When the Gym is Packed

• thebigtwist
  
  Posts: 102
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 5:50 AM GMT

  I find myself in a conundrum. I was a proud attendee of the 24 Hour Fitness in Santa Monica (the one on 31st and Ocean Park), but then it closed down for renovations. The other two within reasonable distance of my house are not suitable gyms (there's no parking to be found at 2nd St and Pico is a dystopian nightmare), so I've been going to the Sherman Oaks location on my way home from work.
  
  Problem is, because of how far away the ShOaks location is, I can only go on my way home from work. Which means that I'm attending during peak gym time. I can't find a locker and there's never a free elliptical -- the treadmill hurts my knee -- and I find myself going home early most nights, because every machine has at least two guys hovering around it, waiting for their turn.
  
  What do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

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  Apr 07, 2011 6:34 AM GMT

  Yeah, that whole area around the Sherman Oaks Galleria sucks. So much traffic and mayhem. There's a 24 Hour Magic on Slauson/La Cienega, on the border of Culver City and Ladera Heights. It's pretty dead during the mornings and lunch. Not sure how busy it gets in the evenings.

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  Apr 07, 2011 9:52 AM GMT

  dear lts just an illusion that Adnan Sami is getting girls, its only because of a God gifted voice of Adnan that he has been able to act with girls as a model in some videos of just his own songs. if u dont have such a beautiful voice u should surely go to a gym.
  
  
  
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• gallus81
  
  Posts: 350
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 10:17 AM GMT

  what about going to the gym before work?
  
  I used to love getting up early and hitting the gym before sunrise, then heading to work feeling pumped and ready to take on the world ;)
  
  sure it's a change in lifestyle, but could be a big booster for motivation, etc.

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  Apr 07, 2011 10:41 AM GMT

  Yeah i tried the before workout before, i always found that I didn't have enough energy to push the weights hard. Maybe my body wasn't all that awake yet. But I agree, there is usually a little less people in the morning so thats nice. Dont have to wait forever to use the machine, weights and what not.

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• Middangeard
  
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  Apr 07, 2011 12:34 PM GMT

  In your case, is it closed down for just a week or two or will it be a couple months? If it's a couple months, you might want to see if you can freeze your membership until the renovations are finished. That way you can just find an alternate gym that you can attend during that time. As long as they only do a month-to-month plan and don't want an extra month down, should be a good option if you can do it.
  
  I'm lucky enough that I don't have a lot of problem like you do. One reason I chose my gym is because there's one location by where I work, one by where I live, and one about halfway. And now that I'm living a little further away from work, that makes two on the way home and another by where I live. So, if I start having those problems, I can always just go to one of the other gyms.
  
  So far, the closest I've come to your problem was during the January-February resolution crowd. One of the locations I frequent is a very small location which has just enough to not get lost in all the equipment, but still be able to do about 90% of what you'd normally want to do. First couple of months was a nightmare since the smaller locker room started becoming standing room only and most of the people using the lockers didn't even bother putting a lock on (one of my biggest locker room pet peeves!).
  
  As for the workouts when it was a bit busier than normal, I usually either just try to find some alternate workout that's similar or sometimes just add a few more workouts while waiting on other equipment, especially if something has been feeling underworked lately.

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• Fritter
  
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  Apr 07, 2011 12:41 PM GMT

  I'm lucky with my shifts at work. I usually go to the gym around 7-8am or mid afternoon. Both times the place is realitivly quiet. I only have been at the gym once during "primetime", and will probably never go again.

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• HndsmKansan
  
  Posts: 16353
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 12:47 PM GMT

  Wow, what a pain! I would be a little irritated as well as what the OP describes.
  
  Our YMCA's in Wichita are some of the best in the country. The new Andover YMCA (which actually is the closest to my home) is 155,000 sq. feet and VERY crowded. I've always gone to the East YMCA, which was built in 1996 (has been renovated and added to) and much less crowded, but still nice.
  
  I hate crowded gyms. I was at the Northwest YMCA last week (which is also large) and I couldn't believe how many people were in there. People were waiting... but it was again at about 5-6 p.m... peak time.
  
  My suggestion to you is that you suffer through it until the renovations are complete on your regular gym, especially if there is adaquate parking and people aren't waiting for machines...... if you still have the problem, I'd check out other gyms that might meet your criteria.

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  Apr 07, 2011 12:57 PM GMT

  thebigtwist saidWhat do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  Build my own gym at home.
  However, I don't use cardio machines (elips, treadmills, etc) so that wouldn't help in your case.
  In lieu of cardio machines, I do superset circuits...works much better for me.

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• Fritter
  
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  Apr 07, 2011 1:06 PM GMT

  paulflexes said

  thebigtwist saidWhat do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  Build my own gym at home.
  However, I don't use cardio machines (elips, treadmills, etc) so that wouldn't help in your case.
  In lieu of cardio machines, I do superset circuits...works much better for me.

  
  
  You mean like this?
  
  

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  Apr 07, 2011 1:10 PM GMT

  I agree with the other posters who recommended working out in the morning on the way to work. I HATE working out in the morning, but I realized that I HATED working out in a crowded gym even more. You can try to stagger your work out schedule in the beginning to get used to it (work out in the morning on a Monday, go to gym after work on a Tuesday, etc).
  
