Curves Gym

  • Thread starter monicafussyolla
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Anyway being like a Jack in the box when it comes to joining gyms I've since joined Ben Dunnes Carlisle Gym in Walkingstown. I had a 14 day trial period with Dundrum & it's not that they weren't good, they were & had very nice staff. It's more that they had no pool/jacuzzi which I could get at the Carlisle Gym for the same price.

The Carlisle Gym let me try the gym out for a day & did ask me back for a second day trial but they don't offer a 14 day trial period so confident are they of the appeal of their facilities. The Carlisle expect payment up front in one instalment.

As I'm trying to lose some weight at the moment the Carlisle Gym has an offer where you can get your €495 membership fee back if you lose a stone within six months. The offer was supposed to end last Friday but it was extended, it could finish anytime. They ran this offer in May I believe & 30% got their money back.

I'm also doing a Salsa Slim course. Whoever loses the most weight over an eight to nine week period wins €2,500. The competition is between 15 venues and the beginners & intermediate class so there is alot of competition.

There's gold to be made in the weightlosing business, I'm telling you. :D

The only thing is I'm sick of eating flippin fruit all the time. :mad:
 
I think I read in the paper that on Oct 10th ... Curves are giving free membership to anyone that joins on that day. It's breast cancer day. Maybe it's only in my neck of the woods but it might be worth checking out.
 
The curves system has a number of flaws
Firstly.. it does not provide true full range exercise or 'back pressure' with the hydraulic machines. Its the NEGATIVE portion of the repetition which causes the change in muscular structure.
Secondly.. by allowing no lowering phase there is a
drastic rise in blood pressure..again the lowering phase is where blood is allowed to circulate into the muscle.
Thirdly..It does not increase flexibility as true full range exercise does. It also incorporates high forces due to the work faster-work harder design of these machines.
Where is the accountability? A one size program does NOT fit all!
Suffice to say its a gimmick and any losses in weight are merely water losses due to the poor,unbalanced diet that they advocate.
Remember it is a franchise and franchises are there to make money... at any cost!
If anyone wants to discuss these points they can contact me...
[broken link removed]
 
Sierra said:
the Carlisle Gym has an offer where you can get your €495 membership fee back if you lose a stone within six months. :
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Is this offer easy to abuse? I mean a five course meal and four pints before jumping on the scales will be easily lost in six months.
 
robmor

Does your comments mean that you believe the Curves system of losing weight could be very damaging to participants health?

Ham Slicer

Is this offer easy to abuse? I mean a five course meal and four pints before jumping on the scales will be easily lost in six months.
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Well I can't tell if on average if that would constitute putting on a stone in weight.

I do believe that anyone who is moderately good at losing weight should be able to lose the stone no bother & hopefully keep it off, that can be the difficult part. If Ben Dunne wants to give members their money back I ain't complaining & I'm sure as hell up for his challenge. :D
 
It could be deduced that an individuals health could be damaged. The risk of soft tissue injury is high along with the increase in b.p. If a client had a preexisting blood pressure problem then it could be potentially dangerous.

Curves is a short term fix to loose inches..not weight..Any weight loss is more than likely water loss..For long term weight loss go to a 'normal' gym and ask for a thirty minute program on conventional machines ..see and feel the difference!
 
robmor said:
It could be deduced that an individuals health could be damaged. The risk of soft tissue injury is high along with the increase in b.p. If a client had a preexisting blood pressure problem then it could be potentially dangerous.

Curves is a short term fix to loose inches..not weight..Any weight loss is more than likely water loss..For long term weight loss go to a 'normal' gym and ask for a thirty minute program on conventional machines ..see and feel the difference!
Click to expand...

How exactly is the Curves regime going to result in water loss any more than a standard gym regime? I can understand how some (many) diets can have an initial water loss stage but how does exercise do that? I can accept the Curves regime is possibly not ideal (I am not a member BTW), but I don't understand the water loss argument here and would be interested in an explanation.
 
