Curves Gym Memberships: Is this Fitness Franchise Right for You?

Curves is a gym that has experienced phenomenal growth. Curves gym for women has more than 9,000 locations worldwide, in more than 35 countries. One out of every four health clubs is a Curves. According to the Curves Member Guide by Gary Heavin, Curves is the ninth largest franchise in America. Please note that when the term "franchise" is used, it is referring to all franchises, including hotels, restaurants, etc. To give you some idea of how many Curves Gyms for Women there are, consider this: there is 1 Curves location for every 2 McDonald's locations. Curves is even in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's largest fitness center franchise.

Curves is obviously right for a lot of women, but is it right for you? Here's the scoop on Curves to help you determine if it is right for you:

Registration Fee

Curves has a $150 registration fee. However, at various times of the year, that fee is either reduced, or dropped all together. For example, each year around the first of March, they have a canned food drive. People who bring in a bag of canned goods for the local food bank may join, without paying the $150 registration fee.

No New Year's Specials

I called Curves to find out if they were running any specials for New Years. I was told they were not. I then asked if that was the same for all Curves nation wide, and was told that it was. So it doesn't look like you'll be in luck at the moment if you're looking for some type of discount this time of year.

Monthly Cost

The cost of Curves varies, depending on location. Monthly costs are between approximately $30 and $50 per month. This seems to be mostly dependent on which state you live in and the overall cost of living there. Here in the Denver area, I pay $34 per month for my Curves membership. Curves in states with a higher cost of living such as California will run you $50 or slightly more per month.

Contract

Curves requires a 1-year contract. Most Curves will take the monthly fee directly out of your checking account each month. After the first year, you may maintain your membership on a month-to-month basis.

How it Works

The Curves system is very simple. It is circuit training, using hydraulic machines. Because the machines are hydraulic, the more repetitions done, the more resistance there is. This way the machines adjust to the strength level of each woman.

The machines are set up in a circle (more like an oval shape). They have a mixture of machines. Half of the machines work upper body and the other half work lower body. In between each machine is a "recovery board." Participants stay on either a machine or a recovery board for 30 seconds, until they are prompted by a recording to "change stations." (A station is either a machine, or a recovery board.) On the recovery board, women either run in place, dance, or do any other type of aerobic exercise they want.

As a result of the quick movement from machine to recovery board, to machine to recovery board, etc., in addition to doing weight training, you also get an aerobic workout at Curves.

Depending on the specific Curves, women go around the circuit either two or three times. (Some Curves have fewer machines. Those smaller Curves locations require three trips around the circuit. The Curves I go to has more machines and therefore only requires two trips around the circuit. )

Every eight minutes, women are prompted to move away from their station and check their heart rate.

Once women have gone around the circuit either two or three times, they move to a stretching area and spend about five or six minutes doing some stretching exercises.

All total, it takes around 30 minutes to go through the circuit the appropriate number of times and to do the stretching exercises. Three times per week is the recommended frequency, but members are permitted to go more or less frequently, as desired.

Amenities

Although there may be exceptions, Curves gyms for women do not generally have showers, but have small changing rooms.

Weighing and Measuring

When a woman joins Curves, she is weighed and measured, and her percent of body fat is determined. Then, monthly (or however often the woman desires), she is weighed and measured again. This information is recorded and kept in the woman's record, so she can see her progress month after month.

No Men Allowed

As you may have gathered, Curves is a gym exclusively for women. That is a big part of the appeal for a lot of the women who choose to join, who are more comfortable working out in a gym where only other women are present.

Personal Touch

Curves gyms for women are much smaller than a gym such as Bally or 24-Hour-Fitness. In fact, only a dozen or so women can exercise at one time. Because of this, the women who go regularly tend to get to know each other and develop friendships. It is a social time for many women.

The staff also goes out of their way to chat it up with the women at the gym, always say hello when you enter, goodbye when you're leaving, etc.

They also come up with games and other little contest to make it fun for the women who go.

Locations

Since there are so many Curves, it would be impossible for me to list all of them. But take a look at the list below to see how many Curves gyms for women there are in each state. My guess is that there is a Curves somewhere near you!

Alabama - 102

Alaska - 19

Arkansas - 51

California - 741

Colorado - 116

Connecticut - 78

Delaware - 22

District of Columbia - 6

Florida - 351

Georgia 196

Hawaii - 30

Idaho - 41

Illinois - 317

Indiana - 172

Iowa - 108

Kansas - 62

Kentucky - 97

Louisiana - 84

Maine - 49

Maryland - 148

Massachusetts - 156

Michigan - 322

Minnesota - 177

Mississippi - 47

Missouri - 154

Montana - 22

Nebraska - 42

Nevada - 44

New Hampshire - 57

New Jersey - 207

New Mexico - 45

New York - 346

North Carolina - 229

North Dakota - 16

Ohio - 304

Oklahoma - 69

Oregon - 110

Pennsylvania - 364

Rhode Island - 30

South Carolina - 103

South Dakota - 29

Tennessee - 133

Texas - 434

Utah - 59

Vermont - 25

Virginia - 191

Washington - 166

West Virginia - 58

Wisconsin - 200

Wyoming -- 22