Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160048
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: IRA DREYFUSS ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In her exercise video, Collins recommends the warmups. Other advice: Don't use the hand weights until you're past the beginner stage - and leave the splits to her.
The veteran actress best known as the domineering Alexis Carrington in the old nighttime soap series ``Dynasty'' is among the celebrities who have new roles as exercise class leaders. Among the other famous names are actress and aerobics guru Jane Fonda, who pioneered the celebrity exercise video, and actor, athlete and double murder defendant O.J. Simpson.
A guide to the drawing power of celebrities can can be found in the names in Billboard magazine's weekly chart of the top 20 health and fitness videos. The list is compiled from a national sample of retail sales reports.
For one week in April, for instance, model Elle MacPherson's video was in first place, with fellow model Cindy Crawford in third and actresses Ali MacGraw, Kathy Ireland and Dixie Carter in fifth, 14th and 20th respectively. Model Lucky Vanous, who got ogled while shirtless as he drank a soft drink in a commercial, could also be ogled in a video that was 16th.
``There's some that are not even listed,'' said Marc Zubatkin, Billboard's video chart manager. Olympic silver-medalist skater Nancy Kerrigan, for example, is featured in a Reebok video, he said.
For celebrities, it's a win-win relationship with the video company, Zubatkin said. ``They lend their names, personalities and bodies to the videos,'' and the company gets to bank on their names to sell the workout, he said.
Many stars got their start in the workout biz by simply doing their favorite workouts. But more are relying on exercise professionals to costar and choreograph, adding a level of credibility for a public leery of moves that could get them hurt, said Kathy Davis, executive director of IDEA, a fitness professionals association.
``That's what should be happening,'' Davis said. Stars ``don't know fitness. They need to hook up with someone who understands the human body,'' she said.
Collins' workout is a case in point. Her personal trainer, Tonia Czerniawskyi, appears as a supporting player.
What's fit for a celebrity who stays in shape may demand too much from the body of a viewer unprepared for exercise, so Collins, like many others, tempers her demonstrations with warnings.
For instance, the splits: splaying one's legs full-length fore and aft can be hard on tight muscles, tendons and ligaments. ``I would say to the camera, `Look, the splits is not for everybody,' '' Collins said in an interview.
Instead, Collins concentrates on simple bends, stretches and lifts. ``They are not exercises that are going to overexert yourself,'' she said. ``And they are things that actually work.''
A good celebrity video, like any exercise program, should have plenty of time for warmup and cooldown as well as workout, said Dr. Alan S. Curtis of New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. The orthopedic surgeon, who reviewed several celebrity workout videos, advises that a video buyer should make sure the workout targets bodies like the buyer's.
And celebrity videos, like any exercise videos, have drawbacks. Sticking with a solitary video workout program requires extra motivation, as opposed to a health club class that has a group dynamic which can help you get through the rough spots, Curtis said.
When it's just the exerciser and the TV, ``the downside is that you are all alone and you have no one to urge you on,'' Curtis said. ``And after a month, if you still don't look like Cindy Crawford, that's a problem.''
by CNB