When Mary Ella Young, 46, of Greenville, and her sister-in-law Jody Eastlick, 48, of Tiffin, Ohio, decided to come up with a joint business venture, they were thrown a curve.

Actually, it was Curves for Women. That's what their new fitness center in the heart of Hermitage on East State Street, across from the Suburban Restaurant, is called.

They opened the franchise which is billed as a "30-minute fitness and weight loss center" in January.

"They (the franchise) find that ladies like it because its strength training and a cardiovascular fitness workout at the same time," said Mrs. Young, about the specially-formulated work-out for women. "And its in 30 minutes, which fits into their schedule."

Using a round-robin approach, women spend 30 seconds on each piece of exercise equipment, switching stations when a tape prompts them to. In between stations, they walk in place for 30 seconds.

They make three rotations on the eight exercise machines.

"The machines work opposing muscles so there should be little or no aches involved," Mrs. Young said, adding that with three employees, there is always someone watching the workouts and available for questions.

She also explained that the workout is easier for women than traditional fitness methods, such as aerobics.

Mrs. Young discovered Curves for Women when she visited her sister in Illinois.

"I'd never heard of Curves before," she said. "I went with my sister, but I was skeptical. I mean, what can you do on a machine for 30 seconds?"

The first time around, Mrs. Young said, it was fun. The second time, she started to work. "By the third time, I was sweating. I thought, there's more to this than what it looks," Mrs. Young said.

She checked with the owner of that franchise to find out where the closest Curves was to Greenville. It was in Butler.

"My sister said that maybe you and Corinne (her daughter) should open one up," Mrs. Young said. "I told her I wasn't interested. I couldn't see myself doing that."

But a visit in July from her sister-in-law -- who was looking for some kind of business or career in this area so she could relocate -- started to reshape Mrs. Young's interest of in Curves.

"I told her I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head, unless she wanted to go into business together and open a Curves," Mrs. Young said, adding that she wasn't 100 percent serious at that point.

After a little research, the two decided to g et serious about the idea and fill out a franchise application. By October they were training in Texas, where the corporation is based.

Though the center has only been open a little over two months, it already has 145 members. Expanding hours to include Saturday mornings is next on the partner's to-do list. Curves is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 4 to 7 p.m. Opening centers in Greenville, Grove City and Conneaut Lake, is another possible long-term goal.

"It's a nice franchise, very family-oriented, such as not being open late at night and not being open on Sundays," said Mrs. Young. "Our main goal is to get people to exercise and feel better. And to make it a habit."

For more information about Curves for Women, call (724)-342-5705.