For most of my gym career, I’ve loved training right after work. When I started lifting, I would get home from a jobsite and head right downstairs to get my lift in. Then when I started training at an actual gym, since I was working a remodeling job, there would be a lot of days I would finish at odd times. Sometimes we would wrap up at noon, 1, 2 o’clock and I would be able to make it to the gym at the slow point. I loved going at this time because I was practically one of the only people there and had most of the equipment to myself. I’ve always loved making gym friends and being a part of the community at the gym, but there’s always something blissful about having your music blasting and being the only one getting it done.
Once I stopped working remodeling, my hours switched mostly to a typical 9-5. I tried going really early in the morning, but it just wasn't for me. I gave it a good ol’ college try for over 6 months, waking up at quarter to 5 in the morning and being done with my workout before most people got out of bed, but I just never felt like I had a good workout. So since that wasn’t working out and I knew my gym was always packed right at 5, I started going a little later around 7p-8p. When I started going back to school for my MBA, the gym was sometimes bumped back until 10pm. Going at 7ish was nice because the main rush was over but I still got to see some people and be a part of the community. Going at 10 wasn’t too bad either, since it was pretty much empty at that time. I trained like this for a few years, always trying to make it to the gym in the off times so my training would be as uninterrupted as possible and it would be as consistent as possible. It also allowed me to be able to get on the equipment that I wanted when I wanted.
Well the big downside to this was most of my “free time” was now being eaten up. Even though training is one of my favorite things to do, literally my whole night was taken up by it. Right as I would get off of work I would eat dinner, then find ways to kill another hour or 2 until I thought it was a decent time to go. Yes, I could have probably found productive things to do during this time, but the truth is, since it was just an hour or 2, I usually just completely wasted it. Then by the time I actually left for the gym and got back, it would be close to if not after 10p, where I didn’t feel like doing much since I would be getting ready for bed soon.
So to combat this wasted time, I decided to just going at 5p and deal with the crowd. Even though going at this time and having to deal with a crowd is my choice, there may be tons of others that don’t have a choice. No matter when they go their gym may be busy, or the only time they have to go it may be busy. Therefore if you frequently experience training at a super busy gym, I believe there are a few things that can be done to help keep you on track and stay effective with your training.
Have A Plan:
The most important thing for anyone on any type of fitness journey would be to have some sort of structured plan. Having a plan makes sure your training has a purpose and that you're not just spinning your wheels. Yes, some sort of exercise is better than no exercise, but a plan allows you to make better and more consistent progress. When you have a plan in place, you can then figure out what iterations are able to be made.
Can You Afford the Change:
For most people just looking to be overall healthy or have goals like put on a little bit of muscle or feel confident about themselves, they are able to make tons of changes to their training. As long as they generally follow a structured plan, they will see if not surpass the results they are looking to get. Someone who is looking to be a power lifter for example, may have a little less wiggle room. Powerlifting is mainly centered around 3 lifts: squat, bench, and deadlift. So if you're trying to train at gym where all the squat racks or benches are always taken during the time you’re there, it may be difficult to fulfill your goals as a powerlifter if you aren’t actually able to squat, bench, or deadlift consistently. It would be the same thing with someone who is pretty seriously into bodybuilding. Yes, you can make a lot more iterations with bodybuilding, but a bodybuilder should also be focusing on progressive overload of consistent movements. By constantly changing up the movements or exercises, it may be difficult to keep that consistency. Or at one of my gyms, the functional fitness area is blocked off from 5p-7p for group classes. So if I wanted to strictly train CrossFit, it may be difficult to do so if the only time I have available to train is between 5p-7p.
Follow Good Gym Etiquette:
Regardless if you are training in a busy gym or not, you should make sure to follow good gym etiquette. I wrote a whole article diving a little deeper into this, Gym Etiquette, but it never hurts to quickly touch on a few things.
· ALWAYS wipe down your gym equipment. This should go without saying, but I always get so upset when I go to use something and see it is covered in sweat. Not only is that nasty to have strangers sweat covering everything, but now I have to take time out of my workout to go wipe it down because that person was lazy and inconsiderate.
