Pole dancing: Good exercise or trashy?

Largo, Florida -- Most gym classes start with a welcome hello, bright lights and fast-paced music.

But not at the pole dancing class at Shapes Total Fitness in Largo.

Instructor Lisa Miller starts by turning on black lights and strobes, flipping on a sultry Fiona Apple tune and asking participants to "circle those hips."

There are two rows of three stripper poles in the workout room, which is normally used for spinning classes. And thanks to low lightning, it takes Miller and her three students just a few moments to really let go.

The class starts with students circling the pole slowly, being careful to stretch their legs and arms. Miller then asks them to put their backs against the pole and do a series of sexy squats.

"This really works your legs," she said.

After that, the group starts spins, one of which involves taking both feet off the ground and squeezing bodies around the pole.

"I work out about five to six days a week," said Sarah Haggitt, 19, who was taking the class for the first time. "I'm really in good shape and this actually really tired me out."

Since starting the class about a year ago, Miller says her classes -- which meet Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at noon -- have been full.

The idea began about three years ago, when one of Miller's personal training clients asked if she knew of any gym-based pole dancing classes in the Bay area. Miller couldn't find any, so she decided to give it a try.

She bought a pole, set it up at home and practiced about two hours every day for six months.

"And I realized how hard it was when I was learning it," Miller said.

But even she admits that she didn't tell her mom about it at first.

"Don't knock it until you try it because it is hard," she said. "You know, [pole dancing] is in strip clubs but, you know, this is a nice, fun, safe environment."

Shapes in Largo is an all-female gym.