didn't make you hot enough already, exercise is taking an erotic turn. Aerobic stripping DVDs are becoming a popular way to strip down and shape up.
The trend of aerobic stripping started in 2001, when Jeff Costa created the program for the L.A. gym Crunch. He said he came up with the idea as a way to push the envelope, lighten the mood after Sept. 11 and get people in a position to have fun with their workouts.
"The latest trend in the late '90s was Tae-Bo," Costa said. Cardio Striptease, unlike Tae-Bo, does not focus on hard staccato movements. Instead, the workout attempts to get people moving slower.
"The slower we move our bodies in these circular movements, the more we can concentrate on training the core muscles," Costa said.
The moves in Cardio Striptease also bring elements of sensuality into routines. Costa said, "The main purpose of Cardio Striptease is to add more fun into people's workouts." He added elements of sensuality into the workout as a way of motivating people.
"As a country we need to start moving more," Costa said, "and this is one way to maybe inspire people to start that process +â-¡ it's about focusing on being a woman and celebrating the curves of your body ," he said.
Emma Smith, a freshman theater major said she thinks the program sounds like a really good idea.
"It seems like a lot of fun," she said. "Especially for young adults who are dying to let out their more sexual side in a controlled atmosphere."
However, with a program like aerobic stripping there are bound to be some dissidents.
"I'm sure some people would argue that it's corrupting our minds to make us think that sexuality should be expressed in such an open way," Smith said. "But I say hey, we're sexual creatures, why not express that and shed some pounds while we're at it?"
Costa commented that there will always be skeptics. What counts, he said, is that it gets people moving.
"By doing functional movements," he said, "You build the muscles, and the training effects then carry over to everyday activities.
Many people getting caught up in the craze of aerobic stripping are finding some promising results, Costa said,
"There are people who do something Cardio Striptease every day, and the typical effect of that is they lose 10-15 pounds in the first six weeks."
Costa also said, however, that there are "side effects" to aerobic stripping. He warns users to beware of the possibility of "better sex lives, excited husbands and fun with
working out."
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