· ALWAYS re-rack your weights or put things away. Honestly, if I see someone hit something like a 405 squat, 5 plate deadlift, or hit the 100lb dumbbells for reps on incline press but they don't put their weights away. I automatically think less of the person, am no longer impressed, and make a mental note I don't want that person to work in with me if I am using something. Not everyone is as strong as you and I’ve seen a good number of people struggle trying to put other people’s weights away, just so they could use a piece of equipment.
· Let people work in with you. If I’m on a squat rack and it seems like someone is waiting around for one to open up, I’ll go ask them if they want to hop in with me. Most of the times they say no, they’ll wait. But the gesture goes a long way. Also, if you want to hop in on something that someone else is using, wait until they are in-between sets. Most reasonable people will be happy to let you work in with them as long as you are tactful about it.
· Obviously if the gym is busy, space will be limited. But still don’t set up shop and do exercises in places that are obviously in the way of everyone else. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people stand right on top of the dumbbell rack to do any sort of exercise. I used to just wait for them to finish their set, then go grab or put back dumbbells. Since it has become so much of problem and I found a lot of people that do this, don’t even move in between sets, I just started walking in front of them whether they are lifting or not. There is no reason to be so rude to everyone else and block the whole area because you are too lazy to take 3 steps back.
Actually Make the Changes:
So, now that we have a plan, know that our goals allow for flexibility, and we are mindful of other while training in a crowded gym, it’s finally time to tackle our work out. The best way to do this, is to break down exercises and look at what they are doing in their simplest form. Some main types of lifts broken down to their simplest form are:
· Vertical Push
· Horizontal Push
· Vertical Pull
· Horizontal Pull
· Hip Hinge
Or you can think of the muscle being used and group exercises by body part such as:
· Chest
· Back
· Legs
· Shoulders
· Bi’s
· Tri’s
Both ways of thinking will come in handy when making iterations to your plan. By having a general idea of what type of movement you are doing, you are able to have a better understanding of what you can swap it out for.
When you get to the gym and see that it’s completely packed, don’t freak out. Just look around see what’s open and perform the closest movement possible to what you had planned.
The easiest way to explain this is an example...
Examples in Action:
Let’s say you get to the gym on Monday, international chest day, and had planned on doing Incline Barbell Bench Press for your first movement. In most busy gym’s this prime piece of equipment is often likely to be hit or miss if it’s open. If it is, great! You get to stay right on track, but if it’s not, just think about the movement you wanted to do and look around to see what’s open. I will then run through a breakdown like this, working backwards. While working backwards, I will try to find the next most similar exercise. I usually only have to make it one or 2 ticks down this list before I can find a good alternative, but below would be an extreme case to show my point.
· So we can’t get on our Incline bench. To move forward I would start thinking about what movement I wanted to perform. You’re trying to perform a Chest Exercise, on an incline bench, with a barbell, which is a horizontal push movement. (my gym has 2)
· So the first thing I would look for is an open stand alone incline bench that I could utilize dumbbells with. That way all I am switching out is dumbbells for a barbell. (my gym has 2)
· If that wasn't open, I would look to see if the Incline Bench Machine was open. Still an incline chest press movement, just as a machine not free weights. (my gym has 1)
· If all my incline pressing options were taken, I would then start looking for flat benches. Even though the bench isn't on an incline to target the upper chest, it’s still utilizing a barbell and is a chest pressing movement/horizontal press. (my gym has 3)
· Since it’s chest Monday, those will probably be taken too, so I would then scan for a flat stand alone bench, under the same thought of looking for a chest pressing movement, just minus the incline now and utilize dumbbells rather than a barbell. (My gym has 2)
· Then I would move to looking for the chest press machine. (my gym has 3)
· If these were a bust I would look for a decline bench with a barbell. (my gym has 1)
· Or we could look for the decline press machine. (my gym has 1)
· Lastly, if all else fails, I would grab some dumbbells and do chest presses from the floor.
· Or very lastly, if by some chance I couldn’t even find a decent weight of dumbbells for that, I would resort to different variations of push-ups with plates on back for extra weight as needed.
