<p>I'm recently getting back into weight lifting to amp up my athletic fitness for some sports I'm doing over the summer and I already met with a personal trainer (so I don't break my back in half trying to squat a zillion pounds) but I need to look at my schedule and figure out some times I can work out. What do you guys do (for those of you who work out, obviously)? I don't have any nice breaks in the middle of my day when I can hit the gym and my classes usually start at 9AM. I tried around 3PM but the gym is PACKED then.</p>
<p>I work out from 9:00-10:00pm everyday. The gym is relatively quiet and it’s a great end to the day in terms of getting rid of stress.</p>
<p>Early morning’s best – gym opens at 5, I’m there at 6 if I can manage, or a little later if classes don’t start early that day. Sometimes I go after, but I prefer before since it’s less crowded. If you get to my college’s rec center when the staff does you’re essentially guaranteed an empty center for your daily workout, and usually there’s a tidy window of opportunity to get there later, too. Getting in pre-workout nutrition can be a *****, though, so I sometimes opt for later.</p>
<p>I hope you’re not paying for a trainer though. Just google a basic beginner’s program, start light to nail the form (youtube has good tutorials on this, or you can ask any veteran lifter and they’ll likely be glad to help you out), and gradually work your way up and you’ll likely avoid all trouble and injury. ;p Trainer’s sometimes don’t really know what they’re doing, either – ask for second and third opinions online if yours gives you a silly regime…</p>
<p>I haven’t been, I prefer to work out in a ladies only gym and I don’t have the money to join a new one at the moment. 
But I’ve been watching my diet carefully and I do a lot of walking, so it’s been okay.</p>
<p>Right now I do it whenever, next week it’ll probably be in the early morning. Hooray ROTC PT D:</p>
<p>Go early. </p>
<p>Or, just work out in your room or in a common area. Buy a swiss ball, pull-up bar, a medicine ball, and push up handles. Go on youtube, find some instructional videos, and create a circuit workout using the equipment. Circuit training>Weight Training. </p>
<p>In my opinion (working in the sports fitness industry with experience in biomechanics, kinesiology, and fitness), 99% of people DON’T need to lift weights. You can use body weight workouts.</p>
<p>I love pilates. I am going to get a mat and a DVD so I can do it in my room, I’ll probably do that every morning just because it’s great.</p>
<p>I work out anytime between 9:30 and 11pm every night. Like Sligh_Anarchist, I prefer the gym when there are fewer people. I like to feel relaxed and clear my head right before I go to bed.</p>
<p>I agree with navyarf. Some good programs are Hundred Pushups, Two Hundred Situps and Couch to 5K.</p>
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<p>I made the regime myself, based off of NROL and I payed for a couple of half-hour sessions for quite cheap just until I learn the form properly. I really suck at videos and I’d rather not risk it or do stuff wrong but thank you for the advice. It all makes perfect sense :)</p>
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<p>Yeah but I’d rather get results sometime this century. Sure, you don’t NEED to lift heavy to get results, but I have little patience for junk workouts like unweighted lunges and doing a million tricep curls with a little 2 pound weight. I think those might give mediocre results for someone who was completely out of shape to begin with, but since I’m already athletic, if I don’t seriously pursue something rigorous, I won’t get squat, pun intended. Thanks for the opinion though!</p>
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I did C25K in the fall, never skipped a day, finished, and then dumped it and never looked back. Running is seriously boring :x</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the responses!</p>
<p>I go at night now, after 8:30. I used to go in the mid-afternoon but I hated waiting around for the cardio machines to be free because there were always so many people there. On the weekends, I go in the early afternoon when people are still sleeping off hangovers. I hate packed gyms; I don’t like feeling pressured to get off the machine if there are people waiting.</p>
<p>early before classes and late. its a little crowded late at night though</p>
<p>i’m working out right now. posting is hard work.</p>
<p>“Yeah but I’d rather get results sometime this century. Sure, you don’t NEED to lift heavy to get results, but I have little patience for junk workouts like unweighted lunges and doing a million tricep curls with a little 2 pound weight. I think those might give mediocre results for someone who was completely out of shape to begin with, but since I’m already athletic, if I don’t seriously pursue something rigorous, I won’t get squat, pun intended. Thanks for the opinion though!”</p>
<p>As an avid triathlete and fitness enthusiast in superb shape, I would strongly disagree. I used to lift weights 3-4 times a week. I worked out with a few guys who loved the gym. We did some pretty hard core free-weight workouts. </p>
<p>I quit going to the gym 3-4 times a week eigth months ago. I now only go once every month. I did circuit workouts, focusing on push-ups, pull-ups,chin-ups, and core exercises. Going back to the gym, I could LIFT MORE. I dropped my 5k time 45 seconds. I could run faster. I looked better. </p>
<p>Try to see how many one legged squats you can do with your back on a swiss ball. Try to see how many pull-ups you can do. There are a ton of difficult body weight workouts an ATHLETE can benefit greatly from without weights.</p>
<p>I think the gym is a very inefficient way of working out – you got to actually schedule time, and when you’re working out, you’re doing nothing else.</p>
<p>While I usually don’t have a specific workout per-se, my college campus is hilly, and I zip between classes on my bike. If I need to go a significant ways off campus, I ride my bike instead of take the bus. It gets built into my schedule, and the little things add up to keep my weight in check. Of course, once in a while, I’d find time to just ride as much as I feel like – the road is always open, but not the gym.</p>
<p>With that in mind, you should also consider a jog or something else. Thing is - the gym is just inefficient. Why exercise in a cramped location with lots of expensive machinery filled with the stench of everyone’s sweat, when you can take advantage of public roads and spaces?</p>
<p>this is purely an theoretical discussion for me (ha) but it’s really hard to train for strength outside of the gym.</p>
<p>I happen to have a have a nice break in the middle of my daily schedule (11AM-2PM) during which I can usually find time to get down to the Health and Wellness Center and exercise. Sure lowers the stress levels before going to afternoon class.</p>
<p>I work out between 9pm and 11 pm. That’s my time for me. I plan my
rotations two weeks in advance so I always know what I’m up for that night.</p>
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Not really. It depends on what equipment you have at home and what financial commitment to fitness infrastructure you are willing to make.</p>
<p>My classes start at 10 so I wake up at 7, preworkout nutrition at 730, gym from 8-9, and then shower/eat from 9-10.</p>
<p>i just did</p>