Curves Vs Gym

Fauxnaif · January 26, 2007

I think you have more flexibility (no pun intended) and options in the gym. I think a gym will serve you longer since many people outgrow Curves.

Some people do like the all-female aspect of Curves.

Personally, I love my 24 Hour Fitness.

Woodys · January 26, 2007

I own a small lady's fitness centre based on the Curves concept, not one of their franchises but it is based on the 30 minute circuit. There are two differences with mine vs Curves.....the equipment is heavier and sturdier.....and unlike Curves policy, I have other equipment such as a treadmill, exercycle, ab-roller, gazelle, etc.

How unfortunate that those who have tried Curves or a similar gym got bored and did not experience results. Your workout is only as good as what YOU put into it. My members are constantly learning new moves for the steppers and jogging boards to shake up their routine and they get quite aerobic. The owners and managers should also be implementing strategies to shake up your routine as well....every Wednesday I make the members do the circuit in the opposite direction.....this really makes them think of what they are to do next. Every month I rotate the equipment moving them to different spots so that the circuit isn't always the same. Two days / week they work out to a 40 second cue CD instead of the 30 second one....this really makes a difference in the intensity of their workout. Also, I watch them...if I see that they aren't giving the workout the best I know they can then I remind them of that and workout right along side them and instruct them to keep up with me....the faster you go, the harder and more intense the workout.

I have lost a few members because of the "excuse" of boredom.....for the most part I saw these individuals only going through the motions and expecting my so called "miracle" machines to turn them into Marilyn Monroe overnight with not much effort from them....it doesn't work that way.

I have about 15 members who are under 30....I have a mix of CD's that satisfy everyone's taste and make sure that my 5 bay CD exchanger has a variety that shuffles all day long so that sooner or later you will hear a few tunes that you will enjoy working out to. I also have a small TV that overlooks the entire circuit...no sound so it doesn't compete with the stereo and cue CD but it constantly plays workout videos that shows the members new moves that they can be doing on the joggers and steppers....this really helps.

I have members of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels. The majority of my members have proven results and enjoy their experience at my gym....these are the ones with drive, imagination, and who give their workout everything they got with no expectations of a machine or trainer doing it for them.

Carol

RisaAnn1976 · January 29, 2007

I live in Lincoln Nebraska, three month's ago I went through trying to decide what to do for exercise and was considering curves. I ended up going with the YMCA. Our YMCA's have added rooms called "Quick Fit Rooms" which are exactly like Curves. So you have access to everything you can get at a 24 hour fitness and you can also go in and do a Curves workout if you feel like it. I like to do 15 minutes on the eliptical, 15 minutes on the treadmill and 30 in the Quickfit romm. The sad thing is that it was cheeper to go with the YMCA!

silry · January 29, 2007

i used to be a total gym rat. 2 hours a day, huge complex workouts... but then i got distracted by life (ie: boys) and stopped going. of course i ended up gaining a lot of weight... so i joined curves. and gained MORE weight. turns out that under that extra 25lbs, i was too fit for the curves workouts - i busted my ass AND did the circuit an extra time. by the end of my curves stay (which was only 9 months since i broke my foot) i had gained an additional 15lbs. the good thing about my current gym is it has a woman's only gym in addition to the big gym. i've found that working out in the main gym isn't as bad as i orginally thought it would be. i'm a lot less intimidated. plus as my fitness level grows, the choices at the gym will be able to accommodate me.

so, i think curves would be good for you if you never have worked out before, have a really sedentary lifestyle and have a good deal of weight to lose. the ladies were really friendly, did fun little games to help the workouts pass by in a fun and quicker manner, and they changed things up a bit every so often (like rearranging the machines) to keep things fresh.

my 2 cents. :rolleyes