Curves For Women

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Curves for Women is a fitness center chain specifically designed for women. Curves was established in Harlingen, Texas in 1992 and has continued to expand to more than 9500 locations worldwide, making it the largest fitness center chain in the world.

There are Curves for Women locations in over forty-two countries, including Canada, the United States, Europe, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Japan and many more. It is estimated by Curves that more than 4 million women currently hold Curves memberships.

Curves is the baby of Gary Heavin of Houston, TX. After dropping out of a pre-med degree program that he could no longer afford, he took over a failing health club and started providing specialized fitness with the goal of preventing illness through regular exercise.

In only a few years Heavin owned seventeen different fitness centers. Through his failures and successes he discovered what features make visitors feel best about getting regular exercise. For the most part, the average person doesn't tend to respond well to the typical fitness center, but prefers a more relaxed environment where socializing and variety of exercises are the



focal points.

At Curves fitness centers, women participate in 30-minute workout routines that feature a circuit training type of setup. Various types of equipment or activities are placed in a circle type of layout and visitors spend a certain amount of time at one station before moving on to the next. Since everyone changes stations at the same time and in the same direction, visitors are free to hold conversations with the exercise partners located on either side of them.

The variety, relaxed atmosphere and simplicity of the exercise stations program all contribute to the popularity of Curves fitness centers.