Curves v. Gym

carolinej

I have decided I am going to join the gym to try and get fit!! I'm undecided as to whether to try Curves or the gym in the local leisure centre.

I don't need to lose weight so all I want is to tone up & get fit generally. My knowledge of Curves is it's for woman who want to lose weight only and is not really for people who just want to tone up like myself so would I be better going to local gym?? I'm not sure what's so different about Curves other than the fact it's woman only & payment is by signing up to direct debit. At the gym I can pay as I go which I'd prefer. Before I go making any enquiries at the gym etc I'd like some opinion/experiences of board members first. Thanks

CerebralCortex

carolinej wrote:

......tone up & get fit generally......

Tone up? You mean fat-down right?

carolinej

CerebralCortex wrote:

Tone up? You fat-down right?

Helpful reply's wanted only.

AlphaMale 3OO

i think he/she just means that if you want to tone up you'll have to lose fat/weight but you said you didnt need to lose weight. for women, ive heard curves isnt that good. if you go to the gym you'll probably get better results with hard work than you would at curves.

justsomebloke

what I think CC was saying is that the "toned" look is a point where your body fat is low enough that you can start to see the shape of your muscles. So to get the "toned" look you need to drop you Body fat levels.

Curves as a starter gym for people who overweight and/or have never been in a gym before can be beneficial however it is very limited and so is in no way a medium to long term goal i.e. it should only be used as a stepping stone to use a real gym.

The gym as such is better in every respect bar the fact that it is women only and it probably doesn't have that social feel of people who are all in the same boat.

Colm_OReilly

Hey,

Curves is a small box gym that springs up in response to the impersonal nature of big box gyms like Crunch or Jackie Skelly. The advantage you get is that you receive personal attention. The disadvantage is that the exercises are structurally or hormonally sound (machines aren't good for you)

A big box gym has the advantage in that it will have superior equipment and facilities. Equipment in that it will have Concept II rowers and free weights. The disadvantage is that the business model is based around you not using it. Plus you'll have largely uneducated staff teaching you have to use machines.

As for tone, tone is very loosely defined. Tonus refers to the electrochemical readiness in the muscle to do work. To quote Kilgore and Rippetoe in "Practical Programming", 'if tone is the goal, strength is the method'.

Colm

rubadub

Is there any famous person, or pic you could post of a woman you consider to be "toned", that could help.

If I was you I would just get the 50kg cast iron weights in argos. Maybe go to the gym a few times- pay as you go- and get a instructor to demonstrate correct form, and make sure you are doing correct form. Then maybe pop back in a few months to make sure you are still doing it right.

I have never joined a gym, just have weights at home. sites like

www.exrx.net are very good at showing all the exercises you can do with simple free weights.

Don't bother with the pink girlie weights in argos or other places, you would be cheaper lifting cans of beer, they do nothing, otherwise shelf stackers in tescos would be hulks

workaccount

Colm_OReilly wrote:

The disadvantage is that the business model is based around you not using it.

Hi Colm,
Can you elaborate on that?

rubadub

workaccount wrote:

Hi Colm,
Can you elaborate on that?

I presume it means the big gyms do not really want you there, they love it when all the new years resolutioners come in all guns blazing and do not turn up from Feb onwards. While I imagine curves is a gang of gossiping women so a social outlet, and actively making sure/trying to get people do turn up each week- gives them a good name.

I think many find gyms daunting, and would prefer the idea of curves. I couldnt imagine my own mother going to some gyms, but curves definitely- she used to have all sorts of "ladies", I am off with the "tennis ladies", "golf ladies", "walking ladies", just gangs of auld ones socialising and getting a bit fit, not training to be powerlifters!!

ronbyrne2005

Curves is crap and equipment can do you more harm than good. Calories burnt per session in curves is relatively low (less than a mars bar). It's grand for overweight middle aged housewives looking for a social outlet but not if you want to be "toned". Diet is very important to being "toned". You can be not overweight (As OP claims)and have high body fat,or be a "skinny fat person" as my mate calls them. I would recomend you get a personal trainer for a few session in your home and buy some basic equipment that the trainer recomends . If you feel like going to a proper gym in the leisure centre then do that and get advice on workout and diet from knowledgeable staff or external professionals/good websites .

Norinoco

Hi caroline,

I have tried both...and personally think the gym is the one for me.

In most gyms you can get a personal assessment and they will also show you how to use the machines you are concerned with, so being a newbie to the world of gyms is easy.

I found that curves did not give me the same type of workout as a gym, and as we were working around a circular circuit everyone was looking at each other, didn't like that! Granted, you change your action every 30 seconds, but i need more time on a machine to feel the benefits.

But saying that - my friend swears by it and hates gyms.

I would personally recommend the Gym.

Colm_OReilly

rubadub essentially answered the question.

The model of a big box gym is essentially selling memberships. The turnover is ridiculously high, higher than you'd have for any other repeat service business: so they're making their money on joining fees.

Their model isn't value creation. If you're lucky you'll get service once every 6 weeks where they'll give you a "health" test and resubscribe another program that's machine based.

I've never seen any of the staff in westpark give solid advice, and I do watch them work. Furthermore, if I'm absent for a few weeks I'll get an automatically generated text. When my membership was due for renewal they rang me. Where was the caring?