Women Have Choice Of Gyms

“Health clubs have come a long way since the days of a few dumbbells, plates and a bar. Now there seems to be a gym on every street in most cities. These days, health clubs offer things like aerobics classes, pilates, yoga, saunas and personal trainers. And women can find their very own place to work out, without the distraction of men. Women-only gyms are sprouting up locally and all over the nation. In the metro Jackson area, woman's clubs are definitely thriving with places like Curves, Fitness Lady, Ladies Workout Express and Total Woman. Curves, which boasts of 10,000 locations and 4 million members worldwide, has six locations in the metro area. Its program allows members to get a complete aerobic and strength training workout in just 30 minutes. ‘Let's face it, most of a woman's life is spent taking care of others,’ said Jamie Neal, manager at the Curves in Flowood. She said Curves asks members ‘to give us 30 minutes, three times a week to take care of you. That is not too much to ask of oneself.’ Regular exercise can also do marvelous things for your bones and joints. At another women-only workout club, Fitness Lady, members can take water aerobics classes - which is often helpful to ease the pains of arthritis. Other offerings include aerobics and indoor cycling classes, free weights and personal trainers. Total Woman Health and Fitness, opened its doors in December 2006, and now has more than 300 members. Beth Aldridge, owner of Total Woman, said her club doesn't offer the 30-minute workout routine, but actually something more. ‘We have offered our members the highest standard in new state of the art equipment that stands above any co-ed facility or women-only club in town,’ she said. Maybe more importantly, members can come into the gym not worrying about how they look, or about the possibility that someone is staring at them. As Jamie Neal of Curves put it, ‘We care about you as an individual, not how good you look doing a squat.’”

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