This is a funny thought I had, because I usually avoid the busy gym hours like athlete’s foot. I love going in there when it’s quiet, when I have free access to all my favorite equipment, and I don’t have to get annoyed by watching people exercise with their smartphones.
That said, there might be a few surprisingly good reasons to go to the gym when it’s packed. It’s January, after all, so chances are you can still go and find the place full of new year’s resolutionists.
You can’t mess around.
You’ve got to sign up for your treadmill and you only get 30 minutes, so you get on there and you get going. Yes, you still need to warm up, but there’s no time to let those five minutes turn into 10 or 15 before you get down to business.
You can learn a lot.
Watch people around you. You’ll learn to recognize good and bad exercise form. You’ll get ideas for exercises you can try. (Just use a little common sense there. You’ll see people doing all sorts of things that may or may not be very safe or effective for you.)
You can let your competitive streak out.
The truth is, everyone is busy with their own workout and none of those people are watching you, but you can pretend they are. Use that idea to keep you going when you want to quit. When I’m in a busy gym, I think, “There’s no way I’m going to let these people see me slow down. I’m just as strong as that guy over there. I bet I can keep running longer than this girl beside me can.”
You can get caught up in the excitement.
There’s a certain buzz in a busy gym. Let yourself be inspired by the woman who’s on her 100th pull-up or the man who is obviously struggling but refusing to quit as his trainer pushes him on. If they can do it, so can you.
When do you go to the gym? Are there any other advantages to working out when it’s busy?