It’s that dreaded time of year again. You walk into the fitness center in Packer Hall for your routine workout and it’s an appalling scene: not a single treadmill is free. You peek over to the second row of machines in the hopes of snatching an elliptical; not one is left open. Feeling semi-defeated, you search up and down the last aisle of machines and it’s official: even the bikes are all taken. The bikes. Now that’s saying something.
You have just entered the dedicated gym rat’s nightmare. It’s the beginning of the spring semester, and after making some half-hearted New Year’s resolutions collegiates are returning to school and clogging up the rec center like those annoying people who only show up to church on Christmas.
For the true workout junkie who faithfully visits the gym on a regular basis, this can cause some serious aggravation. That precious time set aside among your packed schedule of classwork is one of your only times to plug into your headphones, zone out, and de-stress. And there is nothing more stressful than every one of your go-to cardio machines being taken up!
Here’s the good news: the Resolution Rush generally has a life span of about 2-3 weeks before the majority of people begin to lose steam if they really aren’t ready to keep up with healthy habits for the long term. Until then, here are some ways to beat the rush.
Rule #1: The students that work behind the desk are your new best friends. Call ahead. They can reserve a machine for you for about 30 minute time increments.
Sidenote– You may have to approach the unlucky girl who is on the machine you reserved. It’s awkward, but politely letting her know that you reserved the machine is not going to cause her to slap you or spit on your face (although sometimes you swear you saw the look on her face like she thought about it). In the long run, you’re setting a good example: making it a priority to work out means putting in an effort to make your workout happen. If they’re trulydedicated, maybe they’ll consider calling ahead next time too.
Rule #2: If possible, get to the gym before 11 am. This may sound like anoutrageously harsh idea if you’re not accustomed to seeing daylight until you’ve successfully missed meal equiv at the Stud, but give it at least one chance. The gym is significantly less crowded in the morning hours, and you can probably get away without making a reservation (I still suggest making one anyway, just in case). Working out in the morning boosts your energy level for the rest of the day, so you’ll actually feel less tired, and have a much more productive day than if you opted for a later workout.
Rule #3: If your schedule doesn’t allow for morning workouts, pay attention to the time of day you do choose. Think of the common class times: 12:30pm to 1:50pm for example. A rush will usually come as soon as a class ends, so avoid heading over to Packer around, say, 2:00pm. If you go closer to 1:00pm, you dodge a majority of people who are still in the middle of class.
There’s nothing worse than lugging yourself through the bitter winter weather just to find that your favorite machine is taken. Don’t turn around and give up! Keep coming back now that you’re armed with some tips to work out smarter.
The phone number for the fitness center at Packer is (609)-771-2014.