I've been debating about a gym membership during the winter months to give myself some variety in my workouts, and wanted to check out Curves. Everything I can find on them, however, revolves around their eating plan, which I'm not interested in. Any info you could share on the equipment, cost, etc. would be much appreciated! THANKS!

Our Curves just shut down but here is my experience:

It was about the same as a regular gym membership $33.00 per month. At the time I was going, I did my own diet (Atkins) and lost 40 pounds and a lot of inches over summer break. I just got bored going in the same ole circle doing the same ole thing every single workout. the music was good, but not enough variety. I got bored of it quickly. Not to say you would or anything. I would suggest a trial membership.

I've been a member there on and off since 2000. I had great results the second go round, I got down to 187. I went to go back to sign up today. It's a great environment to work out in. I would recommend it. Here in Central VA it's $29 a month. $75 to start a contract with them. Here they switch the equipment around every so often to give a bit of variety, and recently we got a new stretch bench, thingy-ma-bobber. lol.

If you check out the exercise forum, I believe there are some curves members there. I've never tried it myself but I know its helped a lot of people get exercise that weren't previously.

Curves is great for people just starting out, or people like me that have so much to lose who would feel more comfortable in a controlled environnment (that's code for they're for women only! ) There is both good and bad Curves locations. I belonged to Curves back in 2003-2004 and I absolutely loved it. But once my office moved I had to move my membership to one closer to home and I absolutely hated it! You need to check out the franchise itself - it's the owners/managers and the people that work there that make it worthwhile. At my first location they were always mixing up the music and having ongoing contests to keep you from noticing how repeatitive the circuit was and they had at least one of every piece of equipment. The trainers were always in the center of the circuit pushing, motivating and leading the members. At the second location I never saw anything but the top of the "trainers" heads as they played on the computer and chatted on the phone. They never greeted anyone coming in or going. They didn't have all the equipment and their hours weren't as good as the other location.

But that said - in my option you have already surpassed what Curves could offer for you. By that I mean you have already lost a significate amount of weight and you've already been exercising on your own. For the same amount or a little bit more you could get a membership at a regular gym that offers classes and has a swimming pool along with the other exercise machines.

Oh - I forgot about part of your original post! As far as the Curves Diet, only a few (at the most 10-15 members) followed the Curves diet. Everyone else was doing their own thing.

I do belong to Curves.... I enjoy it because it gives me something different to do and I can get my heart-rate up to the point where it counts as a cardio and it gives me some "me-time" 3 to 4 days a week. I do my strength training at home. They did not push their diet plan on me at all. If you are not comfortable with the idea of going to regular gym (I am not) curves would be a good option. I know at the one that I go to - when you go in to talk to them - they give you a one-week pass to see if you would be interested. I suggest going in and seeing if you can get a one-week pass and find out if it works for you.

Good luck!!

Thanks for the info, Ladies! I'm not confident enough about my body YET to hit the regular gym, but still wanted some variety from my elliptical machine that I have at home. Great suggestion, Penney, I will check to see if I can get a trial pass to see if I like it!

I belong to Curves too. I agree with what melsfolly said about how much difference the owners/managers make. If you have more than one Curves in your area, definitely check them out to see which you like the best. One good thing is that once you are a member you can workout at any Curves location.

They didn't push the diet on me either. I bought the book that explains it and decided to do my own thing instead and it has never been brought up again.

I like the fact that I get really good results for the investment in time it takes to work out there--30 minutes 3-4 times a week. I have lost 75 pounds in 6 months and a lot of inches.

I would definitely recommend it if you feel you are not ready for a regular gym.

Curves is definitely good for people who find it hard to get motivated and exercise, I like it because I don't feel intimidated like I do at regular gyms where it seems like everyone looks great already >_>

I need a new yoga mat at home (that concrete floor is killing my back) and I believe there are coupons on them for a free two week trial at Curves. Time to go shopping!

I'm still a member, although I haven't visited for over a year (due to circumstances surrounding my son & his ongoing surgical needs...not because I have a beef with Curves). I will say that I actually loved it...and never did the diet (in fact, I think their diet was just coming out when I stopped attending). The number of equipment/workout spots will increase by their membership (I remember the lady stating something along that line).

I actually loved it, and am trying to psyke myself up into going again (I have a bit of social anxiety). Speaking as an extreemly overweight lady, with very little stamina to hang in there for other gyms, felt a little nervous about walking parks/neighborhoods (negative self-esteem tapes reeling in my head), and just terrible with sweating in the FL heat...I have to say that I loved Curves. You could pick whatever time of the day you visited...many open very early and stay open very late (I picked a time when there weren't any skinny people, LOL). Air conditioning, music and an automated voice that told you when to start/stop/switch, took out all of the "work" associated with exercise...so I could just concentrate on performance. I think you'll like it, actually.