Does Curves Really work?
 

Has anyone joined Curves and found that it worked??

I am still a little skeptical.....
:^:

Been going to Curves since 6/29 and I love it. If you are serious about losing weight and your on a low-cal, low-fat diet, then Curves will help to you achieve results fast.
I have found that people that are not modifing their diet do not see the same results.
We officially weigh and measure once a month, my results, 8.5 #'s and 10". 8 #'s of fat down the drain! :)

Thanks for the info Max. I have been going since the beginning of July but only 2X per week. The hours make it hard to go sometimes. Your loss gives me hope though! Thanks!

Jersey Girl,
I was told if you are at your goal weight and you want to maintain it and be healthy, you should exercise 3x a week. If you want to lose weight, you should exercise 5x a week at a minimum.
HTH

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is Curves? I keep hearing people talk about it but I don't have a clue.
Steph

Curves is a 30 minutes exercise place for women only. It is a circuit set up and you do 30 seconds at each station. It alternates a weight training station with a cardiovascular station.

Their big thing is that you lose inches and all you need to do is go 3 x a week. People that I have talked to rave about it. Like Maxwell said - I think you really need to exercise 5X per week.

I am going to try and stick it out another month and see what happens. They are popping up all over NJ if your intersted in checking them out.

Anne

Thanks for the info. Do they have a website?
Steph

Here's the Curves for Women main website with the listings of the NJ locations. Some club locations have individual websites but not knowing which one is closest to you at least here's the addresses and phone numbers...

http://www.curvesforwomen.com/main.cfm/12?state=NJ

From this page you can click on HOME or ABOUT US at the top of the page to get more general information.

How much is a membership to Curves? Does anyone know if they offer childcare?
Steph

Cost varies.
I paid $90 to join and $29 a month (if you do auto-deduct from you checking account monthly for 12 months) or $39 month-month.
No child care, no exceptions. That is frustrating b/c I have a 10 yr. old that could just sit and read a book, but they say it's only 30 minutes, no kids period.

At my last weigh in/measuring I was down 16#s and 13.75" in 2 weeks. yippee!!!

Also, to clarify, I workout at Curves 4x a week and do other cardio workouts up to 6x's a week. There are some people that do Curves 6x a week, I have found that 4x's is good for me.

I went shopping today, I'm down TWO dress sizes. Man, it feels good!! Thank You Jesus!!!

I called for one in Clifton, NJ and they charge $550 per year, more than most Bally's that have suanas, pools, and whirpools in addition to classes, and weights, et. al.

Most Curves are only open 8am-12pm and then close until 4pm and stay open to 7-8 pm. No child care and they pride themselves on using the smallest real estate locations possible since their equipment is stationary. All the information I am giving you here is right on their site, Curves.com, so I am not making any of this up.

Not worth it for my money! Also if you care they were founded by a Christian fundementalist couple in Texas who lead the wild life and then found God and a lot of money with this chain. You can assume that they feed some of their profits into their religious organzation, so if you believe in separation of church and state, and/or church and gym, find another place. I for one am firmly and forever, Pro-Choice, so you will never see me in one of these gyms.

But the way I am religious and go tochurch every Sunday, just for the record.

Curves
 

Wow - I'm really surprised at the huge difference in fees across the country!!! My total for a whole year was $352.

I knew that the founders have a history of starting and then losing businesses but was very glad that Curves proved a good move for them. As far as the mix of membership monies with their church stuff - I guess I'd have to see the audit before making a judgement on that. I can only hope and pray that that is not the case. I certainly understand your concern in this matter!!!

I just know that Curves works for me and I'm glad they came to town. I'll stay with it for now and re-evaluate at renewal time.

I went to Curves last year to support a friend who was very overweight and too self-conscious at the gym. She found Curves to be a supportive atmosphere. For me, it was fun for a while.
I really enjoyed it for about 3 months and then I got tired of it.

My friend went like six days a week and WW also and lost enough to feel okay in a "real" gym within that time. I haven't gone since and found that although its fun and good for "beginners" and will give you a nice workout if you have an aversion to cardio (as I do), it can get crowded so that you are waiting (they used to advertise a 30 minute workout but stopped at a lot of locations because of the wait time) or it has that crowded feel (I used to go first thing in the morning).

If you can't/won't go to a gym or can't be motivated enough to spend 30 minutes at cardio or are a beginner, go to Curves.

In any event, I think that it fills a certain niche. I wouldn't slam them because I enjoyed the time I spent there but I think that it's a bit overpriced and the limited hours are ridiculous. I pay 34.99/mo at 24 hour Fitness which has everything (weights/cardio/classes/pool/childcare) and is open 24 hours a day so the 29.99 for Curves seemed exhorbitant after a while.

I tried to present a balanced viewpoint here. Hope this helps you in deciding.

Susan

I can't even imagine someone making a statement in regards to their religious beliefs and where their money goes. Get real, I thought this was a discussion about exercise. How we all spend our money is between us and God and no one else. As for being pro-choice and going to Church.........what type of Church do you go to that you can actually sit comfortably in all the while you are endorsing the murdering of unborn babies???

Ok, back the subject of Curves..........As for the cost, again, it varies depending on where you live. I live in VA and the cost is comparible with other local gyms. They do not offer childcare b/c the offer a workout that lasts only 30 minutes and they encourage you to try to get some 'alone' time. I had to get creative this summer, but I was able to do it.

The machines are resistance machines, as you get stronger, they match your strength. It is a good workout, and an enjoyable one.

I encourage everyone to check it out, maybe it will be something that works for you, maybe not, but it's definately worth a trip there to experience it.

They just opened a new Curves in my neighborhood. I think I will have to check it out. Sounds wonderful!