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Strip To Fit:
Spice up your workout routine with the latest fitness trend...
"Are you going to use the pole?" my boyfriend asks me excitedly as I rifle through my closet for my lululemon pants. "Do you promise you'll show me what you learn?" His eyes are practically popping out of their sockets now, and I swear he's drooling.
Sophie Luxton heads Kata Kata Dance, a Toronto dance company that specializes in innovative and fun ways to get into shape.
I'm on my way to try the latest trend in fitness - strip aerobics. With DVDs like Carmen Electra's Official Aerobics Striptease Strip Workout topping the bestseller list for workout videos, it seems everyone wants to learn to be a stripper these days - or, at least, have a body like one.
Who knew stripping was such a great aerobics workout? Well, Sophie Luxton, for one. Artistic Director of Kata Kata Dance, a Toronto-based dance company that offers "fun, funky and fearless dance instruction and performances," Luxton says basic stripping dance moves can give you a great workout, particularly on the legs and abs.
Of course, it would be much too embarrassing to go it alone my first time, so I arm myself with some courageous girlfriends and we head to Diesel Fitness at 99 Spadina Avenue in Toronto. The club is full of hardwood and hard bodies, and my friends and I get more nervous and giggly the closer the clock inches to 7:30 p.m.
After filling out some paperwork and handing over $72 each (that's for six classes, one per week), we're pointed to a large room with wall-to-wall mirrors and about 25 other women standing around in sweats, tank tops and bare feet.
Luxton's crouching at the front of the room, fiddling with a CD player. She's taught at least one other class tonight, and though she's dripping sweat, she's pumped and ready to go. I'm not so sure about the rest of us, though. There are a lot of nervous giggles and whispers coming from the class. Suddenly, music blares from the stereo and Luxton leaps into action. "Okay, ladies!" she yells and claps her hands to get our attention. "Let's stretch those limbs out!"
The first part of the class is much tamer than I'd anticipated, and I relax as I copy Luxton's moves. We do neck rolls and basic stretches for our arms and legs, similar to what I've done in yoga. I'm stretching down to touch my toes when Luxton opens her legs and slides into the splits, tossing her head forward and back, flipping her long, blonde hair. She runs her hands down the sides of her torso and smiles mischievously at us. "Its easy, yeah?" she says.
Yeah…that didn't look too easy to me, or any of my friends. We're all looking at each other, thinking, "How the hell are we ever going to pull that move off?" Not to worry. Luxton repeats the move slowly for us, and asks us to try it ourselves. I drop down into something that more closely resembles a crouch than the splits, tilting my neck slightly forward and back. "If you have your hair in a ponytail," says Luxton, "Untie it! It's super sexy to feel your own hair on your back!"
My hair's down for the rest of the one-hour class and, I have to admit, it does feel sort of sensual. As Luxton leads us through basic floor, wall and standing stripper dance moves, she encourages us to imagine ourselves as "prostitutes, escorts, dancers or fine ladies - whatever makes you feel sexy." We're split into two groups so we can watch each other perform. I'm not sure how "hungry" I look crawling across the floor, but some of the women in the class have really got the hang of it, and I begin to feel like I'm in one of those red, velvety strip clubs. Minus the nudity. And the pole.
While I don't really break a sweat during class, I can feel some of the muscles in my legs working, and Luxton's bright, cheerful attitude and expertise made the experience fun - and effective. When I get home, I bend over for my boyfriend, arching my back and flipping my hair. Suffice it to say, some of Luxton's moves really do work. ¤ Noa
Learn more about Sophie Luxton and Kata Kata Dance at www.katakatadance.com.