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I cancelled my membership to 24 Hour Fitness because I just wasn't getting what I wanted out of it and the yoga classes weren't at convenient times for my work schedule.

So I bought a yoga DVD for home and am now thinking about joining Curves. I am thinking that will be a better fit for me, but am wondering if any of you have been members there and how you liked it. I like the idea of doing strength training and cardio together, and now they have Zumba classes, too.

Any thoughts?

I have never been but a friend told me that the only way the local one would let you join was to draft the monthly membership out of your checking account. I have always had trouble getting these things stopped and have had to close accounts to get it done. I don't know if they are all like that, but that stopped me from joining.

Martha

Barbie, I went to Curves for almost 10 years and loved it. The one I went to had the machines that were all wired to computers so you could actually see how hard you were working out. It was quite an intense workout! Since I always went the same time everyday, as did most of the other people, I made lots of friends. We had the option of drafting the monthly membership from our checking accounts or paying cash. I paid by check every three months, so check with the Curves in your area and see what their payment plans are. Most Curves will give you a week free to see if you like it.

I don't have a current membership but YouFit was a great deal. I think it was $10 a month. Not sure if that is still the price.

I went to Curves a couple of years ago... it was good one does not get bored because you change stations every few minutes... when you get old you can get the membership with your medicare supplement... it was very convenient only a little over a mile from my place... sometimes they give a trial two weeks so you can see if it fits you...
I have tried my Wii had high hopes but my spine began to act up... will have to figure out how I can do a minute or two here and there...
Good luck Barbie...
Kathleen

I went to a Curves several years ago and did not like it. No one gave any instructions on how to properly use the machines. Maybe this was an exception and now they have changed but you do need to be careful when exercising that you do it correctly. Is there a gym, community college or a Y where you can take a class.

I joined Curves for six months a couple of years ago. I had no trouble closing the account when I notified them that I wanted to quit. They would have worked with me had I wanted to just pay during the months that I was in Ohio, etc. They were also very good at explaining the exercises. Each site is locally owed so I am sure that makes the atmosphere different in each location. The music, however, is one of those things that is corporate driven. Apparently it has been researched for beats per minute, etc. There were several different CDs and types but they all came out irritating to me after the first month or so of attending. And yes you have to listen so that you know when to move to the next piece of equipment. The owner and the other woman that was her primary worker were very supportive of the women that were coming in and an attempt to make everyone feel welcome. ANd I admit, I have never been good at any group exercise stuff.....

Thanks for all your comments and experiences. I need a more structured environment like a class or group. I wanted to join one when I was back in MN but the local one was hardly ever open (no evenings or weekends) so that didn't work for me. The two near me here are both open from 6 am to 8 pm and on weekends, so that works good for my mixed up work schedules. I think I will try the trial week to make sure I like it enough to keep going on a regular basis. I may go check it out tomorrow.

I never belonged but had a friend who did and whose doctor wouldn't let her do one of the machines. Curves wouldn't let her skip that machine - said she HAD to do all of them in order, blah blah blah. She quit. Again, they are all individually owned - so it would be different from one to another. I do understand, that everyone moves at one time from one machine to the next, so her skipping meant things out-of-order - but she was willing to sit out that one - and usually she tried to start so no one was on the next machine - so it wouldn't matter. They wouldn't be flexible at the one in her town.

I belonged to Curves from way back in the 90s. Started in a small one in Alaska with only 7 machines.
When I moved here to WA I again joined the one in my town That one had almost twice as many machines, but the ladies were very clickish and I didn't enjoy it. I then transferred my membership to one 5 mi. away. It was small again, but the owner was really on top of health and health issues and always stood by to make sure we didn't form bad habits using the machines differently from what she taught.

The fees were either pay the entire year or have monthly fees automatically taken from your bank account.

When I had my heart scare I got lazy (I know, just the opposite of what I should have done), and let my membership lapse.

The owner opened a second Curves but with the downturn in the economy, she was forced to close the small one I had attended.

Bethers wrote:I never belonged but had a friend who did and whose doctor wouldn't let her do one of the machines. Curves wouldn't let her skip that machine - said she HAD to do all of them in order, blah blah blah. She quit. Again, they are all individually owned - so it would be different from one to another. I do understand, that everyone moves at one time from one machine to the next, so her skipping meant things out-of-order - but she was willing to sit out that one - and usually she tried to start so no one was on the next machine - so it wouldn't matter. They wouldn't be flexible at the one in her town.

First of all, that they would "make" her do a machine against doctors orders is totally crazy, but it wouldn't affect the order of the routine anyways if she had just sat that machine out and waited to move to the next one in line. Sounds like a really bad manager at that one. Like all franchises, you get good ones and bad ones.