Curves for Women - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Curves International, also known as Curves for Women, Curves Fitness, or just Curves, is an international fitness franchise co-founded by Gary

Gary Heavin

Gary Heavin is a Texas businessman. He is the founder and CEO of the fitness chain Curves International.-Career:Heavin originally took over a fitness center in Houston, Texas. This business venture was unsuccessful, and he filed for bankruptcy....

and Diane Heavin in 1995. Curves currently has 10,000 locations worldwide and an estimated 4 million plus members (as of October 2006). The company is privately held by its co-founders, with corporate offices located in Waco, Texas

Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

. Curves fitness and weight loss facilities are designed specifically for and focused on women, although in some states, men are allowed to join.

The clubs compete with other women's-only chain health clubs, including Spa Lady

Spa Lady

Spa Lady is the name of a Health and Fitness club with locations in the US and Canada. The clubs are specifically tailored to women and only women are allowed to join. During the 1980s, when the chain was much larger, its jingle was "You're a woman of the 80s, you're a Spa Lady!"...

and Lucille Roberts

Lucille Roberts

Lucille Roberts was an American businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded the Lucille Roberts chain of health clubs. , she turned turned her passion for working out into a health club empire worth $30 million at the time of her death.-Early years:Born in 1943 near St...

History

Curves was founded by Gary Heavin

Gary Heavin

and his wife, Diane. They opened their first Curves in Harlingen, Texas, in 1992. This new concept of 30-minute fitness, strength training, weight-loss guidance, and an environment designed for women was immediately successful. They began to develop plans for franchising the concept, with the first opening in 1995. Curves claims it is the world's largest fitness franchise and was recently recognized as one of the 10 largest franchise companies in the world. According to Curves International Inc's fact sheet, Curves achieved 6,000 franchises in 7 years. Curves facilities are located in over 60 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan. Curves is known as FitCurves in Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Kazakhstan, Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia.

Curves fitness and weight loss facilities are designed specifically for and focused on women. The program is designed around circuit training

Circuit training

Circuit training is a form of conditioning combining resistance training and high-intensity aerobics. It is designed to be easy to follow and target strength building as well as muscular endurance. An exercise "circuit" is one completion of all prescribed exercises in the program. When one circuit...

, which utilizes hydraulic resistance equipment to achieve results. The strength training

Strength training

Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction...

regimen is combined with cardiovascular training for a full body workout.

Research at Baylor University

In 2002, the Exercise & Sports Nutrition Laboratory at Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

began researching the efficacy of the Curves fitness and weight loss

Weight loss

Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...

program. Curves awarded the ESNL a $5 million, five-year grant to start the Curves Women's Health Initiative.

In 2008 this grant funding moved with Dr. Richard Kreider to the Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

.

The mission of the initiative is to examine the short and long-term efficacy of the Curves fitness and weight loss programs, identify ways to optimize the Curves program through various diet, exercise, and/or nutritional interventions; and examine ways to improve the health and well-being of women.

Among the research findings: the Curves program seems to be effective in increasing calories burned at rest, reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, locking, and sometimes an effusion...

, and helping women lose weight and maintain weight loss. A study of the effect of calcium

Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...

supplements on weight loss showed that calcium might aid weight loss by preventing the release of fat-storing hormones that are usually released when a person reduces calories enough to promote weight loss.

Results of completed studies have been published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, abbreviated FASEB, is a non-profit organization that is the principal umbrella organization of U.S. societies in the field of biological and medical research. FASEB organizes academic conferences and publishes scientific literature...

Journal, Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, Sports Nutrition Review Journal, and Nutrition and Metabolism.

In 2010 The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) awarded Dr. Richard Kreider, head of the Department of Health & Kinesiology at Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

, the 2010 NSCA Nutrition Research Achievement Award for his work on the Curves studies.

Numerous studies have shown that the Curves' programs have proven effective at helping women lose weight, gain muscle strength, and raise metabolism with aerobic activity, all of which contribute to healthy bones, muscles, and joints.

Community Involvement

November 2009 - The American Cancer Society recognized Curves International with the Corporate Impact Award for contributions to the society exceeding $1 million in 2009.

January 2010 - Curves founder Gary Heavin

Gary Heavin

flew the company jet to shuttle US doctors back and forth to Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

to aid earthquake victims. To help out even more, Curves sold a specially designed Haitian relief T-shirt, which was available at participating Curves locations. All proceeds from T-shirts sales were donated to provide food, clothing, shelter, and other basic needs in Haiti

Haiti

.

May 2010 - This spring, Curves clubs participated in the 12th annual Curves Food Drive. Together, the clubs collected 7 million pounds of food to benefit local food banks. Since 2004, the Curves Food Drive has brought in more than 61 million pounds of food.

March 2011 - Gary and Diane Heavin were selected to be part of an episode of ABC's Secret Millionaire

Secret Millionaire

The Secret Millionaire is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds . Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary...

. They packed the bare essentials and were taken to the Houston, Texas Third Ward to spend 10 days undercover in a 1920s row house. At the conclusion of the episode, the Heavins collectively gifted $410,000 to three local organizations: The Lazarus House, No More Victims, Inc., and The Sean Ashley House.

