[Hamoco350]

Hey, all!

I just attended my first Curves meeting - I had a lovely time. I set a lot of one year goals, and had a total body analysis. My trainer is just awesome - so knowledgable and full of life! She's strict but easy going, and doesn't yell in my face while I'm working out! lol

The price nearly made my eyeballs roll out of their sockets, though. Fifty bucks for the intro sign-up fee, and another forty for the first month. Ninety-three dollars even was my total! OUCH!!!

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone has had success with the Curves workout? I thought it was fun and I really felt like I worked hard afterwards. I am willing to continue paying the fee if it's worth it! I hope it is.

So, tell me what you think?

[Shrinking Girl]

I started Curves mid-June. The Curves I attend has the Curves Smart machines which means you get a tag (that you pay for, naturally) and you set your standard on the machines and then while you work out the lights on the machine indicate if you're working out within 85% of your maximum... it's pretty motivating. Plus, once you're done you can scan your tag into the computer and get a read out of how many calories you've burned and what percentage of your work out went into which muscle groups.

All that being said, not all Curves have the smart tags and I likely wouldn't still be at Curves without the smart tag! I would have gotten bored long ago.

When I first started, Curves was exactly what I needed.... something simple that I felt like I could do that would get me moving again. Now after 3 months I kind of feel like I'm out growing it. It seems incredibly repetitive and I'm worried the effectiveness is decreasing. If not for the smart tag I'd likely be a mindless zombie just going through the motions. The perks are that I don't have to think about my strength training routine, it's all set for me and it's doable and I just have to show up. The drawback is that it's the same and so not nearly as effective as it was in the beginning.

I had to sign a one year contract when I signed up and so I will no doubt be at Curves for a year. After that though I will probably join a normal gym for the flexibility and availability of things like treadmills (I also run 3x per week).

I don't know if this helps or not, but as I said... Curves was exactly what I needed to get me moving again. I wouldn't be nearly as fit as I am right now without them, it gave me the confidence to start up the C25K and the motivation to continue to work out rather than just quit after the first week. All in all, it depends upon where you are in your quest for physical fitness. If you're at the beginning, I'd say go for it. If you're in the middle I'd say pass. If you're looking for something you can do in half an hour that's easy and you don't need to think about it.... it's perfect.

[Dagny18]

I agree with everything Shrinking Girl said.
I started Curves when I was 280 pounds...it was not Curves Smart, I didn't get that until about 5 months later. Well anyhow, it is extremely expensive! But it was low impact and an easy introduction to strength training.
But it not only gets boring but I think your body gets used to it. I like that with dumbbells I can switch things up and make it harder or do a different exercise for the same muscle if what I was doing got too easy.
I started realizing how unhelpful Curves was when I did the 30 day shred at the beginning of summer. The bicep machine at Curves was easy! All of them were...but when I did the shred it was hard! I used 5 pound dumbbells which I didn't think were too much at the same time...well the next day my arms and entire body was sore! For some reason you don't get sore with Curves so that removes alot of the muscle potential...
But like Shrinking Girl said, if I hadn't started with Curves I never would have started! It is what I needed...something to build my confidence and a door way into harder exercise...while going to Curves I did other things like dvds at home and became fitter and I just kept building on what I could do.
I am 180 now but I quit Curves back in August...
Good luck!

[nakedmango]

A friend of mine has said the same thing. She joined Curves and outgrew it quickly. I think Curves can only take you so far. If you want to progress beyond that, you have to do it yourself.