Pole-dancing offers a pole-based exercise more effective than 1920s pole sitting, more energizing than pole-vaulting, and more sensual than polenta. Touch a 10-foot pole with today’s Groupon: for $10, you get an introductory pole-dancing class at Flirtastic Fitness in Glen Mills (a $20 value).

The pole-dancing curriculum at Flirtastic Fitness boosts confidence while increasing flexibility, augmenting endurance, and building muscle tone. The limber staff leads aspiring polecats through a series of core-strengthening exercises and entertaining, choreographed routines in the one-hour introductory classes. The ladies-only sessions surround students with welcoming acceptance, allowing them to express sultry spirits or a total disregard for Newtonian physics. Participants torch as many as 500 calories while learning exercises and useful dance fundamentals for breaking the ice on awkward subway rides. Students require no special equipment to sashay and spin amid the studio’s shiny practice poles and mirrored, hot-pink walls.