Normal gym 'regimes' entail educating the client about long term balanced, healthy eating. The curves eating system is borderline ketogenic, which results in a lot of water loss..I've often done this myself(due to experimentation with bodybuilding techniques for muscle definition)..cut carbs out and lost ten pounds in two weeks..However most of this was water and when I reintroduced carbs(which you will have to at some point) I regained 90% of the weight over 48 hours..Since curves do not have an accurate body composition analysis they cannot say how much is fat loss or water loss..
Because the curves system does not provide a sufficient stimulus to retain lean muscle mass during such restricted eating, the rest of the weight loss is lean tissue..which is never a good idea...
Heres the background theory!...
Carbohydrates are stored in our bodies as glycogen, and with each gram of glycogen, three grams of water are stored. When we stop eating foods with carbohydrates, we start using stored glycogen to meet our energy needs. As we use glycogen, the water that was stored with it is lost through our urine. Our bodies normally have a reserve of approximately 800 grams(depending on body size), two pounds, of glycogen. So if we were to use all our stored glycogen, we would lose 2,400 grams, or six pounds of water.
On low carbohydrate diets, most of this water weight loss occurs in the first week of the diet, during which time the majority of the stored glycogen is consumed.After this lean tissue is lost at a rapid rate unless very demanding training is performed on each bodypart.
and to recap on the curves exercise system :
The machines are so inferior to anything else..the results being that muscles are not worked throughout a full range of possible movement . . . resistance is limited to an amount that can be moved in the weakest position . . . little or nothing is done in the way of improving flexibility, since there is no resistance in the fully extended position . . . and no resistance is provided in the fully contracted position..
 
Hi I know this is an old post but I wanted to relate my experience with Curves with was not positive unfortunately . I was told when I joined that the exercise routine was supervised and that a staff member would be on hand to motivate you and explain the best use of the equipment. This was not my experience in the 20 or so occasions that I attended the gym on James's Street.

Although there was a staff member present on each occasion they appeared more interested in chatting than doing their job. In fact the only time I received any tuition or encouragement was from a lady who was seconded from another branch for 1 week, after she left it was back to the girl who sat behind the desk filing her nails/chatting on the phone. You do a circuit 10 machines for 2 minutes per machine with bounce boards in between making up the 30 minute work out. The machines are very basic and one in particular, a weighted squatting machine that sat on your shoulders while you lunged up and down, used to cause me tremendous strain.

When I asked for help I was told that I was doing fine even though I knew that something was amiss. After several weeks I developed a serious pain in my neck and my doctor advised me to stop attending. I called them to cancel my subscription and was told that I would not receive a refund of the fees paid in advance (either 6 or 12 months, I can't remember which) I explained that I was quitting on my doctor's advice and that I had being injured to no avail.

Overall by comparison to the also mentioned Dundrum gym, which was my local until I moved house, the experience was terrible, the work out limited and the staff negligent. I hope this makes any woman out there think twice before signing up
CC
 
I have been attending my branch of Curves for a few years now. I certainly don't go for the facilities but I do go for the convenience (it's a short walk from my house) and the absence of set starting times.
There has been high enough turnover of staff and varying levels of customer care but I didn't join to be pampered. At present there is a very pleasant Eastern European girl there who is very efficient and seems to know what she is doing in terms of instructing on the exercises and passing on information. Unfortunately for her, she seems to be swamped with administrative work that her Irish colleagues are reluctant (my impression - could be wrong) to undertake.
This branch has recently offered a new service for a sign-up fee and an additional €5 per month. You are supposed to be re-assessed and log in to a computerised system on each visit. You then put your tag into each of the machines and at the end of your 2 circuits you get a computerised display of your energy levels, strength, etc. A good idea as I was getting very bored with the same old circuits. However, despite the company being very quick to update my direct debit, I am still waiting for my assessment and some paperwork to be updated.
I have reservations about the cleanliness of the single shower. I don't think the bathmat has ever been washed. While I don't usually use the shower at Curves, I had to last year when my bathroom at home was being refurbished. Not surprisingly, I got a verrucca! Also, I wonder how often the exercise mats are cleaned!
The disclaimers in the contract relating to any injuries arising from their commission or omission may not stand up to legal scrutiny.
 
I have visited several Curves branches in the past few years, and the quality of the premises, the machines and the staff vary greatly - my own local branch doesn't have a changing area (just a toilet which doubles as a changing room) or showers, doesn't have lockers, is fairly tight on space and, as the floor isn't level, the machines "rock" which can't be good! The machines are at least 4 years old, and are showing their age (out of order from time to time, padded areas are torn and they squeak!).

I've been to others which have several toilets, separate changing rooms, showers, lockers, air conditioning and lots of room to move between and around the machines.

The interest and commitment of the staff vary from place to place as well.

Seems like you pays your money and takes your chance!
 
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