Yep I’m talking about the ladies only gym, Curves. I had walked in to one for my mum about a year or so ago, looked at the equipment and laughed thinking what a farce! It seemed like a joke, no treadmills, no ecliptical machines, no bikes, what a rip-off. So we put off the idea and I encouraged mum to go out for walks and get exercise that way which ofcourse never happened. It was always house work taking precedence over stepping out for a brisk walk. Since mums muscles had gotten increasingly stiff over the year we decided to explore the gym option again and back we were at curves since she did not want to join a mixed gym. I had put on weight too since quitting the gym last jan and sister who is already a size 6 thought she needed some toning up too so we decided to join along too and are we glad we joined.
The idea behind curves is basically circuit training where you alternate between cardio and weights. 30 seconds of cardio is done on a paded recovery board, basically any aerobic moves u can remember followed by 30 seconds on the hydraulic equipment which is your weight training. They have about 14 pieces of equipment set alternately so that one focuses on ur upper body muscles and the next on your lower body. You have to complete the entire circuit twice which takes about 30 mins followed by stretches or whatever u aditionally wish to do really, I do some of my fav pilate moves.
Results: Over one month of exercising 3-4 times a week and somewhat sensible eating( i could improve in that domain) I have lost 3.6 lbs in weight, 1.5 lbs of body fat, an inch around my waist and hips each, half an inch around my upper arm and half an inch around my thighs. Im pretty pleased with the results and intend to stay at curves for at least another 2-3 months and see if I can maintain it on my own then.
So if anyone has though about joining curves and hasn’t cos it doesn’t seem challenging enough think again.
I also like the curves gym. My mom told me about it and I got a year membership free for donating a bag of groceries for their food drive. I like the fact that it is all women and easy on the joints. Half an hour passes by so quickly too. I tend to go in the late afternoon when it isn't busy so usually it is just me and a couple of grandmas. Once I took a week break from curves and literally my body ached to go back on the machines again!
Hmm ill suggest that to my mom! How much do they usually charge per month? Are there any personal trainers there?
Most of the gyms I know of here, their cheapest memberships have really dumb rules like, you can only go on a tuesday and thursday, u can only go to this location, etc etc.
The gym is open 6 days a week. Weekdays its from 9-1 and then 4-7 and saturday its only half a day closes at 12. They recommend that one goes 3 times a week but there is no restriction on going more if u wish. Fees vary. Their registration fee is 150 and they always have some promos runniing, half off, 50% off etc and then monthly is 50/mo with annual memberships and 60/mo for month to month. When i joined the annual membership ppl were getting their first month free too but all of us still went with the month to month. Its best to check online and see what promotions are being offered.
Sara you should definitely get your mum to join. My mum was always getting twisted muscles and pain shooting out unexpectedly but since she has started exercising regularly its been a lot better. she has lost a few ponds too and almost 3 pounds of body fat plus a few inches here and there. They don't have personal trainers as such. The first time you go they will give you a one-on-one on every machine so u understand how to use them and what muscle group to use. after that they keep an eye on everyone and make sure they are exercising the right way. If you need help u can always ask. They have power workout sessions too now and then which have no additional cost. Recently they came up with 'slim in 6 weeks' or something plan which sounds something like their version of weight watchers and they give u a list of foods u can buy from grocery stores to eat healthy. This one lady did really well, she was doing WW and curves at the same time, I guess that is what inspired them to do this. I haven;t joined the prgram though cos it costs more. just going to try to use seashells cheat sheet :D
mehnaz i got one of the tapes of taebo too a few yrs ago. i borrowed it actually. followed it about twice in 4 months and then returned it to its owner :D good luck!
thats really awesome FF! i tried curves too, but it didnt really work for me. in the end, what their fitness person told me was that since i only had to lose about 10-15 lbs, their workout was not intense enough for me. she told me its generally for women who have to lose more weight like 30-40lbs. im not saying thats how much anyone here had to lose or nothing, but thats what i was told. i think the less you have to lose, the harder it is to lose it- even though it sounds like a contradiction but your body gets used to routine and so you have to amp up your workout to get the same results. but dammit, losing inches is really what i'm aiming for more than lbs-- good for you!
