Have you ever had this experience? You’re into your workout and you’re about to move on to your next exercise. You walk over to the dumbbell rack to pick up the pair you need and what do you find? Space! Air! A great lumbering gap where the weights should be! Aaaargh!!

So, you start looking along the dumbbell rack only to find that the dumbbells in the gym are either scattered around the free-weights area or, if they’re on the rack, they’re not where they should be and often not even in pairs!

You’re now on a mission to find the weights you need and your workout clock is ticking away mercilessly. Eventually you’ll find them, but by then you’ve lost precious minutes and you just know that this will be repeated in a few minutes when you move on to your next weights.

The Dumbbell Rack Keeps Dumbbells Easy To Find

The Dumbbell Rack Keeps Dumbbells Easy To Find

Weights & Dumbbells Have a Home!

Why do so many people who go to the gym have so little respect for others? All they need do is to simply return weights to their rightful home where they can then be easily found by others. When it comes to dumbbells in particular, there seems to be a complete inability to do this. Even if someone returns their weights to the rack, they often simply dump them on the nearest available gaps.

It’s not as if it takes a long time to return weights to their rightful place but the impact on everyone’s workout timing can be huge.

Just How Many Dumbbells Can YOU Lift At Once?

One of the other downsides to this behaviour is where a guy will take multiple sets of dumbbells over to a bench for his next exercise, simply so he doesn’t have to spend time searching for the next pair. But, this then means that all those weights are tied up and unavailable for others to use. And, let’s face it, you can only use one set of dumbbells at a time – right!

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen people use several pairs of dumbbells, complete their exercise, and then simply walk off & leave the weights strewn across the gym floor.

What’s The Answer?

So what’s the answer? Well, in one word: RESPECT!

One of the main problems in the world today is a lack of respect. As people who take a keen interest in fitness, we respect our bodies – so we should know how to respect others.

Let’s make a start, today, by demonstrating this with simple actions in the gym. Wipe equipment down after you’ve used it, work with each other between sets to share equipment at busy times and let’s put our weights back after we’ve used them!

When you’ve finished a set, you have a rest period of anything from 30 seconds to several minutes. This is more than enough time to return weights back to their home once you‘ve finished with them. It will be easier for others to find them when they need them and, more importantly, if everyone does it, YOU will be able to find them more easily the next time that you need them!

But with a little motivation, and some strategies for making the best of the weather and the darkness, you can keep going through the winter, and start spring fitter, stronger, and healthier than ever!

The first thing to remember is to stay safe. There is no point risking illness or injury, which would only set your program back still further.

Going outside to train in the dark requires additional precautions. Running and cycling in the dark can actually be quite exhilarating, but you must take sensible precautions:

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  Winter Fitness Training - The Right Equipment Will Keep You Safe

  Winter Fitness Training - The Right Equipment Will Keep You Safe

  Wear reflective clothing, and lots of it. Drivers need to see you to avoid you. The reflective trim on your winter leggings, your pedals, or your shoes is not enough. At the very least invest in reflective belts, and better still, a reflective vest.

• Use lights. Never ride your bike on the road in wintertime – day or night- without front and rear lights. If you are riding or running in complete darkness, you’ll need lights that can show your way.

• Stay warm and dry. There’s no reason not to run or cycle in light rain or cold weather, but be prepared. Dress in layers with a breathable waterproof top layer (like Gore-Tex) to stay dry but let heat out.

• Prepare your equipment. Make sure your equipment is as well dressed for winter as you are. Bikes will benefit from puncture-proof tires to cope with the extra debris on the road and fenders on your bike will help to keep you and your water bottle dry. Runners too might like to invest in trail shoes for some extra traction on wet and slippery paths and sidewalks.

• Communicate. As with summertime training, you never know what’s going to happen, and the fact is winter training carries more risk than training in warm dry weather and long daylight hours. Always take a phone, and let someone know where you are going and when you should arrive at your destination or back home.

• Know when not to go. Don’t go outside to run or ride if you suspect it may be icy. Some daytime mountain biking in the snow is certainly good fun, but riding a bike on the road in wet and freezing conditions is reckless. Runners to should use common sense in icy weather. If you have gravel or other paths to run on where you can be sure you will be able to get traction, then fine, but icy or snow-covered sidewalks and shoulders are dangerous.

• Likewise, don’t risk illness. In really bad weather, make the right decision and stay indoors. Go to the gym or go swimming instead, or go to a yoga class or work on your fitness routine at home if you can. Getting soaking wet and cold is only going to increase your chances of illness, and that means more days away from your program.

If you are already feeling unwell, leave the training and get some rest. Breathing in cold wet air isn’t going to help, but if you feel well enough, by all means try a yoga class or other gentle indoor exercise.

If you really don’t want to go outside, or you know where you live you won’t get many opportunities to enjoy training outdoors, you can have fun and stay fit even if the majority of your training is inside. See my post on making the most of indoor training for ideas to keep your motivation up and your fitness programs on track without going outside or invest in setting up a Home Gym and set yourself up with the best exercise bike or best treadmill you can afford. That way you’ll be able to train, whatever the weather!

Having a health club or gym membership means having access to a gym or health club and all its facilities, right? Absolutely – you and the other few thousand members who decide to turn up at exactly the same time as you do! Taking turns or waiting in line just so you can exercise can mean your workout takes twice as long as it needs to and makes the whole experience not worth the effort.

Is there a way round this? You bet. Here’s the trick. No matter where you live, you gotta remember that, after a weekend of stuffing themselves with pizza and beer, everybody will turn up at the gym on a Monday between 5pm and 8pm, making it usually the busiest time slot of the week. This is usually followed by Wednesdays at the same time.

Choose the Best Exercise Time for an Almost Empty Gym

Choose the Best Exercise Time for an Almost Empty Gym

So, if you want to avoid the crowds, try shifting your exercise plans to a different time of day or do your main exercise workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You might also find that weekends can be really quiet.

Well managed gyms and health clubs often put up attendance stats on their notice boards, showing the peak times for each day and the peak days during the week.

So, if you want a clear run at all that exercise equipment, give some thought to when you decide to exercise and you might just find that you’ll have the gym almost to yourself!