Talk to me about Curves

[CornField]

After checking with our flex spending administrators, it turns out that they can only cover specific classes (with a doctor's note) and/or specific weight loss programs (Weight Watchers, Curves, etc.)

I have to say it really ticks me off. I had wanted to join the local YMCA and do workouts there and use the pool, but that isn't going to be possible using the flex spending. I don't really understand the difference between Curves and the local Y. Seems to me they are both gyms. ???

In any event, from the options I've been given, I'm leaning toward Curves because it is the closest to my home and would provide the most flexibility in times and what-not. I don't want to join Weight Watchers or any other group which isn't active.

In addition, I've heard that Curves, while professing to be a women-friendly business, actually works against women's issues in the political realm.

[Walt Starr]

1. Curves was started by a rabid anti-choice mysoginist

I'd inform your HR folks that they are making a political statement by using Curves for flex-spending and that you will consult an attorney about how to proceed to guard your rights.

[JuniperLea]

5. Aren't FSA's governed by the IRS?

There are only certain things you can use your FSA money on. I'm not sure the company has any say.

[CornField]

10. That's what I'm hearing from the administrators: IRS is dictating

Flex spending and/or pre-tax dollars cannot be spent for health club or gym memberships, only for specific classes and programs.

[JuniperLea]

15. Well, that smacks of cronyism, doesn't it?

Curves gives to the GOP and only Curves is allowed by the IRS. I smell a rat!!

[JuniperLea]

2. Aren't they on the list of companies

that supported Chimpies campaign?

[benburch]

3. Curves financially supports anti-choice causes.

But if you have no other choices, and it is a matter of your health, then do what you have to do to stay healthy.

[CornField]

17. I have one other choice

A place called "Inches A Weigh" -- it's the only other active type place I've been able to find which can be funded through flex spending. That group uses machines which the person lies on and they push you around. I haven't visited to see it in action, but it doesn't sound like a workout to me.

Stupid knees. I like to hike and bike, but I'm under orders to switch to something low-impact after my knees were diagnosed as arthritic last week.

[ohio_liberal]

4. I tried Curves

It worked for a couple of months, then I hit a plateau. There's no way to "up" the amount of exercise so I quit. I've heard dozens of other women say the same.

And yes, the corporate ownership gives $$ to Republicans. Not sure about specific women's issues, but just being a Repub donor is bad enough in my book.

[Emit]

9. This is what my mother-in-law and sis-in-law told me

About their exercise program. They've since left to join another program. I was unaware of the political thing. I'll have to tell my mother-in-law. She'll be glad she quit.

[One_of_8]

12. Same here

I tried Curves last year, before I was aware of the political affiliation of their founder. Yes, it was a work out that I could fit into my lunch hour, the people there were friendly, and at first it felt like I was getting some benefit. But there is no way to increase the amount of resistance. Not worth it in my book. You might be better off getting a good rowing machine or some such for home use.

[ohio_liberal]

18. Oh, and it's totally no-frills

The 30 minute workout includes stretching and 8-12 kind of weird hydraulic machines. The bigger locations have more machines. In the one I went to, there was no TV to watch, no music, and often a wait to get into the circle of machines. It's all in one room, no showers, no daycare. And they weigh you very publicly. I didn't like that part.

[Contrary1]

32. I read that many doctors think that this sort

of "one size fits all" type of exercise is not safe. Dunno if that is true, or not.
I was treated rudely on my initial visit, and decided against joining.

[goddess40]

19. Been there - done that and it wrecked my shoulder

Because of the way the machines are set up you don't work the muscles under your arm, once the muscles on the top of the shoulder are built up they pull your arm up into the socket - and it hurts like hell. It happened to me, my mother and the local owner of curves in my city. They still haven't addressed the problem but if you know about it you can avoid it by doing your own exercises to develop those sets of muscles.

After going to P.T. my shoulder pain did go away - but once you injure a joint you're more prone to get arthritis in it.

[blm]

6. I would ask WHY the administrators would limit your choice to politically

active businesses such as Curves, instead of an established, more politically neutral organization like the Y.

Please tell us what they say.

[leftchick]

7. yes Curves is anti-choice and run by fundie bush supporter

That said I was a member before I found that out. I went until I blew a disc in my back last year that I blame on their damn machines. I wish you could go to the Y too!

[Marie26]

8. Yep

The founder is an anti-abortion Christian activist. They'd funded a lot of abstinence-only programs & clinics that try to persuade women not to have abortions. Since it's a private company, there's no guarantee that the dues you pay won't be used for political activities. You're probably better off at the Y; it's Christian as well, but at least its a non-profit w/some guidelines on how money is spent. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/paynter/180078_paynter30.html

[TomInTib]

11. Curves is run by a bunch of anti- women's everything bastard fundies.

I have a friend who worked at one of their stores and she said these guys are just unbelievable.

