Celebrities are all glammed up for the red carpet but what we don’t see is the hard work put in to making themselves look beautiful. We envy their skin, their bodies. Spas, gym, pilates, dieting and all that jazz from here till Tuesday go with being a celebrity. Do you also want to look great but are too lazy to hit the gym? Turns out, there are a few really fun alternatives to the monotone of running or the repetition of lifting weights, like– get this– pole dancing! That’s gymnastics and dancing rolled into one. We checked out Crunch Fitness for a pole dancing session with Instructor Alycia M. Perrin and Playboy model and DJ Roxanne Dawn.

Calisthenics is recommended to relax the muscles before for any work out.

Pole dancing requires upper body strength. Here is Roxanne doing her push-ups. Instructor Alycia says “push-up, push-up, push-up!”

After a month of pole dancing lessons, Roxanne shows us what she can do.

Alycia and her enviable form on the pole.

Roxanne on pole dancing: “I love it because it’s a great workout and it helps relieves stress and specially because it’s something sexy I can show my guy when I get home.”

Alycia on her students: “I love empowering women. When they come into class, they are all really shy and I’m like uh-uh, come on get it out, get it out - I need some sexy!”

I asked Roxanne if she lifted weights prior to pole dancing: “No, my only work out before was deejaying. When I dj, I dance a lot.”

Alycia on learning how to pole dance:” I taught myself how to pole dance. It started with me being injured and being injured on your knee as a classical dancer, you kind of find something else to keep myself in shape. So, I don’t like the gym. I don’t like anything else so I bought a pole and I got on youtube and that was the end of it. Then I got addicted.”

Alycia might have taught herself how to pole dance but she doesn’t recommend it to anyone: “You get a lot of self taught, you get a lot of self hurt.” But she does “advocate having a pole in your house”. Burlesque is sometimes added to Alycia’s routine, “This way you get the whole dance, the whole ambiance of taking your clothes off and being cute and sexy and still being empowered.” After watching a session of pole dancing and actually doing it, I seriously want to make a go for it. Who doesn’t want a mega dose of sensuality and channeling inner Dita Von Teese on the side? Now, if I can only find time…

Catch Alycia every Monday at Crunch Fitness in Sunset Boulevard.

Grab the latest issue of Playboy Natural Beauty Issue and you will find Roxanne Dawn’s sexy bod.
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