How to Train in a Busy Gym
Have you ever walked into your gym and it has been packed to the brim? Every machine, all the weights and lockers appear to be taken. This can happen from time to time. However, there are plenty of ways we can still get in an effective workout while sticking to the program.
Adjust Program
Adjusting your program is an easy way to ensure you still stick to your workout. You can either change the order of your workout or change the workout you do from your program.
Adjusting Order
Although this is not ideal as programs are created with a specific workout order for a reason, it can still be done from time to time if necessary. If it means you can train and get a good session in without waiting for 15 minutes between exercises than it is a great option.
If your program has:
Lat Pulldown 3x12
Bench Press 3x12
But the lat pulldown is taken, move onto the bench press and come back when the lat pulldown is free. This saves waiting around for 5 minutes and losing the intensity of the workout.
Changing Workout
The second thing you can do to adjust your program is to change which workout you are going to do. If you have an upper body day but all the leg equipment is free, maybe do a lower body day.
Change the Time You Train
Depending on which gym you are at, there will be different peak times. From my experience the main busy times can be 6-8am in the mornings and 6-8pm at night. This is based off a 9-5 job. So, if you can manage to train during the day than try that out and see if the gym is busy say at 2pm. Or if you do work a 9-5pm job, is it a possibility for you to train on your lunch break?
Change Gyms
If your gym is always busy and I mean like overcrowded busy, you may want to look into changing gyms. You may look into a privately-owned gym that is quieter with less members. You may look into a chain gym that has lots of locations like an Anytime Fitness or Snap Fitness so you can try out different ones and see which ones are quieter.
Work in With Others
A great way to stick to your program and get in a good workout is to ask to work in with someone else. If the seated row is being used by someone and that is your next exercise. You can kindly approach them and ask to work in between their rest periods with them. If they refuse, simply move on to the next exercise in your program and return to seated row once it is free.
Conclusion
If you are new to training, a busy gym can be intimidating but there are plenty of ways to still get in a good workout. You can look at altering your program, changing the time you workout, work in with other people or change the gym you are at. The more you go, the more confident and comfortable you will be with your training environment and if all else fails, join a different gym.