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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 26, 1993                   TAG: 9303260080
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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SHAMELESSLY FIT

The premiere issue of Physical Culture is the mail-order equivalent of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, with equal time given to the bods of men.

However, this 48-page catalog isn't a sports or swimsuit magazine. And it's certainly not an offshoot of the retired (and retiring?) Sears catalog.

Instead, it's a line of fitness wear "created by fitness professionals for fitness professionals."

We doubt it.

Dubbed "the art of body experience," the Body Master Sportswear collection looks like somebody else's body experience, say Cindy Crawford's or Riddick Bowe's.

In fact, much of the line features strategically placed mesh insets and color blocking, low cuts, high cuts, cut-outs and just too many cuts. Of course, the saving grace is that a few pieces actually can be worn without shame to the gym (save the bun-bearing briefs or sheer mesh body stocking).

Still, we've never seen anything quite like it at the Y. Heck, we've never seen anything quite like it in Sports Illustrated!

So for now, until we have Cindy's glutes or Riddick's pecs, we'll just toss a pair of Fruit of the Loom boxers and an amply sized T-shirt in our gym bags. That's our physical culture.

To receive a copy of Physical Culture, write to P.O. Box 30486, Oakland, Calif. 94604.

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