· So that gives 17 different chest pressing options at my gym. Now even though my gym is a little larger than most, it just goes to show, there should be plenty of changes that can be made. With almost every movement, just break it down to the main muscle group that it’s hitting and try to copy that movement pattern.
At the bottom of this article will be a flow chart posted with various examples to help give more ideas.
It Doesn't Hurt to Log It: On paper, app, or have general picture
When we get to the gym and are trying to follow a plan, it may become a little difficult remembering every little change you make to your training. I’ve gone back and forth with logging my workouts and I always seem to make way more progress when I keep some sort of log. For the past 2 years I’ve been using an app on my phone to do this. What’s nice about apps, they aren’t just convenient, but a lot also will give template workouts for examples if you don’t have one. The 1st Phorm app does just this, it will give you template workouts to follow along with letting you track them right in the app. Another bonus about this one is that it also has a whole section dedicated to nutrition as well, so you can have a one stop shop for keeping track of both your training and nutrition.
I’m also a fan of going old school and keeping an actual notebook log. I love going through my old ones just to look back and see how far I’ve come and reflect on how much I’ve learned. I’ve kind of strayed away from actually logging like this anymore just because it can be sometimes annoying to have a notebook with me at all times, but that’s more personal preference.
Lastly if you’re not going to have an actual log, keep a picture on your phone of your general plan. That way when you’re looking for your next exercise, you know exactly what type of exercise you want to do along with the correct rep range you are aiming for.
Some ways I have tried is:
Make an excel sheet and take a screenshot of my training program
Write my program down on paper and take a picture
Make a clean graphic in powerpoint so it looks like a nice template
Have Floating Days:
Some days you may get to the gym and the crowd will be just too overwhelming. So you may just want to fully change your workout to hit a different body part or maybe just do cardio, or even take a rest day that day. You should err on the side of caution when implementing this, because if you do it too often, it may be hard to stay on track in the big picture. Or you may end up skipping a lot of days because you made so many changes in the week. But this is always an option too.
Working Backwards:
The examples I list below are just general ways to move through the problem of adjusting your workout. Above I started with Incline Barbell bench for my planned lift and worked backwards, but someone else may have flat barbell bench as their first planned lift and need to adjust accordingly.
The keys points to remember:
Do an exercise that trains the same muscle group
Try to perform an exercise that is a similar movement pattern
Regardless of the actual exercise, aim for your prescribed sets and reps
Examples:
Lat. Pull Down - Pull ups (use bands if needed) - assisted pull up machine - Lat. Push down - dumbbell pull over
Squat - Smith Machine Squat - Hack Squat - Plate Loaded Squat Machine - Leg Press - Sissy Squats
Bent Over Barbell Row - Bent Over Dumbbell Row - T-Bar Row - Low Cable Row - Row Machine
Dumbbell Curl - Barbell Curl - Preacher Machine Curl - Cable Curl with Handle - Rope Cable Curl
Flat Barbell Bench - Flat Dumbbell Bench - Machine Chest Press - Incline/Decline Barbell Bench - Incline/Decline Dumbbell Bench - Floor Press - Push Ups
Skull Crusher - Single Arm Skull Crushers with Dumbbells - Overhead Tri. Extension with Dumbbell - Overhead Rope Cable Tri Extension - Single Arm Overhead Tri Cable Extension
Overhead Press with Barbell - Seated Overhead Press (in rack) - Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press - Shoulder Press Machine
At most big box gyms, for most free-weight exercises they will probably have some sort of machine. Then whatever can’t be done with free-weights or on a machine can usually be done with cables. Don’t be afraid to try a different exercise if you don’t have a lot of time to wait for people to get finished on a piece of equipment you want. It’s better to make an adjustment and do a different but similar exercise rather than just totally omit it. I’ve actually found great variations to things that I now prefer more just because I was willing to try out a new exercise. Sometimes on the days when I’m lucky and there aren’t many people in the gym, I will try out pieces of equipment that I haven’t or seldomly use just so I know if it’s something extra to keep in my toolbox.