Around this time of year, many people make getting fit part of their New Years Resolutions. As a result, you’ll see a huge uptick in gym attendance. This is great from the perspective of people getting healthier, but if you’re one of those people who sticks with their fitness plan all year long, it can be frustrating to have all of these extra people descending upon “your gym” and taking up equipment during your normal workout time. And if you’re trying to do circuit training and/or supersets, where you go from exercise to exercise with little to no rest, the crowding can absolutely mess with the effectiveness of your workout.
If you still want to get in and out of the gym in a decent amount of time, it’s important to have a game plan to deal with the crowding. Of course, you always want to plan out your workout in advance, but at this time of year, you need to be prepared with alternate exercises for the items on your list. Don’t be afraid to substitute dumbells, pulleys, or even bodyweight for barbell exercises. Here’s a few substitutions that you can use to keep your workout going when some well-intentioned gym-goer is hogging the squat rack (or bench, or whatever piece of equipment you need).
- Bench Press — If the bench press station is full, but there’s still a free bench available, try using dumbbells instead. Drop the weight a little from what you lift for a barbell, as it’s actually a bit harder to lift dumbbells than a barbell. If there’s no bench available at all, go to bodyweight and just do push-ups on the gym floor.
- Barbell Squat — The squat rack is so versatile, that it’s often hard to get in there when the gym ISN’T crowded! Grab a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell, and do goblet squats. Can’t even find a dumbbell? If you are more of a beginner, just do bodyweight squats, with your hands behind your head (you’ll likely need to up your reps a bit). More advanced? Do one-legged or “pistol” squats.
- Deadlift — If you can’t even find a free bar to deadlift, you know the gym is getting busy! You can deadlift with dumbbells, but I prefer a few other substitutions. If you can grab dumbbells, do a suitcase deadlift, either alternating sides if you use one dumbbell, or with one dumbbell on each side of your body. Follow this with a farmers walk to push yourself a little more. You can also do a bodyweight deadlift on one-leg.
- Barbell Rows — Of course, you can use dumbbells instead of a barbell to do rows. But of course, there are other alternatives as well. Check around the gym for a pull-up bar (or if you’re short, you can even do this on a smith machine with the bar set high) and do pull-ups or even chin-ups. Not strong enough for pull-ups or chin-ups? Set a bar at hip-height on the smith machine and do inverted rows. (All of these exercises are good substitutions for the lat pull-down, which can also be a popular spot.)
- Cardio Equipment — If all of the cardio equipment is jammed, and you’re looking for a way to do your High Intensity Interval Training, just find an empty spot on the floor. Here, you can do burpee intervals. Just do ten burpees, and then rest for 30-60 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 6-8 intervals and you will be absolutely smoked. No need for a stairclimber, elliptical, or treadmill!
As those are the most major exercises people will be doing in the gym, those are the ones that are most likely to cause you issues when the gym is crowded. Hopefully, these substitutions will help you stick to your workout plan and still get in and out of the gym in a reasonable amount of time. And never fear – come Valentine’s day, the gym will be back to just us diehards, plus the few additional people who managed to succeed in developing a gym habit this year! In the meantime, if you need a substitution for an exercise other than the ones I mentioned, please post a comment and I’ll do my best to help you!
Popularity: 32% [?]
Great post! I know there were to many people at my gym this morning, at least for my “quiet” Sunday workout. You hate to discourage anyone, but at the same time you know after mid February you won’t see them again.
Well, Pamela, I hope there’s a few more in February this year than there were last year. I know what you mean about not wanting to discourage people, but you have to wonder how serious they really are.