Hmmm thats weird cos my sister told them she wanted to maintain her weight just tone up and lose the flab, so they advised her not to overdo the cardio and focus primarily on the weight training. They do tell everyone to keep the intensity low during the cardio part but I thought it was a total waste to just stand their shifting weight between legs so I pump up my heart rate with aerobics moves and really get going. Its funny cos just on monday they had these picture charts in front of each recovery board(thats used between weights) with various moves drawn on them to try to get the ladies really moving. Most of the ladies are middle aged which is probably they don;t want anyones heart rate going too high but they don;t ever tell me to not do what I am doing.
Thats very true. Weight training speeds up ur metabolism and u burn more calories. Get to a bodypump class. Done properly with the correct technique u can burn up to 600 calories a go, ur bodyshape will change& u'll c results FAST. Why am i so obsessed with Bodypump? Cos im a Bodypump instructor of course! :D
do u know much about weight training for women? like...do u know if its ok for women to gradually increase the weights they lift during weight training? i dont do crazy weight training but i use the ab-weight machine (55kg weights) and one for my triceps (30kg). I was wondering if i should increase the weights now that its become too easy for me to do the same amount of reps. or should i just increase the reps keeping the weight constant?
come down 2.5kilos from both, (if weights permitting) and try increasing ur reps to 25% more .. (do 5% more one day, 10% more to original the other, etc).
“abs are not made in gym, they are made in kitchen” after a year’s workout, healthy diet, constant running, 8-9km walking @work, NOW i’m seeing a good result of visible 4 packs appearing.. i dont really do weights for abs.. rely on eating 7 meals, and elevated heart-rate for extended periods of time, and non-weight exercises..
Yes women can gradually increase the weight. Howeva U shud increase the reps. For example in Bodypump theres a tricep track and ur contanstanly doing presses and extensions with the bar to the song for abt a good 4 minutes so u have to go lighter if u wanna have perfect technique. Howeva in sum releases there r tricep dips and kickbacks with a plate. I wud defo advise increasing the number of reps u do and gradually increase the weight. :)
Bodypump is a part of the Les mills bts programmes which a lot of the gyms around the world have in their studios. Its a group barbell programme that challenges every major muscle in ur body. U have 10 stationary routines (10 tracks where u work specific parts of the body) using weights and music and u can strengthen and tone in record time. Hi reps boost ur endurance and speeds up metabolismfor serious fat burn. U change the weights on the bar for each different track. So u have a warm up track then squats, chest, back(hamstrings and glutes), triceps, biceps, lunges, shoulders, abs and then the cooldown. Give it a go! :D
amani, i tried doing a search here in my city ( i live in canada ) but can't really find anyone who does it. maybe it is called something else here...or maybe it's just in the usa ...
Thanks for the tips amani and confused. Im going to focus on the reps. I dont want to lose any more weight but I want to be stronger in my abs and arms since it also makes your back stronger and since i carry heavy stuff around with me all day. but i dont want to gain bulk...so was kind of confused about how much weight i should be lifting.
If ur doing lots of reps, u dont bulk up. I mean ppl have that fear of doing bodypump that they're gonna bulk up but the amount of movement that is actually taking place in a single move and the no of reps that r being done generally means that u dont bulk up or end up like arnie! I mean i lift sum serious weights in bodypump-like the same or more than the blokes but cos my technique is spot on, thats what makes u tone up and changes ur bodyshape. I dont want to lose weight either. Its one of the best things to do to tone up and gain more strength. To get really pumped up u have to do fewer reps with a serious amount of weight on that bar. How many reps r u doing with 30kg cos thats quite a lot? I dont actually train in the gym as such as i teach classes. At the most i have 12kg on the bar when i do tricep presses and extensions which is pretty intense if u do it with correct technique as ur doing it continuous for a good 4 and half minutes. Have u done any bar work or do u just use the machine?