Massive margins and a lot of the profits go to the really rabid anti groups.

This really stinks that your flex funds try to steer you to an outfit like Curves and away from something as effective as YMCA (not to mention the community effect).

You won't find a swimming pool at Curves.

[Greyhound]

13. Follow the money...

http://www.buyblue.org/node/749/view/summary
They are franchises, so the individual owner/partners will vary, but corporate is 100% re:puke:

[Metta]

14. Buy Blue, I think it was, lists them as 100% red.

Giving 100% of their political contributions to Republicans.

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. CURVES IS A RW COMPANY!!! Don't go there! Our YMCA

has payment plans. We pay $10.00 a month for my son to go and he can use everything there except the weight room. To use the weight room he has to run laps or something to show how fit he is? Other than that, there's use of everything.

[Nikki Stone 1]

20. Making this thread relevant to GD: your situation shows the preference for

privatized corporate "help" over local non-profit help. Hence the willingness of your company to transfer money to other companies (with which they probably have deals) as opposed to the public sector. The Y would be cheaper and better.

Not criticizing: just want to prevent the thread from being sent to the lounge. That's being done a lot lately.

[MsUnderstood]

21. So I think the reason they allow curves

is because the program is monitored whereas if you join a gym who is gonna monitor your progress?

At curves you arrive and do a structured 30 minute workout. At a gym you arrive and do whatever you want. That is the difference.

What about seeing if they would pay towards a physical trainer at the local gym(or whatever the term is for that).

At my company, only a select few gyms were on the list for a reimbursement (none near my house) so I bit the bullet and paid for the gym myself.

[cally]

22. Beyond the political problems, I think some of

machines can hurt you. I had knee problems from the workout so I stopped going. They tell you to avoid some machines if you develop problems, but it's difficult when you are working in a circle and pressured to keep going. Also, you have a limited time on each machine so you tend to do the reps more quickly than you should on some machines. It's a good way to start, but I wouldn't recommend it long term. (This was before I learned about the political affiliation of curves.)

[madmom]

23. I tried curves once and quit also....

my best time to go was in the afternoon, they decided they didn't get enough people coming in during the afternoon to warrant being open paying someone to be there, so they adjusted their hours,early morning, later evening without any fore warning. So I was just SOL. I could've kept going but it was a hassle for me to go at theses times.

[HughLefty1]

24. Avoid...

I'm another one that used to belong to Curves. Now that I know of the political beliefs of their founders I'm doubly upset that I wasted my money.

I joined a few years ago and thought it would be a good way to get a work out on my lunch hour. As others have already stated, they do not have shower facilities and only have 10-12 machines. Of course the lunch hour was their peak time and it could be difficult to find any of the equipment open. If you ask me, Curves is kind of the 'fast food' of workouts....quick but not very fulfilling.

As a fairly fit person myself, I really didn't get much benefit out of it. IMO, it's geared more towards women who are very out of shape or who have not excercised in years. Most of the women I talked to saw some initial results before hitting a plataeu and often ending back where they started.

[newyawker99]

26. Hi HughLefty1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Captain Hilts]

25. The name generates sexist goal of being more attractive, rather than...

being more healthy.

Yuck.

[wildeyed]

27. Most YMCAs have payment plans.

I am not certain how it works, but some of my friends have joined for free or at a lower rate because they were financially strapped. Don't know if this applies to you are not. Sometimes I can afford something, I just don't want to.

I wouldn't join Curves, regardless of their political affiliations. My understanding is, you do a set routine every time you come it. I like a little more variety. But for someone who hates exercise and just wants to lose a few pounds, it might be a good program.

[rucky]

28. Another vote for the Y

my sister-in-law got a greatly reduced membership because of her low-income single-mom situation. It's done her wonders.

[movie_girl99]

29. if you don't mind working out to Christian music

go for it. Both my best friend and my sister quit working out there because of it. They were members at two different locations and both played that type of music. For some, i'm sure it is no problem but for me it definitely would be.

[mattclearing]

35. They don't do that at the Y here in DC.

:D

[Captain Hilts]

37. Which DC Y? RI Ave? Old Georgetown Rd? etc.

I belonged to the RI Y for a summer. It was v e r y swanky.

[mattclearing]

38. Yeah, Rhode Island.

Only Y I've belonged to. They're not all that nice? :D

[Captain Hilts]

40. No, and major defense contractors don't provide decorations! nt

[TygrBright]

30. CornField, Curves will not meet your health goals...

...in fact, unless you really need the "spur" of having someone yelling at you and other people around doing all the same things, you don't need a gym at all unless physical limitations require you to exercise in a pool or under other special circumstances.