  Also, have you worked out at your gym on a Thursday and Friday after work? At my gym, there are far less people working out those two nights for obvious reasons. Plus, as the weather gets nicer the people at your gym are more inclined to work out outside (especially for cardio).
  
  Regardless, I feel your pain. Good luck!

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  Apr 07, 2011 1:11 PM GMT

  Changing to early mornings is what I did. Definitely takes a couple of weeks for your body to adapt but that easily solved the problem of an overcrowded gym for me. Now I have afternoons free which is nice.

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  Apr 07, 2011 1:13 PM GMT

  Why don't you go down to Venice to Gold's on Electric or one of the few on Washington.

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  Apr 07, 2011 1:24 PM GMT

  There have been time when I have gone after work and i just turned around and went home and worked out there or just gone for a run out side.
  
  I get to the Gym at 5:00am during the week and at 8:00am on the weekends.
  
  At that time people are serious about their workouts. Not hogging the machines and standing their chatting or being "Gossip Gyrls! UGHHH!
  

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  Apr 07, 2011 2:15 PM GMT

  thebigtwist saidI find myself in a conundrum. I was a proud attendee of the 24 Hour Fitness in Santa Monica (the one on 31st and Ocean Park), but then it closed down for renovations. The other two within reasonable distance of my house are not suitable gyms (there's no parking to be found at 2nd St and Pico is a dystopian nightmare), so I've been going to the Sherman Oaks location on my way home from work.
  
  Problem is, because of how far away the ShOaks location is, I can only go on my way home from work. Which means that I'm attending during peak gym time. I can't find a locker and there's never a free elliptical -- the treadmill hurts my knee -- and I find myself going home early most nights, because every machine has at least two guys hovering around it, waiting for their turn.
  
  What do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  
  
  I'm glad I got out of there before they shut that one down. I lived close enough that I could walk there in about 3-5 minutes. Parking is bad enough at Pico and Beverly as it is and and SO can be an hour drive during the wrong time of the day. You could probably get there pretty quickly between 2 and 4:00 AM if Caltrans doesn't have a freeway shut down. I can well imagine what the 24 hr fitness Express is like on 2nd. I won't move back out until Ocean Park is open again.

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  Apr 07, 2011 2:21 PM GMT

  Didn't there used to be one in that little mall between Venice and Washington just west of Overland? Of course parking is terrible around there. And then there's the Holigay on Bundy just north of Olympic. That one is a real POS though.

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• tuffguyndc
  
  Posts: 4437
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 3:54 PM GMT

  hell go workout and come back and do your cardio afterwards or get up early in the morning and go to the gym before work

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• coolarmydude
  
  Posts: 9191
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 4:01 PM GMT

  thebigtwist said
  What do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  
  
  Ask the management when their off-peak hours occur and go at that time.

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• jim_sf
  
  Posts: 2094
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 6:12 PM GMT

  I don't mean to derail the thread (too much), but this:
  
  and Pico is a dystopian nightmare
  
  is a genius description. I immediately pictured Ridley Scott's "1984" commercial, though instead of being seated for the Two Minutes Hate the proles are all running in step on treadmills.

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• metta
  
  Posts: 41710
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 6:34 PM GMT

  thebigtwist said The other two within reasonable distance of my house are not suitable gyms (there's no parking to be found at 2nd St and Pico is a dystopian nightmare), so I've been going to the Sherman Oaks location on my way home from work.
  

  
  
  why don't you just park far away from the gym, even if it is several blocks. Your going there to workout anyways and go during off-hours...try going after 9:30pm. And if it is still busy, just make sure that you are flexible with your workout so you can jump on something else that is available that will work the part of the body you want to worn on that day.

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• Hammer89
  
  Posts: 237
  
  
  Apr 07, 2011 9:24 PM GMT

  If the gym is too crowded then for cardio i'll go running in a park or in a greenway or just around the neighborhood. But since you have a knee problem then that won't help you much.
  When it comes to strength training. I'll just try and make do with the resistance bands I have at my apartment and do some sort of a work out with the muscle group I was supposed to do that day.
  

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  Apr 07, 2011 11:32 PM GMT

  Fritter said

  paulflexes said

  thebigtwist saidWhat do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  Build my own gym at home.
  However, I don't use cardio machines (elips, treadmills, etc) so that wouldn't help in your case.
  In lieu of cardio machines, I do superset circuits...works much better for me.

  
  
  You mean like this?
  
  

  No...like this:
  
  

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  Apr 07, 2011 11:43 PM GMT

  paulflexes said

  
  No...like this:
  
  

  
  
  NICE ONE!

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  Apr 08, 2011 1:32 AM GMT

  thebigtwist saidWhat do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  
  Cropdust the area where I want to work out.

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• Fritter
  
  Posts: 1701
  
  
  Apr 08, 2011 12:45 PM GMT

  paulflexes said

  Fritter said

  paulflexes said

  thebigtwist saidWhat do you do when the gym is just too crowded?

  Build my own gym at home.
  However, I don't use cardio machines (elips, treadmills, etc) so that wouldn't help in your case.
  In lieu of cardio machines, I do superset circuits...works much better for me.

  
  
  You mean like this?
  
  

  No...like this:
  
  

  
  
  Yep that home gym puts me to shame

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