Intimate Workout for Lovers

Though I consider myself old-fashioned and square, and despite the fact that I barely know how to play a tape in my VCR, I'm all in favor of Intimate Workout for Lovers (1992, Playboy, $29.95). Couples who come to my office for advice almost always complain about boredom, mental as well as sexual. While this tape isn't likely to spark an intellectual discussion, it can definitely light a fire in bed. For couples who aren't very worldly, Intimate Workout offers a voyeur's view of what's already going on in some bedrooms, with five vignettes (''Romantic Relaxation,'' ''Sensual Exercise,'' ''Water Workout,'' ''Morning Stretch,'' and ''Intimate Harmony'') of heterosexual couples stretching and massaging each other, gradually moving from workout clothes to nothing at all. The commonsense ''exercises'' range from weightlifting to glorified tickling; each episode centers more on the soft-core entangling of bodies than any physical exertion. But, if couples are willing to put into practice some of what they see, it will surely spice up their love lives. I have one general criticism of these types of tapes: The actors are always young and beautiful. I praise Playboy Video for producing a tape that includes attractive men for the female viewers instead of showing two women pretending to be lesbians, but women especially will compare themselves to the performers and find themselves lacking. I would like to see more tapes like 1974's A Ripple in Time, with Dr. Edward Brecker, which showed that people over 50, even with a little pouch, can have wonderful, sensuous, and satisfying sexual experiences. Repeat viewings of Intimate Workout could get boring, so I would suggest that a couple watch it once and then put it away for a while, letting what they remember of the tape, as well as their fantasies, take over for a few months. Exercising your combined imaginations can be the sexiest, most intimate workout of all. B