WHAT do you get when you connect one of the country's leading fitness experts with some of the biggest names in gospel music?

You get energizing gospel aerobics, says fitness guru Donna Richardson Joyner, executive producer and creator of Sweating in the Spirit, a new workout video.

"It's gospel music combined with praise dancing and aerobic movement," explains Richardson Joyner, a nationally known fitness expert who began teaching fitness 18 years ago in churches.

Today, exercise and fitness ministries at churches are picking up steam, especially among the nation's larger congregations. Richardson Joyner regularly tours with a number of Black church leaders and gospel recording artists, including Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Bobby Jones, Grammy Award winner Yolanda Adams and Juanita Bynum-Weeks. Richardson also instructs women how to "tune up their temples" during the national God's Leading Ladies Tour, presented by Bishop Jakes.

In fact, Bishop Jakes was at Richardson's side as she led more than 50,000 people at Bishop Jakes' MegaFest in a record-breaking line dance/gospel slide last summer in Atlanta. The feat is recorded in the Guiness Book of World Records.

"Often those of us who work so hard to develop our spirituality often do little to protect the well-being of the body which houses the soul," says Bishop Jakes. "Donna Richardson's Sweating in the Spirit ministry gives us the critical opportunity to strengthen our bodies so that we can continue to enjoy life and continue our spiritual journey toward deeper experiences with God."

The 55-minute Sweating in the Spirit video, which features Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Shirley Murdock, is presented in three parts and is designed to motivate body, mind and spirit.

Part 1 features Richardson Joyner and Grammy-winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin leading a class in a series of aerobic routines that are modeled after praise dance routines and worship-like movements. The second phase of the workout includes strength training and pilates, led by Richardson Joyner, who is joined by recording artist Shirley Murdock, who performs and exercises. In the program's final segment, gospel singer Yolanda Adams exercises with Richardson Joyner and also performs.