Quietest times at the gym.

[BethDuttonsTwin]

I haven’t been to the gym for years. I’d like to start again. Can anyone tell me the times they go and why and also when they find it to be quietest? I’m in my fifties and want to take it fairly easy to begin with, really don’t want to be battling the big muscle men and super fit gorgeous young things for space and equipment 😁.

I go to Pure Gym and they have a live tracker so you can check how busy it is before you go. I go after the school run and it’s fairly quiet then (between 10-11am). Avoid after 5pm because that’s when the post work crowd goes.

Will depend on the gym! I find weekday mornings reasonably quiet, so if I have a day off during the week I go then. But I live in a studenty area so even during the day it can be busy.

I started going to the gym last year (am a similar age to you) and I found the idea v daunting. I don't really notice other people in the gym now though - I just listen to a podcast and am in my own world. When I do look round though I see people of all ages and fitness ability - gyms feel more inclusive than they used to (at least where I live, plus it's the council gym I go to, don't know what private gyms are like).

I also avoid going after 5 ish on weekdays as I gather that's the busiest time at my gym.

2-3 pm. Everyone is either at work, doing the school work or just finished work or started work. (Lots of shift work places). The retired and sahp seem to aim for 9:30-11am slot.
council run leisure center. It has a booking system so you can see how many other people to expect at the session.

Just been today 3pm to 4.30pm. Absolutely dead

Agree it will depend on the gym - I was used to 10-4 being fairly quiet but I’ve recently moved to a family-oriented gym where school hours the gym is packed with parents take the chance to who exercise while their kids are at school, then after 4 the pool is packed with kids but the gym is quieter. The gym will know though, I’d just ask them when are the quieter times - they’ll probably even know when is quieter for cardio machines v weights areas v classes etc.

Sunday afternoons

From what I can gather at the one near us

6-7am is busy in weights areas
4-6.30pm is busy everywhere especially Mon to Wed

Afternoons between 2 and 3.30pm seem quietest particularly on a Sunday

Sundays. Especially afternoon. Do not go between 4&8. It's full of kids 4-6 and working peoples 6-8.

I swim 6-6:30am during the week, I can see up into the gym from the pool and the weights areas are very busy.
I wish mine had a tracker so I could see the quiet times but It’s impossible to track what people are going there to do as they have all
sorts of facilities there.
Saturday afternoons tend to be quiet and also from 11am-3pm during the week.

Local leisure centre - which has really annoyingly short opening times during the weekend (5pm close) which skews things a bit. Depending on which staff member is on - it'll stay open later if they just take the chance to do their own workout and will leave the place open, or if it's the guy who only does his exact hours - you're out on your ear at 4.59pm (the weekend opening times are my real main gripe with the place).

Saturday early afternoon is busy with young lads who tend to flit about with not much clue what they're doing so will do one rep of something on a machine and then spend 45 mins playing Pokemon Go. Sat later afternoon = quieter.
Sunday early afternoon is quieter.
During the week - quite busy 9am-10am... quietens off until about 3pm then... obviously busy 5-6pm with the after work crowd and then quite nice and quiet from about 6.30pm till closing time (which tends to be when I go if I'm working).

Weekday mornings between 8 and 9 is good here as a lot of people have to be on their way to work by then and school drop off is in progress - I wfh 3 days a week so this is good for me as I can be back and showered by 9.30. 1.30 - 3 in the day time can also work. Most of Friday.

Sundays except mid morning. Dh tries to go between 6 and 7 on a Sunday and it's often dead but he was a bit later today, left at 8 ish and it was filling up. I occasionally go at teatime and it's dead.

Saturday we don't go as there is a steady trickle all day until about 6 and I'm not missing strictly!

I usually go around 7am to fit it in before work, & my gym’s not empty but quiet enough that I don’t need to wait for machines.

3pm.
The retired people have finished, the lunchtime rush is over, parents are on the school run and the 9-5 people haven't arrived yet.

I go Sun, Weds, Fri.

Sundays are pretty quiet and lovely, my fave time. Especially around lunchtime to 4/5pm.

Monday evenings are busy. If I missed Sunday I go around 3/4pm to avoid the rush. You do get the after college young people but they tend to move in packs and spot each other so don't take up as much equipment as you think. Ditto Wednesdays.

On Fridays I go at 6.30am. Can be surprisingly busy at 6am, mainly as you expect it to be dead so even 5 people feels busy, but on the whole doable.

I have heard Weekday lunchtimes are usually quiet.

Weekday evenings are mixed. Can be busy until 8ish, sometimes it looks like carnage and confusing as to what to do! Usually better after 8.

Definitely 2pm-4pm for the reasons mentioned above

As mentioned, very much gym dependant. Could you ask if they do off-peak membership?

Even if you want the full membership, rather than off-peak - it'll give you an idea when they see as the quieter times.