Ladies... What is Curves like?

I tried it and I wasn't very impressed with it. It might be good for someone just starting out though. I just found the resistance of the machines to be minimal for me and I didn't feel like I really worked out afterwards.

I went years ago - it was fun and very social. The 'instructors' don't really instruct though, and I ended up with a herniated disc from bad positioning and "high-knee running-on-the-spot".

amyrebeccah wrote: »

I'm not posting this to start a political debate, just to give you a heads up--they do donate a large portion of their money to controversial groups. If this matters to you, I encourage you to google it. If not, carry on.

That would actually make this a debate thread!

My mother liked it, but she was in her 60s and the group at her Curves, anyway, was women in their 60s intimidated by weights.

My mum went n her 60s, most women were similar ages and sizes, very chatty and all went for tea and cakes afterwards! she enjoyed it.

I had a free month, and it was nice to have a planned workout, but after a couple days, it was pretty obvious I wasn't going to get much out of it. You can't really increase the difficulty of any of the workouts. So I'd say it's great for a beginner to feel comfortable in a gym and using equipment, good for people who need low resistance, low-key workouts, but not good if you're looking to really be active.

To me, it wasn't worth the price in the long-run but it definitely helped get me in the habit of working out, especially since I was very uncomfortable in a regular gym at the time, and because 30 minutes isn't a ton of time to take out of my day. I also liked that it was low-impact. I stopped following the meal plan after a few months just because I was overwhelmed with wedding planning, but it actually was a very reasonable plan and I found tons of great recipes that I use to this day. I lost an average of 1-3 lbs a week following the food plan and circuits, and I lost inches as well (can't remember how much- it's been a couple years).

The challenges were fun too- I don't know if every Curves does that but we'd have challenges for prizes. It helped keep us motivated and it was fun. I stopped going two years ago because of the cost but my former coach is actually one of my closest friends and now we do 5K's together!

I think the thing with Curves is- you get out of it what you put in. Yes, technically 60+ year old women can do the circuit without breaking a sweat. But what is that argument? That if something CAN be easy, then it's crap? What about swimming? That's something that can be an easy, lazy thing to do if that's how someone chooses to swim, and it's also something elderly and/or disabled people can do. Does that mean it inevitably sucks as a workout?

Personally, I pushed myself as hard as possible at Curves. I was always sweating, breathing hard, and tired by the end. I do think it depends on the location though. Mine was great. The coaches were always SO friendly but they did push us if we wanted to be pushed. That's the same as any gym though- at the end of the day it's up to you to push yourself. Not even a personal trainer can force that from you. I would absolutely do Curves again if it were more affordable.

@amyrebecca I didn't report you. I provided a generally accepted unbiased source to assist anyone curious about the topic. "Do your research" is some if the worst advice possible.

My mom used to go and has even gone in a few cities. She did find that there were some huge variances in how things were run from gym to gym. Differences in classes, promotions, instructor involvement were pretty common.