Busy Gym Frustration

ldigeorge
ldigeorge Posts: 99 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm happy it's the new year, and I'm happy that so many people are working towards creating good and healthy habits. This is your year, and I'm pulling for each and every one of you.

With that being said, this is the most frustrating time of the year for me. I don't have a boatload of time to get my workout in, and yesterday, I had to drive to 3 different gyms (yay for chains) in order to even FIND PARKING at 7pm.

Being a dad of 2 wonderful little girls, I can't go earlier and I can't go much later. 7p is that sweet spot for me, and from March-December, it's NEVER an issue.

I'm trying to make this work in any way I can - I go for a 2 mile ruck with 40 lbs on my back during my lunch. I take extra steps, walking wherever I can. I don't mind waiting for a bench or something... but not being able to even park. ARGH.

Sorry for venting. Don't know who else would get it.
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Replies

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited January 2019
    I get it. Last year at this time I just quit going to the gym and worked out at home for a month and a half before going back. I'm not going to the gym so I can stand around forever waiting for equipment. I don't have time for that.
  • jesspen91
    jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
    Are you able to take public transport? I can't help you much becuase I'm very lucky to live in a city with multiple gyms in walking distance. My gym is literally metres from my flat!
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    i get it too...I went into shower and bam all the showers taken w novice who don't know that taking a 20 minute shower in a small gym at 7am is JUST NOT DONE. today I went into the gym 15 minutes early and beat the crowd and then they waited for me. a 5 min shower in gym w only 4 showers is acceptable....or go home and shower.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    jesspen91 wrote: »
    Are you able to take public transport? I can't help you much becuase I'm very lucky to live in a city with multiple gyms in walking distance. My gym is literally metres from my flat!

    If the lot is full, the gym is full. I don't think parking itself is the issue.

    It's Jan. I couldn't get up Monday for a morning workout so had to wait my turn for the rack after work. Sucks but motivated me to get up this morning. Much easier to get a rack when the place is nearly empty.
  • ldigeorge
    ldigeorge Posts: 99 Member
    @jesspen91 I live in New York City (albeit an outer borough) and I could take a bus / train, but that would be just as long and if the gym is already at max (There's MANY parking spots being taken), there's really no point.

    I never have to do laps looking for parking. People wait 25-30 minutes just to park their car right now. If the parking lot is that bad, how bad is the gym itself?
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    I'm so glad a Planet Fitness just opened a couple miles from my regular gyms. They seem to have gotten the resolution people and my gyms are pretty much like normal with the exception of college kids on break.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Do you have to park in the lot? Could you park a few blocks away and walk to the building? What have you done other years.?
  • ldigeorge
    ldigeorge Posts: 99 Member
    @lorrpb I just recently switched gyms. The other one, local NYC gym, was $55 a month. I got a great LA Fitness deal for $35 a month. Couldn't say no. Old gym also had tons of residential parking. New gym is in a strip mall.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    It'll be better by Valentine's Day! Hang in there!
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I feel for you, OP. I'm not fond of other people on a good/regular day so I never entertained the thought of anything but a home gym and I'm always thankful this time of year. All I have to worry about is making sure I don't drop a deadlift on one of the cats.
  • cyndit1
    cyndit1 Posts: 170 Member
    I started a thread last year about this very topic and almost got killed on here. I am fortunate that I workout early am and with the exception of a very few faces, most newbies never last at the time I workout. My daughter goes to her gym (not the same as mine) after work and has been complaining all week....it won't last...never does.
  • ldigeorge
    ldigeorge Posts: 99 Member
    I'm all for the healthy habits! I'm glad so many people are trying to right the course, @cyndit1 and I hope they continue. I'm sure that others will get tired of waiting too and will experiment with different times of the day to go. I'm just so locked into a specific time with my other responsibilities, it upsets me when I waste most of it driving. I lost 20 minutes of my workout yesterday gym-hopping.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I've been going to a private gym now for a few years so I don't have that problem anymore...but when I was going to a commercial gym I started going at lunch for the first couple of months of the year...it was still crowded, but not nearly as bad as after work hours.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    As much as Planet Fitness gets made fun of I joined one close to my office just to use the treadmills when the weather is too rotten to run outside (and use their showers when I bike in the summer) and I have not had to wait for a machine yet. (and it's only $10 a month)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    As much as Planet Fitness gets made fun of I joined one close to my office just to use the treadmills when the weather is too rotten to run outside (and use their showers when I bike in the summer) and I have not had to wait for a machine yet. (and it's only $10 a month)

    There's one up the road from my office and I've been thinking about doing the same...one of the ladies here at the office goes at lunch and says it isn't too bad...her husband goes after work and it sounds pretty awful, but I would be going at lunch on cruddy days to do cardio.

