Accent

DVD focuses on stripping off pounds, rather than clothing

If you're among the women on the lookout for a striptease workout in the privacy of your own home, look no more. There's a new DVD that will have you doing it in no time. Caveat: "Urban Striptease Aerobics" does not teach you to strip or to put on a show for your significant other. Rather than high heels, sexy outfits and a pole, think tennis shoes and workout clothes. Expect to sweat rather than peel off clothes. "It's not about learning to strip for your husband or boyfriend," says Tricia Murphy, the instructor on the DVD. "It's more about feeling good and feeling sexy for everyone." Shot at Seattle's Premiere Club, "Urban Striptease Aerobics" features Murphy and six others - most of whom are veterans of the class she teaches - strutting their stuff in hot pink tops and tight black workout pants. In addition to the 53-minute total body workout, there's an 18-minute "mini tease" with short tutorials on the movements and short bursts of interval training to raise the heart level. If you try it, you will get in touch with your hips - rolling and tossing them side to side and in a figure eight. Murphy, 30, says the low-impact workout is intermediate for people who are in shape and challenging for those who are sedentary. "Urban Striptease Aerobics" is not the first DVD offering a workout via striptease, a craze that has proved more than a passing fad. It started seven years ago at Crunch, a hip chain of 24 gyms across the country. An instructor there, Jeff Costa, pioneered "cardio striptease," prompting some folks to stip off layers of clothing as they danced. "We use chairs and boas, but we don't have a stripper pole," said Donna Cyrus, national group fitness director for Crunch. "It continues to grow. It's just a fun workout." Naturally, what was popular in the gym seemed ripe for a home video, and "Jeff Costa's Cardio Striptease Workout" debuted last month. The cover of the DVD ($12.99 at amazon.com) says "strip off the pounds." About the only other video competitor is a series from actress Carmen Electra called "Aerobic Striptease." Funny thing is, Electra apparently had taken Costa's class before she put together her program. Electra's full five-disc series, with more than four hours of workouts that include strip- tease, lap dancing and hip-hop, costs just under $65 at www.aerobicstriptease.com online. Billed as a low-impact workout, Electra's DVDs also star some over-the-top outfits: a hot librarian get-up comes to mind. Murphy says she wasn't aiming to vamp it up or emphasize the "sex sells" aspect of the striptease workout. "People ask my boyfriend all the time, 'Does she do this at home?' And he laughs and says, 'Are you kidding? She's a complete goofball.' " "Urban Striptease Aerobics" costs $23.85, and it's available at www.urbanstriptease.com online.