College Fitness
People make new years resolutions at the beginning of each year without fail. These resolutions nearly always have to do with fitness and annoy the already fit.
People make resolutions ranging from getting healthy to losing weight to staying fit. Due to these new revelations, gym memberships increase by 50 percent around the New Year, according to NBC news.
Greater enrollment means crowds and delays; having a wait for cardio machines or weights isn’t out of the ordinary this time of year.
Though a wait won’t necessarily steer people away from going to the gym, it frustrates the members that have been going religiously in the previous years. But just take a deep breath and LTCL will get you through the hustle and bustle of the gym craziness to improve your gym experience.
Here are some tips for how to keep your gym regimen as well as your cool:
1. Find a new time to go: Typically in the early mornings and late evenings is when the gym gets more crowded. The workday, on average, runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so going a little earlier than usual or later may help with the crowds. If you’re one of the lucky ones that doesn’t work these hours, try to go when childcare shuts down at your gym – it will eliminate a ton of people.
2. Switch up your routine: Avid gym goers usually have a routine they try to stick to; cardio first followed by weights, or vice versa. If there’s a wait at the treadmills, pump some iron first.
3. Try a new cardio machine: The most popular of cardio workouts seem to be running or the elliptical. Try the stationary bike for a change or even a rowing machine (you sit on it and pull the handles back toward you as your legs push out at the same time). According to Ben Greenfield, Huffington Post writer, with the right resistance, these machines can burn 1,000 calories an hour.
4. Head outside: Although snow and January seem to be two in the same, this winter has been unusually warm and it’s time to take advantage. There are plenty of streets to go around and there is never a wait. And for when it does snow, winter activities such as sledding can constitute as a workout as well.
5. Lead by example: Doing what is expected of gym goers will show all the new people what to do and they’ll follow. Use the cardio machines for just 30 minutes, wipe them down when you’re done, and share all community space.
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