Ladies fitness is its own multimillion dollar fitness industry – after all, women comprise more than 50% of the population and women tend to be more aware of the differences in their bodies than men do. That being said, it should hardly be surprising that there are a lot of ladies only fitness centers that target this demographic with specialized exercises and exercise programs.
Curves for Women
Chief among these fitness centers is Curves for Women. I reviewed the Curves experience in January of 2006 when I was first starting out here in the fitness blog. Curves for Women offers a social, supportive atmosphere where women can just be women. There are no complicated pieces of equipment and no need to set an appointment because you spend your 30 minutes a day working out in circuits throughout the center. Whether you are doing arm presses or walking in place or squats – you switch stations every 30 seconds or so, this keeps your heart rate up and your boredom levels down.
Lady of America
Lady of America is another ladies’ only fitness center that is more in line with a typical gym than Curves is. Lady of America is run by women for women and the atmosphere is designed to make women feel comfortable when they walk in to exercise whether they will be weight training on the machines or joining one of the exciting cardio funk aerobic classes or the thighs, tummy, buttocks fitness classes. Women spend more time on their technique and their form and less on how they look to others. Like Curves, the ladies’ only atmosphere is great for promoting a supportive and sisterly experience.
There are many other ladies’ only fitness centers that follow one of these two models, but these two are among the best known. You can find Lady’s Fitness Express, Shapes and Contours just to name three. Gender biased fitness centers are great for women who may be leery of the larger gyms and their co-ed atmospheres – and it also lets women be women – rather than worrying about looking like an athlete or a health nut.