Curves

nekosimba
nekosimba Posts: 239 Member
edited October 3 in Fitness and Exercise
I am currently a member at Curves and so far I really like it. I haven't gone much in this past month because I've been incredibly sick.

I did my monthly weigh-in a few weeks ago and haven't lost much in either inches or pounds. I was hoping that I would have lost more. I've been tracking my calories as best as I can, and when I leave Curves I'm dripping wet with sweat. The lady who measured me said that I shouldn't push myself so hard when I'm on the platforms, but push myself when I'm on the machines. That confused me, I thought you wanted to keep your heart rate up throughout your workout.

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm wasting my time there. There are only 2 other gyms in my hometown and they are more expensive than Curves (oddly). Does anyone who goes to Curves have any suggestions for me, or anyone have any ideas how to improve my workouts?

Replies

  • abeachlady
    abeachlady Posts: 88
    The lady is right. The platforms are for recovery, push yourself on the machines. I love Curves and have had good results.
  • arnoswife
    arnoswife Posts: 228 Member
    I have used curves and it took me a long time to see any results!! I decided to use another gym in my hometown that was a little more but it was worth it to me since it was open 24 hrs!!! Curves to me just isn't worth the money. I now use the Y, not the 24 hr place, they are great there too!
  • LaEsperanza
    LaEsperanza Posts: 14
    hi there, I Go the the gym but not curves,, even though its a pretty good gym..
    The place am at now offers classes,, I think if curves offer classes take advantage of that! for example Zumba , or Cardio kickboxing, They are really good cardio workout .. you can easily get your heart rate up with that!!..
    good luck
  • saintspoon
    saintspoon Posts: 242 Member
    How long have you been going for? If you've been sick then of course you wouldn't lose much.. it's ok you were sick!

    The platforms are to give your muscles a bit of a break while keeping your heart rate up... it's not a big part of the calorie burn. The actual machines are where you want to use all you've got because this is where you're working your muscles while working up a sweat.. the machines are where you do the real work.

    i hope that helps a little :)
  • JulieBowe
    JulieBowe Posts: 12 Member
    I believe in Curves. I went there for over a year and loved it. I only swtiched to another gym becuase my husband wanted to go. Curves provided a full body workout for me and I didn't have to think about what I was going to do next and I didn't have to think about who was watching me... It did take a while to see the results, but now I really see the results of not going! Give it some more time. You will see results in your clothes!
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I go to my park district. It ends up totaling about 10 dollars a month. Pretty awesome!
  • maemiller
    maemiller Posts: 439 Member
    i use to go to curves years ago and never lost any weight there. Went to several different 'all womens' fitness centers and never lost. I finally went to a real gym, and lost 30lbs

    Personally i dont like those fitness centers just because you are doing the same circuit over and over. Theres no variety, yah you can increase intensity but its the same exercises. When it came to food and diet, they gave me a bunch of papers to read. At a real gym you can talk to a nutritionist and a certified trainer in helping you with your diet and exercise, take group classes, use free weights, use different machines, etc. I have a couple of friends that use to be Curves members and they never saw any results until they joined other gyms

    Curves is fine for some people, but not for me. I would spend the extra money going to a real gym and work with a cert nutritionist and trainer.

    Good Luck!
  • Christinaray
    Christinaray Posts: 75 Member
    Im a firm believer in curves. I worked at one for ten years would still love t work at one but need insurance. You can get as much out of curves or as little as you want. She is right about the machines you want to push them machines as hard as you can so.whenyou get to the pad you need the time to recovery. I use to burn almost 500 calories on curves smart..but a lot curves do not have it. I lost 80 lbs doing curves and curves diet alone. I hope this helps...feel free to ask questions if you would like. One thing I would suggest is to let one of them make sure you are doing the machines correctly. Sometimes we get in a routine...myself including and not work machines as hard as you can.
  • nekosimba
    nekosimba Posts: 239 Member
    How long have you been going for? If you've been sick then of course you wouldn't lose much.. it's ok you were sick!

    The platforms are to give your muscles a bit of a break while keeping your heart rate up... it's not a big part of the calorie burn. The actual machines are where you want to use all you've got because this is where you're working your muscles while working up a sweat.. the machines are where you do the real work.

    i hope that helps a little :)

    I've been going since the beginning of August. I know it hasn't been very long, but I'm so darn impatient when it comes to seeing results.

    5 years ago I was working out daily with a friend who was addicted to working out. I would work out for at least an hour with her and saw results quickly. (of course I gained all that weight back plus more after my divorce)

    I just don't want to continue to dump money into something that isn't going to work for me. Do I keep going for another few months? or do I try something else? I'm just tempted to just do my Zumba at home and that's it...
  • elfy66
    elfy66 Posts: 138 Member
    Just a quick question, I'm from the UK. what are platforms?
  • nekosimba
    nekosimba Posts: 239 Member
    Just a quick question, I'm from the UK. what are platforms?

    They are just a slightly elevated board. In the Curves circuit you alternate between working on the machines and stepping on the platforms. A lot of people march in place on them, or do other exercises on them before going back on the machines. You are only on each machine or platform for 30 seconds at a time.
  • Miggy52
    Miggy52 Posts: 164
    Sometimes we get into the same old routines at Curves, I have the curves smart and it keeps track of my workouts and makes me work harder.....and yes your to work harder on the machines the boards are for recovery.....my Curves offers Zumba Gold Classes ( which I think is being implemented at most curves now)and I attend those once a week combined with the smart, and go to another class of zumba on Tuesday nites at a different location (as I like the instructor she is a funny and bubbly person and loves to dance)...we have to remember to drink more water, it really helps with the weight loss and flushes the toxins out of our systems...
  • abeachlady
    abeachlady Posts: 88
    My Curves also offers Zumba, but it's Zumbia in the circuit. It's amazing!
  • sptsimone
    sptsimone Posts: 10
    I just started today and i think it's great for people like me that have hit a workout rut. I also like having the structure. I would not feel comfortable doing strength training alone and can't afford a trainer (honestly don't ever want one). I do Zumba 2/wk at my old gym and plan to do the Curves Smart Zumba Circuit and 1-2 other Curves workouts each week.
  • Akjenn89
    Akjenn89 Posts: 265 Member
    If you're working out super hard on the platforms, then you're not working out hard enough on the machines. They're all resistance based machines, so the machines will only work as much as you put into them. Really dig deep when you go for the machines. You do want to keep your heart rate up, but the 30 seconds that you'll spend on the platforms between the machines shouldn't dip your heart rate that much. Instead, it should just give you a small reprieve before you go hard on the next set. That's the design, anyway.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I went to Curves for a year or so about three years ago and I lost quite a bit of weight when I went regularly. I think you certainly can lose weight there but it sounds like you need to pushing harder on the machines, not the steps.

    I stopped going there when we moved further away and this year I haven't gone to a gym at all but just run or workout at home. If you are disciplined and motivated to do this you can certainly save your money, but if you like the structure and enjoy the workout then I think Curves is great.

    One difference between Curves and running as my main form of exercise is that I think I'm leaner/'smaller overall now. I can't remember exactly what weight I got down to at Curves but I think I'm much leaner this time - I'm probably two whole pants sizes smaller and I don't think I would be more than 7 or 8kg lighter.
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