All about Curves
September 30, 2003 
2:37 am
Guestbook message from Cecilia Marie:
"Hey there, me again. A friend from work gave me a free pass for Curves...how do you like it? Everyone that I talk to swears by it, but I'm still a little leery. Any advice you can give me? Thanks! :)"
My best advice: go to your local Curves and check it out. :) If there are more than one Curves in your area, check all of them out -- Curves is a franchise-run business, meaning that each individual Curves Gym is owned and run by different people. So each one has its own personality.
The goal of Curves is very straightforward: to provide women with a gym that is geared towards them physically, mentally, and environmentally. The machines (set up in a circle so that you can socialize with your fellow Curves Losers) are all hydraulically powered, meaning that the harder you work the machine, the harder the machine works you. You are only on each machine for 30 seconds before switching to the next station, and how many reps you do is entirely up to you and your body. There are recovery stations between each machine, on which you bounce-jog in place to keep your heartrate up. There's no set "start" point on the circle: when you walk in, you hop on the nearest empty station or machine and start away.
The workout is both strength-training AND cardiovascular: cardio to take the weight off, strength-training to keep it off. And it's fun. There's always music playing, the machines are really cool. (There's one we call The Beast which works your quads and another one called The Gyno Machine....)
Personally though, my experience with Curves has been fantastic. Things I love about it are that it's all women, the machines are easy to use and learn, there are no complex routines to get used to because everyone is on the same rotation schedule, you can work at your own pace, you only ever have to do 30 seconds on each machine (which is a Godsend when I'm on The Beast), and there is an incredible amount of support from both the trainers and the other girls.
There are women of all ages at my Curves. I believe that at 22, I'm one of the youngest full-members (not including family memberships), and one lady I sometimes see around is 78 years old. We're all sizes, all shapes, all colors, all backgrounds. But we all have one common goal!
Falling off the wagon also isn't a big deal. If the trainers don't see you for a week or so, they'll give you a call to see you're all right. And you're never ostracized for missing a workout; the general feeling is "I'm leaving healthier than when I walked in." And that's regardless of how many days a week you can squeeze in.
I can't say enough about Curves because I know for a fact that being a member there has helped me more than anything else I've ever done. I lose weight consistently now, whereas before I didn't. Sometimes it's slower than I like -- take for instance this month, where I only lost 4.0 lbs. That's only a pound a week, but I also lost 11.75 inches, which meant that I added a TON of muscle and lost almost a foot of fat from my body. Maybe if I had just been on a diet plan, I would have lost more pounds... but I wouldn't have gained all the muscle. I can lift things easily now that last month gave me achy arms and shoulders. So it might come off slower than I like, but it's coming off. And I'm getting buff. ;)
So my advice, in a nutshell, is this: go check out your local Curves (or more than one, to find one you like). Your pass will let you do a free workout, so you can try out the really cool machines. Talk to the trainers, talk to the women who are there working out when you come in for your visit. Then try to envision yourself going there at least 3 days a week.
I'm one of the people who swear by Curves. Before I joined I knew I would reach my goals "someday" - but now, I know I will reach them SOON. And that's really cool.
