So I've been going to Curves. I'm lucky in that my insurance pays for a gym membership. I was going to 24 hour fitness before, and while I liked the variety, if left on my own I don't usually get a full body workout. Because I could never get the machine I wanted when I wanted it, I usually did too much on one. And, time would just disappear there, and I didn't like that. I do admit I miss the steam room though!

Curves I like the routine. I like that I can get a full body workout in a timely manner. I feel like I accomplish more. I'm not the most sociable creature in real life (I'm shy, though not so much on the interwebs. ) but I like the potential of a community. I just have to warm up to them.

But my concern lies in this; I never feel sore. Now, my heart rate does soar even higher than the chart says it should, yet I don't feel too winded to stop. Oh I do certainly get tired, but not too much so. So I'm pretty confidant of the cardio side of it.

But the weight training side of things has me worried. Will my muscles still grow if they're not sore? I don't mean I want to be in pain! But a little bit of soreness to let me know they're being challenged would be encouraging.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions?

Well, I'm not a member, but I would think that the same repetitive motion day in and day out wouldn't challenge your body enough. Can you use some light weights while you do your workout?

BTW... what insurance do you have?

This is purely based on my personal experience with Curves vs. what i've learned about weights, exercise, and building strength over the last 12 months. FWIW.

At the Curves I went to for several weeks (guest pass / new member special), there was very little emphasis on personalized training for what each person wanted to accomplish. It was all about making the circuit. You do the machines in order, all the way around, every single time. Most people weren't using enough weight to make a difference and none of the "trainers" could answer my serious questions about things I'd read that were different from what Curves encouraged.

The more I read, and the more I talked to knoweldgeable people, I found that the recommendations were to lift heavy, lift to failure, and allow yourself plenty of recovery time between sessions. None of that was ever reinforced at Curves. The advice I was given repeatedly was to come in every day, do the entire circuit, and make sure you finish every set. The whole concept of "lift light for lots of reps to "tone"" was pushed heavily.

I agree with you that you don't want to be in pain, but I think you do need to feel the work you do in your muscles. You won't always be sore from every workout - at this point there are some things I do that just don't make me sore much any more - unless I really really really push myself. But even so, I can see definite muscle growth and progress.

Two of my friends still go to Curves and have been complaining that they aren't making progress or losing as much weight as they want. I have moved to another gym that has a full weight room with free-weights as well as machines and I'm doing much better than I ever thought I could do building strength. (My weight loss would be better if I was better about what I ate! )

I would strongly recommend the book New Rules of Lifting for Women if you want to really understand weight lifting and how to get the most out of a workout.

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I'm in FL, so I have Vista high option HMO. I hear that Human high option HMO also has that, but I don't know if they do it just in FL or all over.

I hoping I can find a solution to this. I like the philosophy and community of Curves... it's just not working me hard enough in some ways.

I'm in FL with Vista insurance too. I quickly got tired of the circuit at Curves, so I switched to a more traditional gym. I mostly do cardio on my own, but for weight training I need a gym. Have you looked at the Vista member page to see what other gyms are available to you? I'm tempted to go back to Curves sometimes, especially since they are putting on across the street from my office, but I didn't find it as effective as my regular workout.

My last college had a circuit gym. I did get decent results... most of the time I would do the circuit twice. They had floor mats and a treadmill so I would run and do crunches to add to it.

If your workout is too easy you might want to up your weights. You're not going to get the same results as lifting heavy, but I think circuit workouts are great when starting off to lose fat... once you plateau though, it's time to move on.

I really enjoyed my time at that gym it was fast and effective, but the results are limited. Lifting heavy is best, but it comes down to, which one are you more likely to go to more often than 2x a week and enjoy?

See, that's the one big problem with Curves... there are no weights on the machines. The machines are hydrolics and supposedly work you harder the harder you push them... but I'm just not seeing it.

Yeah, see the problem with hydraulic machines is that the level of resistance you get is based on YOU - so there's less of a challenge. Because most of us - whether consciously or unconsciously - after a certain point is reached, cannot maintain the level of pressure/speed needed to get a high amount of resistance.

Whereas with real weights, there isn't an opportunity for you to slack off - 15lbs is 15lbs. So for example, when I'm doing military presses with 2 15lb barbells, by the time I get to my 12th rep, I'm having to FORCE myself to lift them and feeling the burn, but I'm still lifting 15 lbs with each arm. Whereas with a hydraulic machine, by the time you get to that 12th rep and your arms are tired and shakey, you're not moving that much weight any more because you're unable to generate the force that the machine needs. You never have the opportunity to lift to failure because the machine won't let you fail.

Also with a hydraulic machine, and using the example above, it's easier for your dominant arm or leg (say with leg presses) to take over and compensate for a weaker non-dominant arm or leg. And so you might be maintaining some resistance, but not equally so.

Finally just about machines in general is that they work muscles in isolation, not in complex groups. And we don't live our lives working muscles in isolation. So for truly functional fitness, it's better to get away from machines and work with weights you hold and carry - or with your body weight - or with some combination of the two. And do exercises that work groups of muscles, rather than each muscle individually.

Edited: Just found this article which I think explains it better than I can:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...3/ai_113650929

That was very useful, and it explains why I've been not getting sore. Thank you! I may stay with it for awhile because it still seems to be a decent cardio challenge for me and might help me establish a routine... but as much as I like it I will prolly have to go back to a normal gym sometime I suppose.