How to work out in a crowded gym?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-08-05

Most people train in gyms during peak hours, which is roughly from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. At such times, most gyms are overcrowded. There are cases when a person enters the gym, sees the chaos that is happening there, feels demotivated, and loses all desire to train. Inexperienced individuals simply turn around and leave. However, it’s not so daunting. You can still train effectively even in a crowded gym. Now, I will tell you how.

1. Refuse supersets and circuit training

Yes, most likely, you will have to perform all exercises separately. If you were already planning to do them separately, then that's even better for you. As practice shows, if the circuit training won’t work in a busy gym, then supersets can still be done. However, if the gym is completely packed, everything will have to be done separately. You will need to increase intensity by reducing rest between sets.

You need to assess the situation. If the situation allows you to do supersets, then do it. If not, simply perform the exercises separately.

2. Do exercises with someone else instead of waiting

For example, if you see that a machine is already occupied, you can approach and ask to share the machine by taking turns. For most reasonable people, this is quite an acceptable option. Especially if it's a block machine (easy to change weight). Or if your weights on the bar aren’t very different.

However, in modern fitness clubs, there are increasingly more people who do not want to share a machine or barbell with someone else. In response to an offer to work out together, they often make a face as if you were asking them to lend you 10,000 rubles.

Typically, the simpler the gym, the simpler the people. In the gym where I train, it’s quite normal for 2 or 3 people to work on one piece of equipment. People often train together, even if there’s free equipment. It’s just more fun and effective. I even have an article about this: Why training with a partner is more effective.

3. Use similar (analogous) exercises

If they still don’t want to share equipment or machines with you, you can replace your exercise with an analogous one. For example, instead of...

Trust my experience, the equipment and machines in the gym are occupied unevenly. One-third of the equipment is usually almost always occupied. One-third is sometimes occupied. And one-third is almost always free. Therefore, even in the most crowded gym, you can find an analogous exercise that is available.

4. Swap exercises

This can’t be done with all exercises, but it can be done. For example, if you are starting with...

Then start with dumbbell bicep curls (if the barbell is occupied), and then switch to the barbell. Nothing will change fundamentally from that switch.

5. Don’t use squat racks unnecessarily

As practice shows, there are very few squat racks in modern gyms. And they are almost always occupied. But they are not occupied because everyone is squatting; often, people use the racks for other exercises. For example, for...

Although these exercises can be easily performed without racks. Sometimes, a guy will place an empty barbell on the rack and do bicep curls with it. At the same time, he claims that he needs the racks and that he can’t lift 20 kg off the floor without them. Meanwhile, another guy stands next to him, needing to squat 200 kg, waiting for that guy who can't live without racks.

Therefore, don’t occupy the racks unnecessarily. If you need the racks and someone is using them for an exercise they don’t need them for, politely explain the situation and ask them to move along.

Conclusion

During peak hours, the trainer's main task becomes to arrange people in a way that maximizes comfort for everyone. You might take a rack from one person in favor of someone who really needs it. You might pair someone with someone else on a machine or barbell. You can give another person an analogous exercise instead of the one that is completely occupied. And so on.

By showing a little ingenuity and the ability to communicate and find compromises, you can train quite well even during peak hours. From my experience, I can say that you can workout in any crowded gym. Good luck!