Yep. It’s that time of year again when the gym gets really busy. It’s cold and yucky outside so everyone is bringing their workout indoors. It’s time to be flexible folks. Sometimes “your” machine isn’t available even though you are ready for it. Are you going to get mad and give up or do you have a Plan B?
Right now is the perfect time to figure out what you can do until your machine opens up. Come January 1st the gym’s going to be even more crowded so it’s best to have it all figured out now.
When my equipment of choice is all taken I use that opprtunity to try something new. There’s several machines that no one every seems to use so I’ll try one of those. Sometimes I use it only until my machine becomes available and then sometimes I’ll just stick with it. Sometimes I’ll do my weight workout first. By the time I am finished with that my machine is free. Then there’s the track. Nothing like walking or running for a good warmup.
I don’t tend to go to the gym (I prefer the dojo), so it’s not a huge issue for me. However, when I used to go to the gym, I’d run or walk around the track if the cardio machines were taken. If the weight machines were taken, I’d just switch up the order a bit or see if I could find calinsthetic (sp?) exercises that worked the same muscles until the machines freed up.
Yesterday at the gym (which was completey uncrowded at 5:00 a.m.!), one of the trainers had his client running up the stairs over and over again. Then the evil man had her doing lunges up and down the rows between the machines. Oh, and then he would make her stop at a machine and do some reps before continuing the lunges down the row. What a fiend!
Our gym has sign up lists for all of the cardio machines in 15 min increments and they limit users to 30 mins per machine (a little looser when the gym is empty) and in fact they soon will limit the timers on the machines to 30 min maximums. It makes it easier signing up for slots on the high volume machines and then you just go on to other workouts (free weights or nautilus) until your time slot comes around.
Yesterday at the gym (which was completey uncrowded at 5:00 a.m.!), one of the trainers had his client running up the stairs over and over again. Then the evil man had her doing lunges up and down the rows between the machines. Oh, and then he would make her stop at a machine and do some reps before continuing the lunges down the row. What a fiend!
Good thread I have to agree it is a great idea to have a Plan B. I went overboard in this area, I have several Plan B’s. My machine of choice is the ellipitical. If that is taken then I go to the stationary bike for a good brutal workout. If that is taken then I hit the stairmaster machine for some stairs. And in case that one is taken then I use the Tread Mill, which is my least favorite machine of all, but I have grown to enjoy it. So I have 3 Plan B’s that I have developed a good workout for each one. That way when I hit the gym I have 4 machines I can use with a good workout plan for each one. Can’t be too overprepared can you?? That way no matter what happens I can get in a good cardio session. Hope this helps others out.
Good question. For resistance work, seems like there are always dumbbells free. You can do it all with dumbbells. For cardio, we’ve been known to jump into a group exercise class, even midway through the class, if the cardio floor is mobbed. Some of the less in demand cardio machines can kick your butt--for instance, rowing machines, which get you both cardio and resistance at the same time and you can race yourself. It’s also a good time to go over to the flexibility area and giving that a go.
My Plan B is if the main gym is full is to go to the women’s only workout area. It doesn’t have the newest equipment but I can usually find something to do.
Also my gym has plenty of weighted balls, big balls that you can sit on, some stetching equipment and exercise balls. So if I can’t get on a cardio machine or weight training equipment I try these alternatives out. I never get enough stretching in and I can definitely use some improvement in the “balance” area so I find these alternatives a nice change.
That’s good that you have a plan B. If normally you do your cardio exercise first, then plan B could be to do your resistance exercise first. In fact, I recently switched over to doing resistance first. I like it better that way.
At the gym, there are three different cardio machines that I could use. Therefore, I have several options if one type is busy. When it comes to resistance exercises, for each body part, I have several types of machines that I could use.
What I’m trying to say is that flexibility is the key!! When you are flexible about your approach, you’ll begin to really enjoy your time at the gym and not think of it as routine drudgery.
Make sure you have several favourite machines at the gym.
Just wanted to revisit this thread to see how folks are doing in the gym. Do you have your Plan B mapped out? Or Plan C or D? I’ve seen lots of posts over the last week or so where people are talking about how busy the gym is and what they are doing about it. So let’s hear what you guys are doing so that the new members have all the ammo they need next time they step into a crowded gym.
Or, share some of your most comical gym moments. This could get funny. I’ve seen some pretty perturbed folks at the gym recently. I love watching them fume instead of finding something else to do while they wait for their “favorite” piece of equipment to free up.
When I joined the Y about ten years ago, it got very crowded in the evenings, and I used that as my excuse to get demotivated and eventually quit. It’s great that you’re not. Of course, the thing I like about the group classes is they ROCK when they are full, and when they are sparse there’s extra floor room. There are only two treadmills in my apartment complex fitness room, a small and sometimes stifling little space, so I prefer to be in there alone, which is usually the case during primetime TV hours and such.
I’ve learned to plan my time so I don’t go to the gym when it’s crowded. Fortunately I have a fairly flexible schedule that lets me do that. I wouldn’t like it if I was limited to 30 minutes on the cardio machines, I usually go for at least 45 minutes and prefer an hour. Our gym usually has enough machines open that it isn’t a real problem. When I travel, I usually have the workout room at the hotel to myself in the morning.
