Visiting the gym when it is busy sucks.
Your workout can take twice as long as you have to wait for equipment to free up, not to mention it is noisier too.
The quietest times to visit the gym are between 9am -12pm, 2pm till 4pm in the afternoon and anytime after 8pm in the evening.
If your gym is 24 hours then the hours between 12am – 6am are by far the quietest times to go as most people will be sleeping then.
Peak Gym Times
Most people’s schedules look quite similar.
We work an 8 hours day, 9-5 with one hour off for lunch.
We go to bed sometime around 10:30-11pm, and we wake up between 6am – 7am.
This means that peak gym hours are very predictable:
- 6-8am is when the eager people get into the gym.
- 12-2pm is the lunchtime rush.
- 4-7pm is when most people will visit the gym after work.
If you can avoid visiting at these times then you can be confident that the gym will be far quieter.
Quiet Morning Gym Times
Many people like to get up early and get the gym out of the way first thing in the day.
This means that the average morning in the gym will be very busy and noisy. Especially between the hours of 6-8am.
Between the hours of 8-9am the gym quietens down as people get out and away to work.
If you want a quiet workout in the morning then your best option is to workout after 8am, obviously if you work a 9-5 job this may not be an option.
Alternatively, you can try getting into the gym before 6am when only a few hardcore gym fanatics will be there.
While that may sound terrible if you’re not a morning person the good thing about getting to the gym so early is that you still have plenty of time for a nap afterwards before you need to go to work.
Most gyms aren’t open before 6am but if getting a relatively quiet gym session done in the morning is important to you then it may be worth switching your membership to a gym that is open 24 hours.
Quiet Afternoon Gym Times
If you want to visit the gym during your lunch you’re going to have a hard time finding much free equipment if you visit between 12 and 2pm.
Most people have their lunch breaks at some point during these hours so the gym is very busy.
The quietest times to visit the gym during the afternoon are between 2pm and 4pm.
For most of us we’re in work during these hours so this isn’t a realistic option.
If your work is flexible about lunch hours then your best option is to take a late lunch sometime after 2:30pm when the gym will be a bit quieter.
Quiet Evening Gym Times
The worst time to go to the gym is straight after work.
If you want the gym to be quiet then do not visit the gym between the hours of 4pm and 7pm…ever!
Gyms are packed full during these hours.
By 8pm most people, even the hardcore ones, have started heading back home for food, and rest.
After 8pm is therefore the best time to visit the gym in the evening.
Visiting the gym after 8pm can make some things difficult like deciding when to have your evening meal, the best strategy may be to have a small meal straight after work and then a larger meal when you get back from the gym.
Quiet Days At The Gym
Not all days are created equal when it comes to the business of the gym.
Monday to Friday you can be confident that things will be more or less the same (although Mondays are often busier than other days as people try to start the week well but then attendance drops as other responsibilities crop up through the week), yet Saturdays and Sundays are very different.
With many people using their weekends to spend time with family, friends, play or watch sports, visit church and more the gym is far quieter.
If it isn’t possible for you to visit the gym during the week at a time when it will be quiet then a weekend is a good option.
As a general rule late Saturday mornings (9:30 am onwards) are the busiest time over the weekend.
However even then peak weekend hours are far quieter than peak weekday hours.
Very few people visit the gym on Sunday, with most gyms being fairly quiet all day with no real Sunday peak.
University & College Gym Quiet Times
Students have a lot more flexibility when it comes to their timetable than working adults.
However this doesn’t mean that college gyms are never quiet.
The typical student stays up late and wakes up relatively late.
College gyms get busy from around 1pm and will stay busy till the late evening.
The quietest times to visit your college gym is anytime in the morning. (the earlier the better).
If you get in before 9am you will definitely avoid the peak.
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