I visited Curves on Dorsett in Maryland Heights, MO today. I didn't know what to expect, really - had heard that my friend Sheryl enjoyed the program, and I've certainly noticed that Curves is the new Walgreen's...quite suddenly ubiquitous.

Curves is the women's full-body circuit. There are resistance-powered machines, and in between each machine is a small jogging pad. The idea is to keep your heart rate fairly steady from machine to jogging pad, etc. You stop three or four times (I believe three) to take your pulse for 10 seconds.

You hit the circut twice. For legs, there's a machine that does a resistance squat, another that hits abductors/adductors, a gluteal machine , two that target abs, two for chest, one for shoulders directly, one for traps, and a bicep/tricep contraption. I'm probably missing a couple, but this is a full-body workout, and it's quite quick.

The faster you push the machines, the more resistance they offer. I had trouble striking balance between getting in good effort and not clanging the machine parts. With a weight stack, this is less challenging because you have a visual cue. And with free weights, well, you control everything. After the two circuits, I completed a series of 12 stretches, most of which I'd done before, but a couple of new ones I'll want to throw in with my mix.

The workout passed the sweat test. My pulse during this was around 26 for 10 seconds, about 156 - not really working all that hard for what I'm used to. This is where Curves wants you working, though - it's comfortable, but yet you have to exert yourself. I'm 32. If you go with the max heart rate formula of 220 - age, that puts my max at 188. That put my workload at roughly 83% of max for nearly 30 minutes. Not quite the MS 150, but it passed the sweat test, which, for the uninitiated, is measured by the saturation of the sports bra upon its removal. Very objective, but probably more than you wanted to know.

So, Curves. Do I recommend for women who are going to start an exercise program? Absolutely. Resistance training can be intimidating for women. I looked around Curves - hey, where're the mirrors? Don't need 'em. No free weights - no Stairmasters, no need for mirrors. I know I saw one because I looked funny bouncing on the little jogging pad, but I don't remember seeing more than one. Curves has a social feel to it; the atmosphere is very friendly. Beverly, the manager, took time out of her day to show me around and then answer my question list. She mentioned that there are more than 8000 Curves locations worldwide, about 7600 of which are in the United States.

Curves recommends that you hit the circuit three times a week. Patrons who do are offered a chance to enter a drawing for t-shirts and other prizes. They can also track their progress via the computer, be measured (with a machine less intimidating than those dreaded fat calipers), weighed, and then congratulated for fat and/or poundage loss. Beverly mentioned a 70 year-old member who's lost only a pound in weight but about half of her body fat. As you can imagine, this lady's likely quite a bit more spry.

As with any exercise program that gets your heart rate going for a good period of time, you can expect some endorphins. I left the facility feeling like I'd exercised. Granted, it's no friend Susan (see picture of cycling buddy in this post) workout (the likes of which will leave one understanding the full use of each exercised muscle for at least two days to come), but it's one great start.

Hours for the local Curves were split - 7ish until 1 and then 3:00 until 7:30, I believe. Beverly mentioned that hours are variable by location. Price is also, with the midwest tending to be cheaper per month than the coasts. Still, price is reasonable. If discomfort with body image is an issue, this facility should remove that tension.

So kudos to the Curves people. If you haven't tried it and are not actively exercising, this is not a time, energy, or money drain. I recommend.

(Thanks again, Beverly).

hln

Posted by: hln at 09:55 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I bought Dance Dance Revolution for the PS2 about a month ago, and I played it pretty heavily up until the week before the MS 150 and then picked it up again last week. Good stuff.

If you're not familiar, you purchase something called a Beat Pad that acts as the PS2 controller. You step on directional areas as directed on screen by the program, and it rates how well you do.

I'm somewhat of a klutz (just ask my bike), but I've got enough musical background that I picked this up pretty easily (thank goodness it doesn't rate my arm movements, though). Shape and other Fitness magazines recommended this game because of the workout mode, which is impressive but has a big downside. Basically, songs aren't longer than a minute to a minute and a half at most, meaning you get you heart rate up, and then it dips a bit while you're picking your next song. I read that the next two editions of the series (the 3rd one for PS2 releases in the US tomorrow) have a mode where you can string several songs together with just a short break while they switch from one to another, so this should take care of my concern.

About 6 of the songs are so dastardly difficult I can't do them at all yet, but there's a training mode that lets you decrease the tempo so you can commit crazy step sequences to memory.

All in all, if you like to jump around/dance but don't really like to exercise, this could be a nice gateway into the fitness experience.

On Thursday, I'm going to visit a local Curves to get the lowdown on the popular women-only quick workout facility. Expect a write-up soon after.

P.S. The Curves visit is only to satisfy curiosity. I talked with the manager and told her I just wanted to learn and write about it for others (put something useful on this blog and all). I don't imagine it's for me, either. But I'm betting you I can make myself sore by working intensely. I do shoulders today (Tuesday) and then just cardio on Wednesday so everything's healed and ready for the Curves full body workout. hln

Posted by: hln at 06:37 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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