I just joined Contours Express, which is a competitor of Curves. After my extremely long hiatus from the gym I decided that I needed to get back on track. Turning 30, the wedding, and just feeling "dumpy" were my main motivators. A co-worker recommended Contours. I came in yesterday to give it a try. I was happy to see that the machines they had were ones I've used before. The concept of Contours and circuit training is that you rotate from weights and cardio in 45-second intervals. They play music overhead and every 45 seconds a voice comes on that tells you to rotate. It sounds kind of silly but it's not. I found that I was breaking into a sweat after a little over 6 minutes of working out. I also like that the commitment is only 30 min., 3 x week. I hope to go at least 4x a week but knowing that the commitment is that low makes it doable. So I'm signed up and I've already been there twice. I hope to go again tomorrow.