Let's Get Curvey
Written: Mar 03 '04 (Updated Mar 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Close to home, friendly staff, affordable
Cons: Can get repetitious and boring, sometimes crowded.
The Bottom Line: Curves isn't for everyone. But, there are enough free trials and such that anyone should be able to go and make your own decision.
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| bwestman's Full Review: Curves For Women |
First of all, after reading and reading and reading, I almost decided not to write a review of my own about Curves, but I just have something to say and I can't hold back any longer.
I won't bother going into the whole diatribe about how Curves for Women works. I think that has been well covered in many of the other reviews. I've noticed that pricing policies seem to vary across the country. For comparison sake, I will tell you that I am in Maine and the Curves here charged $49 initially and $29 per month via direct draft. I signed a one year contract. I don't know if there are or were other options. That was the plan as it was laid out to me at the time I joined.
Now, let me say emphatically that CURVES IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. The target market for this "hot" franchise is the middle-age, overweight woman. That is the predominant clientele where I go and that seems to be the typical member nationwide.
If you are young, energetic, and looking for a social fix, Curves is probably not for you.
If you are fit and accustomed to regular exercise, then Curves is probably not for you.
If you are looking for a "quick cure" for a lifetime of poor eating and exercise choices, then Curves (nor anything else) is probably not for you.
BUT, for those of us at or nearing menopause and those older who are more than a few pounds overweight, Curves is a great place to gather in emotional safety and get a little exercise in. The 30-minute hype is an approximate. Someone got all bent because it took 45 in one place. Hmph.
MY STORY
I live 4 miles from work. Sometimes my job is stressful and, quite frankly, 4 miles just isn't a long enough drive to work out some of my frustrations. By sheer grace, someone had the foresight to plop a Curves facility smack dab in the middle of my commute.
I passed by it week after week. There really is no way to get from my office to my house without passing the place. Finally, one day, I turned in. After a nice, leisurely, no-pressure chat with one of the staff members, I signed up.
NOW ON TO THE WORKOUT
The location where I go has a reception area, a small office, and a large room for stretching and workout. There are 10 machines and 10 recovery stations. The place is painted in a lovely lavender with caricatures of women of all shapes and sizes working out together. There are two small dressing rooms, a bathroom, and no showers. In the reception area, there is a place to change your shoes and hang your coat. In the workout room, there are cubbies for your personal belongings like your purse or keys.
Every two weeks or so, the owners rearrange the machines so that you never know what you are going to encounter when you come in. It makes it nice to have a change of pace fairly frequently. Lately, they have been offering fun games that actually go on during the routine. One trainer came out one day with huge fuzzy dice. They were about a foot across on each side. She tossed them to people as they went from station to station and they would "roll the dice" for t-shirts, mugs, etc. It was a lot of fun and the time literally flew by!
Another "game" they play is a "color of the day" game. You never know what the color will be, but if you come in wearing it, you get a ticket. Tickets are redeemable for the same merchandise mentioned above. All these things have nothing to do with weightloss and everything to do with a sense of belonging.
When I showed up, I weighed way too much and felt very self-conscious. It was easy for me to shed those feelings of reluctance as soon as I saw that everyone there was just like me. And that no one really cared how I looked. The women there do some of the wildest, craziest, scariest dances on the recovery stations. Before long, I was excited to be there and thoroughly enjoying my workout.
Sadly, this experience is always going to vary from location to location and from person to person. I believe it is up to the owners to "read" the clientele and find what will create this sense of community in the women there. If they don't, then yes, the routine will become boring and many will soon lose interest.
MY PROGRAM
When I joined, they told me about the 3 times around, 3 days a week thing. Yeah. Never in my life have I been able to stick to any sort of routine like that and I'm old enough now to know that I'm probably not going to change.
But, a discussion with the owner left me feeling that I was free to create the program that works for me. Being very obese for many years with little or no exercise to speak of has left me very weak. I also have high blood pressure, controlled by medication. All of this is taken under consideration.
When I started, three rounds was monumental! Never, in my most convoluted dreams, would I have attempted that much exercise right off the bat. The trainer suggested I do one round, adding one or two stations a day. That worked. Now, I do what works for me. Some days, when it has been a really tough day at work, I only do one round. Some days I do two or three.
There is a woman who comes to the Curves where I go who is nearing 90. She can't jog, she can't jump, and some machines are too much for her. But she does what she can and the trainer works closely with her. It's a beautiful thing.
And THAT'S what Curves is all about. Your actual mileage may vary.
MY RESULTS
I have only lost a couple of inches in two months and I've lost 3 pounds. Not much, you say. BUT, 18 months ago, my husband had to drop me off in front of buildings because that walk to from the parking lot was more than I could handle. I had to chose small stores for shopping or use those electric cart things. You see, I had cancer and didn't know it. I was steadily getting weaker and weaker. Now, I've had surgery and all it good.
After two months of Curves, I have the energy to play Volleyball with the church crowd on Saturday nights and last weekend...I went skiing!
SUMMARY
Okay, so Britany Spears doesn't have anything to worry about. My body won't knock out her following. But I have energy I never had before, I enjoy the camaraderie of the group, and I'm doing something that feels good to me. And who knows, I may even eventually lose weight.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bwestman
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Maine
Reviews written: 240
Trusted by: 45 members
About Me:
I am hopelessly impulsive. I admit it.
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