Best Way to Workout When the Gym is Packed
It's 5 o'clock and every machine, bench and cardio equipment are taken. You get frustrated and decide to call it quits. You leave the gym feeling worse than when you came in and vow to never go to that dreadful place again... congratulations you just encountered "fitness rush hour".
Many people think I am crazy for training at 5am but I honestly love it. Yes, there are days where it can be tough to get out of bed and the snooze button becomes my best friend but I always manage to fight through it. I have even been known to go at 2 or 3 in the morning on days that we are leaving on a vacation. There is barely anyone there at that time and the few that are have to be at work soon, so you know they mean business.
However, I know that 5am isn't very doable for a lot of you, which means that you're going to have to face the crowd one way or another. Even though it may not seem like it, there are ways around a packed gym. You just have to be a little creative and you might even have a better workout than you planned for.
Write down your workout beforehand but also have options.
Most exercises have many variations that don't require any other equipment other than dumbbells or bodyweight. Just make sure the substitions are similar in function. Here are some examples:
A. Squats: (primary muscle glutes and quads)
- Goblet squat
- Split Squat
- Box Squat
- Pistol Squat
B. Deadlifts (primary muscle hamstring)
- Db Deadlifts
- Banded Deadlifts
- Heavy KB Swing
- Hip Thrusters
C. Pulldowns (primary muscle lats)
- Inverted rows
- TRX rows
- Chin-ups
- DB Pullovers
D. Leg Extensions (primary muscle quads)
- Barbell Squat
- Power Clean
- Hack Squat
The most important thing we have to realize is that it's ok for things not to go 100% our way. We just have to learn to adapt and make the best out of every situation.
