Curves - Lake Stevens,WA

I tried it a few years ago when it was brand new and it was ok for the first couple of weeks, but got very boring very fast. Results are slow to show up as well. I now go to Anytime Fitness and find it much more rewarding and enjoyable, plus since its open 24 hours I can go whenever I can fit it into my schedule! Good Luck

I have done it and felt like it didn't do much. I am average weight and only have about 15 pounds to lose but I was going religiously for 6 months 4 times a week and really didn't see any results. There just is not enough cardio to keep the heart rate up. I do think though that for people that have more weight to lose it is a great start. I know that my mother in law is larger and she saw results for a while. I know now that they have a nutrition system that is included that may provide better results as well. Good luck with your road to better health!

i checked out curves once but decided that it would be too boring to keep me going there. plus, the machines are all pre-set to fit the average curves person so if you don't fall within that range, the machine will not fit you properly and you could hurt yourself. their machines are all resistant rather than using weights.

i too liked that it was all women but that wasn't a big enough plus to get me over the above points.

No Curves experience here. But after reading these responses, I thought you might want some other ideas for exercise ...

Ladies' Dance Class -- I love the Ladies' Tap class at The Monroe Dance Studio! Ballet, Jazz, Praise Dance are others.

Good for you for wanting to exercise!! Make it fun and you'll stick with whatever it is! :)

I was a member of Curves for almost 3 years. I enjoyed it, but I didn't feel that the workout was challenging enough for me. I joined a local Jazzercise class about 6 months ago, and because of the cross training I'm finally getting in shape.

Ask for a trial membership of a month, before signing up for the year. They will usually honor that, and then you can try it out for yourself. I think if you are reasonably in shape Curves doesn't help much, but it is a great place for many women to start out. It's great that you are wanting to exercise. Good luck :-)

My experience with Curves was great, and I saw results when I was consistent. Although I have to say it is really more for toning purposes...you are not going to get much cardio, if you like a high intensity workout, Curves probably isn't right for you. But the price is comparable to most other gyms.

I did curves for about 4 months and really maxed it out. I know that it's up to you, but it did get boring. My mom has been a member for many years. She is not a testament to the program. She says she doesn't even break a sweat and has actually gained about 30 lbs in that time (she's 76, though). I also don't think her club is really focused on fitness. They have treats (brownies, cookies, cakes, muffins, etc) every friday. I do know that each club is different and you might want to ask for a couple free days and go at the time you want to work out to get the atmosphere. Also, I like to work out without socializing. Curves encourages the socializing, of course, once again this is club dependant.
S.

I also did Curves but for years but found that 3 days a week of a 30 minute workout was not enough to make a difference. I upped my work outs at Curves to 5 days a week for 60 minutes and I finally saw the scale and the inches move. I hear that not every club will let you do that though. The original club I joined shut down and I transferred to another. The new club didn't have a change room so the (one) bathroom doubled as change room (I didn't like that). Plus the hours weren't that great closing at 7:00 was way to early I thought. But I kept my membership until I had my little girl. The final reason for quitting, no childcare available.

I also have a 24 hour fitness membership. I don't like using the machines with all the guys around but I found the bikes and treadmill not as bad. The aqua fit classes tend to be women only (I think I have seen one man twice).

Where ever you decide to go ask for a trial membership first so you can check it out and see if it works for you or not. Good luck.

I did Curves for a couple of years for about 2-3 days a week. It is a great place to start if you haven't been to a regular fitness gym and if you are really overweight. I did lose several inches and some weight and it did make me feel much better. However, like others have said, you do plateau in a matter of months.

I liked that it was all women and the 30 minutes went fairly quickly. You get to start pretty much in any spot in the circle by running in place for 30 seconds. Then you switch to a machine for 30 seconds, then back to running in place for 30, then back to a machine, etc. About 1/4 of the way through, you'll stop and check your heart rate and then continue. You do the whole circle two times and you're done.

They do have a dressing room or two and usually require you to bring a clean pair of shoes in with you. One of the biggest downfalls I think is that their hours are somewhat limited (some close around 7 p.m. and no Sundays) and there is NO daycare.

I think a YMCA might offer more options if you have one available. That's where I'm going to look after baby #2 comes. :) Good luck!

I loved Curves while I was pregnant, even VERY pregnant, and for about 3 months after that. I love that it's all women, but the problem for me was that I kinda "topped out" I guess you could say. They say that you can work yourself out as hard as you want to, but... not so much. It just wasn't enough challenge for me after a short time, but it would depend on how much you needed to lose and some working out is so much better than none! When I signed up the cost was about $35 a month - not too bad, really.

