I told my grandmother I was going to take a stripper workout class the other day, her response?  “What? You need a new party trick?”

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I did not need a new party trick.  I needed a workout that gave me the chance to say “I’ve gotta go to my stripping class, talk to you later,” to friends and family.  So I went. 

I bought a Living Social coupon for six classes at Vixen Studios (www.vixen-studios.com) that opened not long ago downtown next to Dilly Deli. I pulled up the website and signed up for cardio striptease. 

I nervously walked up to the studio in my sweatpants and tank top, unsure what I was walking into, turns out the studio is non-descript.  The door is whited out and a combination of curtains and posters make it hard to see in, but still let the light shine through.  When you walk in the studio has brick walls, one row of mirrors and a hardwood floor with a row of poles.

Yes, I had the option to take Pole Dancing, but I was warned it causes bruising.  Since I already bruise like a peach and am in a wedding soon I went for the striptease.  I’m so taking a pole class sometime.

There were six of us in class, three newbies and three regulars.  We awkwardly introduced ourselves and got started.  Wendy, our instructor, had us spread out in front of the mirrors with folding chair so we could all watch ourselves.  Then she turned on the music from her iPhone and started showing us the moves we’d be using.

So while ‘Wild Thang’ by Tone Loc played appropriately in the background she took us through the motions.  I learned the body roll (push the girls out, then the ribs, then the hips), hip circles (make a figure 8 with your hips), and the booty move (push it out to the left and move it to the right). My body roll looked more like the robot but we all got the hang of it and moved on to learning the routine. 

The next hour went just like a dance class.  The teacher would count out moves and we would follow, by that I mean the regulars busted out moves like Demi Moore in Striptease while I looked like a baby horse trying to learn how to walk-legs akimbo and hips awkwardly jutting out.  

The cardio came from the constant movement and repetition of the routine.  We’d count out the first 8 movements and go through them a couple of times before adding on to the routine.  The trick was the more we did it, the more comfortable we got and I looked less like Nancy Grace on Dancing with the Stars and more like someone with working joints.  

Wendy was an excellent instructor.  Taking our various skill levels and taking her time showing us the transitions from shimmying to our chair, to perfecting the hip roll and even showing us a couple of pole tricks to warm up for the routine. 

Every time we went through the routine she was hooting and yelling for us like we were up on a stage, not just in a small studio downtown.  We kept adding more; learning sexy struts, perfecting our shimmy and to finish off the routine rode a chair like a bull.  By the end of the class we were sweaty, laughing and strutting around the floor like we were trying to ‘make it rain.’ 

I don’t know what I was expecting when I went to cardio striptease but I walked back to my car with a grin on my face I couldn’t wipe off.  The class worked out my muscles and gave me a boost I wasn’t expecting.  I felt empowered by putting my body through motions I never expected and doing it all without feeling insecure.  I was hooked. 

Later that day I was going out with friends, as I left the house my grandmother yelled out to me, “Are you going to show off your stripping skills at the bar?”

I told her it depended on my mood.