  • rsignorenc
    rsignorenc Posts: 2 Member
    Be flexible with your workout plans, perhaps try something new if the equipment you want to use it busy. You may find a new exercise. Everyone was a newbie at one time or another.
  • PaigeAnderson1793
    PaigeAnderson1793 Posts: 21 Member
    I workout at home because I encountered a similar issue last year. I hate crowds and that was the only thing I could think of as a work around.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited January 2019
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    As much as Planet Fitness gets made fun of I joined one close to my office just to use the treadmills when the weather is too rotten to run outside (and use their showers when I bike in the summer) and I have not had to wait for a machine yet. (and it's only $10 a month)

    I did the exact same thing lol. I'm thinking of coming into work early and then going to PF on my lunch break instead of after or before work.

    I actually have a home gym but it's out of commission for a while because my husband is finishing our basement and it's a mess down there
  • ldigeorge
    ldigeorge Posts: 99 Member
    rsignorenc wrote: »
    Be flexible with your workout plans, perhaps try something new if the equipment you want to use it busy. You may find a new exercise. Everyone was a newbie at one time or another.

    I’m not even complaining about newbies. At all. As I said in the OP, I’m glad they’re there.

    It’s hard for me, as a dad of two, to carve out other time. It’s not equipment. It’s parking. I can’t even get in!

    It’s rough right now. I’m hoping everyone stays, but the times equalize out.

  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    ldigeorge wrote: »
    rsignorenc wrote: »
    Be flexible with your workout plans, perhaps try something new if the equipment you want to use it busy. You may find a new exercise. Everyone was a newbie at one time or another.

    I’m not even complaining about newbies. At all. As I said in the OP, I’m glad they’re there.

    It’s hard for me, as a dad of two, to carve out other time. It’s not equipment. It’s parking. I can’t even get in!

    It’s rough right now. I’m hoping everyone stays, but the times equalize out.

    Do you have anything preventing early morning? I was at the gym by 5 AM so I could be home by 530 PM for full evening of avtivities.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    rsignorenc wrote: »
    Be flexible with your workout plans, perhaps try something new if the equipment you want to use it busy. You may find a new exercise. Everyone was a newbie at one time or another.

    Yeeaahhh sometimes one can do an exercise that is similar but not what you wanted in the first place to replace something in the plan, but when it's super busy even doing that gets difficult! And some of us can be a bit pedantic about our plans and doing what it says on there!

    Anyway, I also have a bit of a love/hate relationship with January - I love the fact that all these new people are giving fitness a go and wanting to get healthy etc etc, but i HATE my gym being full and me having to wait for stuff or swap the order of my exercises around because stuff is taken so I end up doing like a finisher exercise before a big lift exercise (UGH!!!!), or have to wait for showers because women are *kitten* washing their hair in there for like 20 minutes (wash your hair at home!!!! argh!!).

    I work out at lunchtime and it's a university gym so we have 2 busy periods. January is when staff get all keen on health and March is when students return and get all keen on health. I've found though that it only lasts about a month each time and then it goes back to normal and the usual regulars plus a few who actually stuck it out.

    December is BLISS - hardly anyone there only the full on regulars.

    I LOVE an empty gym!!
  • evilokc
    evilokc Posts: 263 Member
    it was probably the "spring break" people that ran me out of the gym during normal hours. ive been going at 5am for a long time now. its hard to get up at 430 but the gym is a great place at that time and I can spend all my evening time after work with my family. everyone wins..except me at 430am.
  • ImSoSquishy
    ImSoSquishy Posts: 57 Member
    edited January 2019
    at the gym i go to, it seems like people have already started to quit or maybe they switched to different time. the new members that's been crowding the gym since december during the time i go to gym is down by half already and stopped showing up for 5 days already,
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    Yesterday was horrible, but today was wonderful! Just the right amount of people hahahaha!
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    edited January 2019
    I go to a small local gym. So far hasn't gotten busy at all there. Was there Monday from about 5 to 6pm which is peak hour for gyms, and only saw another 4-5 people there during. Went same time today, a bit busier than Monday, but not by much.
    The gym does have an expensive registration fee, though, so I guess people aren't joining unless they're certain they'll stick to going for more than a few months.
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
    My gym tends to be busier on Monday and Tuesday mornings (5am) overall and although I haven't noticed a vast increase in numbers this year at that time, I've noticed more gym newbies who have previously just done classes. They get all the equipment they need for their entire workout, pile it up next to them and then work (slowly) through their exercise plan. Its so frustrating when you need a set of dumbbells that someone has in their pile, and when you ask if they need them right now its always 'will be using them in a minute'. Ten minutes later they still haven't been used! Not sure of etiquette about insisting on being able to use them?

    This morning was lovely and peaceful - just the 'usual' half dozen 5am nutters there
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    As much as Planet Fitness gets made fun of I joined one close to my office just to use the treadmills when the weather is too rotten to run outside (and use their showers when I bike in the summer) and I have not had to wait for a machine yet. (and it's only $10 a month)

    There's one up the road from my office and I've been thinking about doing the same...one of the ladies here at the office goes at lunch and says it isn't too bad...her husband goes after work and it sounds pretty awful, but I would be going at lunch on cruddy days to do cardio.

    My only complaint, so far, is that they seem to be short on lockers......

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