Gary Heavin's charitable contributions

In 2004, Curves International and its franchisees received some mixed and unwanted publicity stemming from articles about the charitable contributions of founder Gary Heavin.

Heavin was heavily praised by pro-life advocates for pulling all contributions to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity due to the fact that Komen donated money to Planned Parenthood in grants as part of Komen's efforts to support this community organization.
In an interview with Today's Christian, Heavin was quoted as saying that he donates money to "pro-life

Pro-life

Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

pregnancy care centers."

The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...

printed an article by Ruth Rosen

Ruth Rosen

Ruth Rosen is a pioneering historian of gender and society, an award-winning journalist and a Professor Emerita at University of California Davis....

, accusing Heavin of supporting militant anti-abortion groups. However, in an open letter to the Chronicle, Heavin challenged Rosen's characterization of his contributions. The Chronicle later published a correction which included a breakdown of the contributions at question. The contributions were given to three groups, Family Practice Center of McLennan County ($3.75 million), McLennan County Collaborative Abstinence Project ($275,000) and Care Net

Care Net

Care Net is a conservative Christian crisis pregnancy center network operating primarily in the United States. Its centers provide Christian, pro-life approaches to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Care Net centers do not perform, recommend, or refer clients for abortions...

($1 million.)

Numerous blogs picked up the Rosen's version of the story, and several other articles on the subject subsequently appeared in other mainstream media. The publicity affected business at some individual franchises, particularly in the U.S. West Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

region (specifically California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

) and a few in the Atlantic Northeast

Atlantic Northeast

The Atlantic Northeast, or Arcadia, is a region of North America, comprising New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. Definitions of the region vary; it may extend to upstate New York and/or all of Atlantic Canada....

and Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

, causing an uproar from franchisees of Curves International.

Although the errors were corrected, business was affected, with memberships down and some franchisees severing their ties with Curves.

Buyout-related lawsuit

Another controversy came into play in 2005 when six plaintiffs brought a suit against Curves, Gary Heavin, and Roger Schmidt (the company's attorney) for $20 million. The plaintiffs claimed that Heavin cheated them out of their share of profits by he and Roger Schmidt pressuring them to sign a buyout contract allotting them a fraction of what they might have earned.

Most of the plaintiffs were hired as independent sales reps after Curves had already opened hundreds of locations. The lawsuit failed to mention that the sales reps were paid more than $26 million for their work.

In Ireland

In 2008 a Curves branch in Dublin ran into controversy for sending letters to local secondary schools inviting staff and students (as young as age twelve) for a free tour and "figure analysis." The National Parents Council described the letter as worrying. The company apologized for the incident.

Awards and recognition

Number 1. Best New Franchise - Entrepreneur Magazine (two years in a row)
Number 2. Best Franchise Overall - Entrepreneur Magazine (two years in a row)
The World's Fastest Growing Franchise Entrepreneur Magazine (two years in a row)
The World's Fastest Growing Franchise in History - Reuters News Service
Gary Heavin named Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 - Ernst & Young
Gold Effy Award - American Marketing Association
Gary Heavin named Visionary of the Year 2004 - International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association
World's Largest Fitness Center Franchise - Guinness World Records
Number 15 Best Franchise Overall - 2007 Franchise 500 Rankings, Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneur is a publication that carries news stories about entrepreneurialism, small business management, and business opportunities. It is published by Entrepreneur Media Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California....
America's Top Global Franchises - #7 (2007); #3 (2006); #2 (2005); #2 (2004)
Ranked #1 in category in - (2007); (2006); (2005); (2004); (2003)
Franchise 500 rank - #15 (2007); #3 (2006); #2 (2005); #2 (2004); #2 (2003)
Entrepreneur's Fastest-Growing Franchises - #23 (2007); #5 (2006); #1 (2005); #2 (2004); #1 (2003)
The Canadian American Business Council recognized Curves International and Mytrak Health System for their collaboration on CurvesSmart.
Diane Heavin named Texas Businesswoman of the Year 2006 by Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas.
Curves voted one of America's healthiest gyms by Health Magazine 2009.
Gary Heavin Named to Newsweek's "Most Successful Almost Failures" List 2010.
Diane Heavin Named to Self-Made Magazine "50 Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire Us" 2010.
Gary Heavin included in "The 10 Most Brilliant Franchise Founders We're Eternally Grateful For" list 2010.

In popular culture

Curves has been parodied in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

, in the episode entitled Husbands and Knives

Husbands and Knives

"Husbands and Knives" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season, and was first broadcast on November 18, 2007. It features guest appearances from Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes as themselves as well as Jack Black as Milo. It was written by Matt Selman and directed by Nancy...

, in which Marge

Marge Simpson

Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

opens a successful franchise of a gym called Shapes, and in an episode of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

entitled D-Yikes!

D-Yikes!

"D-Yikes!" is episode 1106 of Comedy Central's animated comedy series South Park, first aired on April 11, 2007. The episode is rated TV-MA, and is a parody of the film 300.-Plot:When the episode begins, Mrs...

. In The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010...

, Christine

Christine

Christine is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1983. It tells the story of a vintage automobile apparently possessed by supernatural forces...

owns a gym extremely similar to Curves - a franchised 30-minute gym for women where a recorded voice tells them to "change stations" every 30 seconds.

External links and sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.