I liked Curves went I went there before my kids were born since it helped me feel better about myself and gave me some bonding time with my mother. Unfortunately, they do not have child care, so after my kids were born, I had to stop going. Although it was fairly easy and fun to work out there, I didn't see much difference in my weight or BMI for the years that I went there. I went 3 times a week for around 45 minutes each time. I think it is better than nothing, but if you really want to see progress and have childcare, maybe a gym or YMCA would be better.

My mom loves it (has been using it 5 times a week for 4 years)... she hasn't lost any weight, but she loves the social aspect of it.

I tried it, on her reccomendation, for a few months but

- No childcare, and kids weren't allowed to attend

- The only once a day rule, and limit on how many times you could "go around" precluded it having much benefit for me... 20 minutes of my heart being elevated in a certain range I got for much longer periods of time just chasing my toddler around.

- The very limited hours it was open meant that I had to pay for childcare to attend, and couldn't attend in the evenings or at night when I had "free" childcare/ more time.

Hello! I just started going to the one in Leschi (Lk Wash, Seattle) two weeks ago at the urging of my mother who has been going for years. (I have tried the YMCA where my husband works out and I just don't like all the machines crowded in a windowless room with a bunch of sweaty guys.) I am enjoying that you can get a pretty good workout in 30 minutes, there are only woman and you are all facing into a circle which promotes a feeling of camaraderie and even friendship. They play good upbeat music (it has been different every time). You can try for a week for free. If you do, try to go at least 3 times. They have morning and evening hours available. Because it is a circuit and everyone is moving constantly to the next station, you can have quite a few women working out at once but it doesn't seem too crowded. I am not sure exactly why (economy, franchise business model, etc) but several locations have closed so if you can, try to get a sense of how your location is doing (have they been there long, are there ladies coming and going regularly, etc). Also, if you happen to be a student or senior, you may be able to get an add-on membership ($10) to an existing membership (i.e. mother/daughter) which costs less. Lastly, I have seen results and feel a lot more energetic having gone these past two weeks. Reason enough for me!
PS I am also inspired by all the women of different ages, shapes & sizes who have made a committment to be there. This is obviously something you can do long-term!

Hi B.,

I had mixed feelings about my time with Curves, so I'll break it down into the positives and the negatives I felt. I joined becuase I felt a like a blimp after my second baby was born and I could not get the last 10 - 12 pounds off, and I felt insecure working out at my regular gym. The all-female environment at Curves is what brought me to them.

So, the Pro's:
-all female
- they measure, weigh and do your BMI (Body Mass Index) at the beginning, and periodically re-check all these to see your progress as you go. I liked that.
-it's a great, quick workout. Some people don't have hours to spend at the gym
-price is avereage, about the same as I pay for my gym. (However I have lot's more options at my gym for the roughly same price...i.e., classes, different machines, cardio, yoga, etc) at Curves it's just the circuit.

Now, the Con's:
-goofy hours, close early and sometimes they close for periods in the middle of the day. and mibne was closed Sundays all day. All that restricts my workouts and I like to work out when I WANT to.
-no child care, so you have to make arrangements for your kid(s) to work out.
-alot of the members are older ladies that move slower, so they cannot stick to the 30 second rule for each station. Or, you'll get a group of ladies blabbing and not really working out, so they again don't stick to the 30 second rule, which all in turn causes and bottle-neck and holds up those of us that take the workout seriously and move stations every 30 seconds. This was the single most issue that really ticked me off and ultimately caused me to leave Curves. I take my workouts seriously and like to keep moving, and not be slowed up.

My hubby was also gone in Iraq when I joined, so now that he's back I enjoy working out with him. So I went back to my gym and cancelled my membership at Curves. I think it's great for older women with no young kids to worry about, and they get to be social. I, however, am 35 and move faster in my workouts, and I'm not there to socialize.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me. ;-)

-A.

I did Curves several years ago, I liked it for a while but then I got bored with the repetition. It is a great place to start though. I really liked Jazzercise which is aerobic dance and lots of fun. Don't know if you have that in your area, but they usually have a pretty flexible schedule to accomodate most. Hope this helps. :)

The machines that Curves uses can cause injury. It's not a controlled movement, but a full-on forceful move the entire time. I found it boring and useless. You would get a better workout if you went on a brisk walk with a friend and included hills.

Regular gyms are great as you have a wide variety to choose from when you get bored with your routine. If you have a YMCA nearby you should check it out. Mine has excellent childcare included in the family rate.