The dirty little secret of the fitness industry: There is NOTHING you can do at a gym to achieve basic muscle fitness and aerobic health that you can't do at home with an investment of $100 or less (well, maybe $150 nowadays.)

Really. All you need is a flat bench, a mat, two or three sets of hand and ankle weights, and a step. You can get all of those things at your local sporting goods store or Target quite cheaply. LOTS of good books at the local library will give you clear directions on a good basic workout to improve muscle tone and achieve basic aerobic benefits. DO talk to a doctor once you have a good idea of what you think your basic routine should be, and find out if s/he has any suggestions, especially if you have any existing health issues like athsma, diabetes, blood pressure, etc.

Want to make it a bit more fun? Invest in a Walkman or MP3 or IPod to listen to tunes as you do work out. Buy a couple of inexpensive yoga/workout DVDs. You can do all of it in the comfort of your own home, shower in your own shower afterward, and never miss a phone call. This is especially nice since a good basic muscle tone/flexibility workout doesn't really require more than a half hour or so. Why take the time to schlepp to the gym, change, warm up, shower, change, and schlepp back just for that? If you take 1/2 hour to do muscle tone/flexibility workouts on M-W-F, and set aside 20-40 minutes for a brisk walk or in-home aerobic workout on T-Th-Sat, you'll be doing fine.

Need extra motivation? Find a buddy who wants to achieve the same things you do and meet together in each others' houses or in a park once or twice a week to do your routines together. Meet for weekly walking dates.

Now, if you want to go BEYOND basic healthy exercise, yes, a gym can be a good investment. You can reach levels with machines that you can't do with resistance bands, hand weights, etc. But by and large, if all you want is healthy muscles, flexibility, and good lungs/heart health, you can do it on the cheap.

The political issues are a whole 'nother ball game.

helpfully,
Bright

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

42. A great catalog for workout DVDs and videos is

http://www.collagevideo.com/. They have this web page and also a catalog. I love them because they give a lot of information about the DVDs/videos, like how difficult they are and so on.

[2bfree]

31. Curves is good if you are really out of shape.

But otherwise you just don't get that great of a workout other then some strength training. It also get boring after a while going around in a circle looking at everyone. My other complaint would be that they have odd times to be open 9-12 then 4-7 in the afternoon.

[RubyDuby in GA]

33. On the other end of the spectrum

I would suggest Weight Watchers. I did the online version in 2003 and lost 60 pounds in about 7 months. It was wonderful. I haven't done it since they restructured and changed their programs around, but I still recommend it.

[mattclearing]

34. The difference might be that the Y is a Christian organization.

That's what the C stands for.

[Bridget Burke]

43. The "Christian" part is not emphasized--but the Y is politically active.

Stories on their website www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=djISI6PIKpG&b=284783

"Online Dialogue on Racism: Moving the Conversation Forward from Hurricane Katrina to a World without Racism"

"Campaign to Stop Immoral budget Cuts"

"YWCA USA: Nominee Could Upset Balance on the US Supreme Court"

Dangerous Stuff!

[Ksec]

36. Part of my wifes job bennies includes a Y membership

for the entire family. We pay like 7 bucks a week for everyone (4 of us but my two younguns dont usually go)

I would think the Y is much better than Curves. We have a Curves down the street and its tiny from the outside. They couldnt get much in a building of that size. Our Y is new and its huge. Everything. I usually just use one of the two basketball courts when I go and recently Ive been doing quite a bit of resistance training.
I read a book by Bill Phillips "Body for Life" and he sold me on the weights. Lose weight by aerobics and youll have a shrunken down version of the body you have now. Lose weight with aerobic and resistance and youll sculpt your body into something much more pleasant looking. I like the toned , defined look myself. Not all swelled up.

[FlaGranny]

39. My health insurance,

Humana, a Medicare HMO and also BC&BS of FL, both give you gym memberships. The program is "Silver Sneakers" for Medicare recipients. I'm not sure whether they have a similar program for non-Medicare. I joined just before Christmas, went once, and came down with a cold and a cough that won't go away, so I haven't been back yet, but I intend to return as soon as the cough from hell goes away. I had a choice of several gyms and I picked the JCC. They have the Silver Sneakers classes (by the way, they give you a pretty good workout) and also a gym with all the usual exercise and weight equipment. They even have a pool. They have every kind of exercise class imaginable, including weight loss programs. In fact, in my experience, they are very much like the Y.

[Scout]

41. I used Curves for a while....

I found it really helped improve my blood pressure, however I did not lose weight. Maybe a little. I did see loss of inches as I toned my muscles.

It's a good starting point if you haven't been very active, but don't expect to lose weight from Curves workouts alone. You'll have to combine diet changes and other exercise.

Personally, true weight training (not Curves-type hydraulics) and walking regularly are the only things that EVER helped me really lose weight. Oh yeah, swimming too, but I hate swimming.