I keep seeing "Curves" mentioned..
 

I am new...what is curves? Is it an exercise program? I am not a very self-motivated exerciser, and I am looking for a buddy or program to join to help motivate me..

Curves is nationwide workout place just for Woman. I joined in Dec of 04 and love it. It is all done in a circuit and hydrolics so you set your own pace. Each station is a 30 sec process and you go twice around. LOOK in your neighborhood and you can get free tour and info. I love it bc I can spill my beans with other woman and not feel intimidated. Check out out the link
http://www.curvesinternational.com/

oh wow there is one right down the road from me! I was thinking about joining Bally's Total Fitness but Curves seems to be more geared towards someone like me...If you join do you have to do their diet? What do you pay for? Is it just classes? Or do you get one on one stuff too? How much does it cost? Sorry for all the questions, the website doesn't cover all that stuff and I hate going in somewhere to ask questions because I am a sucker for spending money on things right away without thinking about them!

Hi,

I never did Curves but I am a sucker to spend money too. I just spent money on "Walk away the pounds - Superchallenge" DVD and almost cried so boring it was and so silly this woman looked to me. Mind you, I can run about 10km and I bike about 90km/week, what was I thinking about buying a Superchallenge DVD like that. Please go there and ask them for free class, tour, whatever - I feel so bad when people have good intensions but sign up for wrong things...

Sandy.

hmmm wonder if they are open today? I guess I should give them a call!

I'm a fairly new curves member, but lets see what I can do here.

As for your questions...No, you do not have to do the diet unless you choose to, there are actually 2 diets, a low calorie one and a low carb one, if you choose to do one, you do the one that fits your needs and eating style. There is a signup fee (which is usually about $150 but there are many ways to get that reduced, mine was 1/2 price), and then the monthly fee, which varies from location to location, but is usually in the $40/month range or $30/month if you sign up for a year.

As for classes, Curves are all franchises, the owners individually decide what classes, events, etc they will hold. You would have to talk to your local one to find out what they do.

I've only been a member for a couple weeks, but I'm really liking it so far.

Oh, and I think all the Curves are doing a thing right now where if you bring in 2 milk bottle tops, you can try it out for 2 weeks. I highly suggest you exercise (hehe) this option and try them out before signing up.

Sashenka, I actually love the Superchallenge. It can tend to get boring, but you can also spice it up a bit. You don't have to listen to Leslie. Sometimes I play music and mute the video. Other times, I do jumping jacks, twists and jump rope during the walking segments, then join with the video for the kicks, knee lifts and side steps.

Breakfast, I was looking for something to keep me motivated through my pregnancy. I toured both Bally's and Curves. Bally's would actually be more my speed...later. Right now, I can't do much of what I prefer the most, which is running. I can spend 60 to 90 minutes at the gym with the elliptical and treadmill. However, I wanted something to motivate me. And knowing I can't do what I enjoy the most, didn't feel that Bally's would keep me motivated. With Curves, I can manage to do that while pregnant, and there are others there in a group setting where you can talk while exercising instead of a sort of workout on your own approach. So I opted for that for now. The other deciding factor is not knowing what's down the road a year from now at this point in life. Bally's would only go a 3 year contract, unless I paid much more per month. While Curves is just a one year.

And they did cut my join fee down to $75. If you get ValPak, they had an add in there for buy one get one free membership. Since I was on my own, they just cut mine in half. So try mentioning ValPak and see if you can get the 1/2 deal. And my monthly fee is $29.

Just wanted to say I really love curves. It has kept me exercising on a regular basis. This is something I was never able to do full-time.

Is curves all classes that you have to go at a certain time or is it like a gym ans you can come and go as please?

You can go whenever you want - when they're open of course. :) Also if you go to page 2 of the exercise threads you'll find a thread by people who go to Curves regularly.

The ones in my area are open until 7 p.m. during the week (but closed at lunchtime) and open until noon on Saturday. I go in whenever I want. You just scan your ID tag they provide you with and change into clean shoes then pick an empty spot. It goes in a circle of machines with resting stations in between each machine. Pace is kept to the music and a tape will tell you when to move to the next piece of equipment or station. You go around the circle twice then go to the exercise bar and do the stretches posted on a chart. It takes 30 minutes. And the harder you work the machines, the more of a workout you can get.