Getting your first gym membership can be hyping at first – until you keep finding yourself in long queues trying to get a shot at certain exercise machines, which ruins your overall workout mood. This makes you realize that you might need to schedule your gym trips better.
With that in mind, what’s the best time to go to the gym when no one’s there? At what time of the day can you get less hassle and fewer people hogging the machines you have in mind? In this guide, we’ll help you choose a great gym schedule if you want to avoid crowded hours.
After all, nothing is more upsetting than having to wait for your turn – especially if you have other businesses to attend to. Most people don’t even have time for going to the gym because of their busy lifestyle and work nature, which is why a crowded gym is the last place they want to go to.
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When is the Gym Least Busy?
If you are aiming for a no-crowd time at the gym, the best advice we can give you is at least 4 to 5 in the morning. After all, morning workouts benefit our immune system, right? We often hear our P.E. teacher say that exercise should be done as soon as you wake up and before your breakfast.
This is also why most joggers head outside even before they eat anything. Typically, they just have a cup of coffee (or anything hot) and then they don their hoodie, put their running shoes on, and go straight outdoors and circle the neighborhood. After that, they can have their meal.
The same concept applies to gyms – you’ll want to go to a time where no one is there, which is typically around 4 in the morning when people are still glued to their beds and only a select few are jogging around your streets. However, do check with your local gym on their earliest hours possible.
By 6 AM, the gym will likely be jam-packed already because that’s the usual waking time for most people at a normal work or school schedule. If your local gym is more suited for college folks, however, you’ll have more window time in the morning for a smaller crowd.
That’s because most people who attend college tend to hit the gym much later in the afternoon due to busy work and sleeping late at night. Whether they’ve got school work to finish or they want to hang out with friends, most college students like hitting the gym much later in the day.
Do gyms get crowded during lunchtime?
In most cases, people are often busy eating their lunch and other snacks from 11 AM to 1 PM, so you can use that time to head to the gym. After all, no trainer would even professionally recommend you to spend more than 1 hour at the gym – the maximum is typically only 30 to 45 minutes.
Just like how you hate going to your favorite fast-food chain or restaurant and having to wait in long lines just to get your delicious food, gyms are very busy during the morning and have nearly zero people by lunchtime, so that’s a great choice for a gym routine.
With that said, you’ll have to sacrifice eating earlier or later since your lunchtime will be used for going to the gym. Either way, there shouldn’t be any universal rule to eating schedules because every person is different – especially with their body type and the nature of their work/school.
Is nighttime good for going to the gym?
Not all of us have enough time to go to the gym during the day – especially with a tight work schedule or attending to other matters. For many people, gym time is a relaxing time. However, a fully-packed gym with too many people hogging on machines is certainly not relaxing!
Off-hours during the night can be a viable option, still. The ideal time when crowds start to disperse would be after 7 PM. If you have a hard time sleeping at night, going to the gym during these hours will help you get tired even more so you can sleep more soundly.
Tips on finding a good gym schedule
Although we covered most of the typical peak hours of gyms around the world, it cannot be said for all of the gyms. Each gym will be different – whether it’s a 24-hour gym or one with limited operational hours. Here are some tips on finding a good gym schedule for you:
Observe and take notes
Try going to the gym for most of the days that you’re free (don’t neglect your school, work, or other important matters) and take note of the times when the gym is very busy. Simply avoid those peak hours and adjust your schedule as you can.
For instance, if you find that your favorite gym is often loaded during Sundays (as with most establishments) then don’t go on a Sunday! Instead, head there on a Saturday or a weekday. If it gets crowded on weekdays as well, pick a day when you notice less crowd density.
Ask the gym staff
If you simply don’t have enough time to do the headcount, try asking the gym staff on the busiest hours based on their experience. From that, you can make your conclusions as to when to visit the gym without getting bummed out by the excessive crowd and long lines to the machines.
Conclusion
Any gym is typically less busy during certain days of the week when people probably won’t work out, such as Tuesdays and Thursdays. Weekends are typically busy so you’ll want to avoid those. Just observe the patterns of people coming and going to your local gym.
By observing, taking down notes, and considering your daily schedule and responsibilities at hand, you’ll simply know when to visit the gym without a crowd. We wish you good luck in your workouts and hope you find the best time for your gym sessions!
