Yes, this is a title about stripping to get fit. No, I am not talking about heading to a seedy part of town or into what is rather euphemistically labeled as a gentleman’s club. I am talking about one of the latest trends in the fitness world. I’m sure you’ve seen the ads or at least seen the DVDs. I’ve seen them in several places – including family shopping stores like Walmart.
Yes, I’m talking about the strip tease fitness craze; for those of you have not heard of it – as much as I wish this was a Friday Fitness Funny – it’s actually quite serious.
Let me interrupt this regularly presented blog with two caveats. First and foremost, this being a family friendly dot com you can be assured that we’re going to keep this clean. Secondly, I am not a prude. By no stretch of the imagination am I a prude. But the idea of stripping for fitness – as much as I try to wrap my mind around it – all I find myself doing is laughing.
The idea behind strip it to get fit is that you can perform a cardio routine that improves your tone as well as freeing up your inner woman. Yes – inner woman – most of these videos seem primarily targeted at women. Though the marketing and wording seems far more aimed at the masculine side of the audience – but hey – that’s just my opinion.
The idea of stripping for fitness is tantalizing and scandalous. We’re not supposed to endorse a behavior that may be considered questionable at best. I’m not going to remotely address the moral issues that may be related to this – because frankly – I think this is more about having fun than getting fit.
Why do I think this?
Because as exciting and tantalizing as stripping may be on the surface – it’s not really about getting your heart rate up and going. Dance can definitely tone the body and provide you with a great cardio workout – but the type of dance that does that is not really conducive for stripping unless you’re double-jointed.
Going through a sampling of these workouts – you are challenged by some exceptionally trimmed people performing moves that are alternatingly exotic and ridiculous. The best of the best ask for the cheesiest behavior. The strut and the hip roll, the butt wiggle and the prance – as silly as it sounds – imagine how free you felt when you were a little kid and a music video came on.
Ever lip sync along with a video on MTV? At one point, I could do Thriller in my sleep. That’s what these remind me of – they free you up to do some cheesy, funny maneuvers and you are prancing around your house like it was a stage. It can be a real kick in the pants to goof around in your own living room, freeing you up for some fun.
The toning quality of the strip tease workout is questionable at best. I’m not decrying their ability to teach good fitness – but what I can tell you is that they can make you laugh, they can make you dance and they can free up your inner child for some fun – even if it is a bit raunchy. After all, I don’t put on a full body unitard to do my yoga – so I hardly think it matters if you actually strip when it comes to using these DVDs to work out.
The best of these workouts require a lot of stretching and strengthening – while they won’t get your heart racing (though you might get your spouse’s going) – some of the workouts look like a lot of fun. By the way, if you’re curious like I was – having a pole installed only costs about $200, but it’s not the most unobtrusive piece of decorating that you can do – but decorating it at Christmas could be fun!
In all seriousness, not that I haven’t been serious here or there – mixing sex with a trend in fitness is hardly new – at one point aerobics videos were treated as risqué and inappropriate. One only needs to recall Olivia Newton-John’sPhysical from the early 80s.
Did I just date myself?