Five Ways to Work Out in the Gym When There Are a Lot of People
You want to work out, but when the gym is so crowded that all the machines and benches are in use, you need the composure not to say, “Fuck it!” and kick something on the way out. Don’t worry: you might not get the workout planned, but with a little ingenuity, you can still get a good one .
A seasonal spike in gym membership or the number of people in the gym won’t help much, but on a day-to-day basis, the busiest gym hours tend to be when people go to and from work. Expect crowds from 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM, with a break between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM, before the evening crowd rushes in to claim every squat rack, treadmill, and stretching area. Then it subsides again at 21:00. These peak hours are pretty consistent in many gyms I’ve visited across the country and around the world, but if in doubt, just ask the people at the front desk. Or check Google . They know everything.
Come to the gym with options
You probably have a specific workout that you want to do, but your chances of getting it done exactly may seem bleak, wherever you look you see a person sweating using the same equipment as to you. If you really want it, you can wait for something to open, or simply ask to work with other people while they are resting; but why not use this as an opportunity to learn about so many other exercise variations?
For every exercise you love, like squats or push-ups, there are many alternatives and variations , some of which you don’t even need a squat rack. Be aware of these alternatives. Ideally, these replacements should be similar in function to the exercise you need to replace. Let’s say you come up to the deadlift , but, damn it, the free bar is not visible. It’s okay, hip pulls,cable pulls , heavy kettlebell swings , hyperextensions ordeadlifts with asuitcase of dumbbells or dumbbells are all great alternatives because they all follow a similar pattern of movement and work with the same muscle groups.
Here and useful databases such as MuscleWiki or ExRx.net , especially if you do not know what exercise to replace their proven and loved. The MuscleWiki mobile app (free for iOS and Android ) makes finding replacements or alternatives to your favorite exercises really handy when you’re at the gym.
Alternative workouts that do not require leaving the gym
It’s best to prepare another backup workout. Sticking to one workout routine is usually good practice and doesn’t require any extra mental energy, but composing a workout on the fly can be fun as a last resort and will make you try things you might not otherwise think of. Here are some options:
Prepare your workout for the floor
In busy times, weight benches are a valuable commodity. So if you were planning on doing chest exercises or something similar, you probably think that you need to give up without a bench. But a bench is just a stable surface (albeit raised) that you can lean against. When there is no bench, the floor itself is the best solution.
You can still do chest exercises without lifting off the floor. Obviously push-ups are one option, but lesser-knownfloor dumbbell presses are another. It’s like doing a dumbbell bench press, but, you know, from the floor. However, while on the floor, you need to use more chest strength to lift the weight because you cannot use your legs to push . Find a spot on the floor and you can also work on crow pose , Turkish squats ,butt bridges , dead beetles , bird dogs, and countless other bodyweight exercises.
Expand your workout
If you’re trying to do strength training, one of my favorite contingency plans involves a strategic mix of exercises. A superset is one way to do this when you combine two exercises that target opposing muscle groups and do them one after the other as one superset. For example, you can combine push-ups (chest) with rows (back). Plus, when people are waiting, supersets will help you get things done quickly.
In a very busy gym, I would suggest making sure at least one of the two exercises is a variation in body weight. This way, you don’t have to download multiple machines or wait for something to open before you can continue your workout. In fact, the video above shows that you can only do supersets with bodyweight exercises .
Do a full body circuit workout
Circuit training is based on the same idea as supersets, except that you combine six to ten different exercises and do them all in sequence to complete one lap. Circuits are ideal when the gym is crowded because you don’t need a lot of space for a full workout.
You can do whatever exercise you want, but the idea is to work your entire body, so variety would be ideal. The video above Natena Mikson – a training program with their own weight for beginners, and the video below from Bodybuilding.com includes weight and is more advanced.
Of course, your circuits might be all bodyweight exercises, but if you want to push yourself, you can put together one or two of the equipment available: dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, or whatever else you can pick up. add to your schemes (just don’t be a magpie and exacerbate the problem of a crowded gym).
Try interval rowing instead of running on a treadmill
Everyone walks on treadmills or elliptical trainers. Few people use rowing machines, but this is good news for you. Rowing is actually an intense full-body cardio workout. (Shhh … don’t tell anyone else!) Rowing follows a very precise rhythm and shape, however, so check out our previous article for those subtleties . Be sure to practice good technique and start slowly if you’re unfamiliar.
However, rowing should not be underestimated. Even 10 minutes by car can leave people out of breath. If you’re looking for a tough challenge, you can do any number of interval rowing workouts we mentioned, or a workout like the one shown in the video above.
Use other, less popular exercise equipment
Well, if weights, squat racks, and machines are somehow all accepted, it still doesn’t really matter. Find other equipment on the gym floor , such as kettlebells , combat ropes, and TRX harness trainers . You may not have paid much attention to them before, but if they are there, you will immediately have access to a new world of new and challenging workouts. In fact, we’ve covered what you can do with kettlebells , the powerful workouts you can do with fighting ropes , and all the different exercises that a suspension machine makes possible.
Some workout ideas: If you are only using the kettlebell , you can swing the kettlebell for 100 reps , broken down into 10 reps at a time, and you will feel good after that. For the battle ropes, see Adrian Bryant’s video above ; this is perfect for beginners. Finally, my article here is about both upper and lower body suspension training , which I have followed for several months and have seen excellent results in strength building.
The most important and important thing is to be flexible and adapt to your situation. You won’t always have the right weight or the right equipment for your only real workout, so you should do the best you can with what you have. Doing something is much better than telling yourself that just because the conditions are not ideal, you need to hit the reset button. Hint: Conditions are almost never ideal. These are the times when it’s easiest to fall off the cart and never return to the gym again.