Donna Barnes enjoys Curves – the weight loss center, that is — in DeKalb.

Barnes has owned Curves for the last two years.

“Having had a weight problem my entire life, and knowing that I needed to exercise even though I didn’t care for it, gave me the idea to join Curves.”

Barnes opened Curves after losing her original job in the corporate world. She wanted to keep off the weight she had lost, and she found Curves to be not only helpful, but enjoyable as well.

“I absolutely loved joining Curves in Yorkville where I live,” Barnes said. “I didn’t get burned out, and it was something I could do. I saw results.”

The next step for Barnes was opening a Curves here in DeKalb.

Curves is a women’s-only facility that includes five workout components. Warm-up, aerobic exercise, strength training, cool down and stretching are the stations at Curves. The complete workout takes 30 minutes and allows women to work out to upbeat music. When the music stops, the women rotate stations.

Barnes said Curves encourages women of all shapes and sizes.

“We have women from all walks of life here,” Barnes said. “We have women who are size two and three who want to keep that size, and we have women who are size 23 and 24. That’s the beauty of Curves. If you can walk through the front door, you can do Curves.”

Even with the Student Recreation Center located centrally on campus, Barnes still encourages students to work out at Curves.

“I can only tell you what I have heard from students in the past two years,” Barnes said. “There is a lot of waiting time to get on the machines, and that it is more of a social scene.”

Barnes said she does see a variety of different students.

She said most students come to her their sophomore year after gaining the dreaded “freshman 15.”

Curves’ approach on weight loss is different from other workout facilities.

“We don’t give you any set amount of reps you should do,” Barnes said. “We don’t want to intimidate anybody. What a woman who is maybe 250 pounds could do is a lot different from somebody that is 110 pounds. We work you up to the best program that is suited for you.”

In addition to helping with weight loss, Curves also provides support to the women.

“Sometimes we are the only support group these women have,” Barnes said. “We support them not because we have to, but because we want to.”