What Are The New Peak Gym Times?

Before the pandemic, going to the gym was a routine practise for many people, as they organised their workout sessions around work or school. 

But since the pandemic happened, everyone’s lives have dramatically changed, as more and more people are working from home now or working flexible hours, and most education classes are done remotely. This new way of life has affected how people attend the gym, and what time they now go. There has been a noticeable shift in what is classed as ‘peak times’ for the gym.

Peak times before the pandemic

Here at 27/7 Fitness, we have reported a distinct shift in peak busy hours since reopening after the latest lockdown.

Before the UK was put into lockdown in 2020, the usual peak busy times for the gym were weekdays from 7am-9am and 5pm-7pm. This was an understandable pattern as it aligns with UK office hours (right before work and right after work). 

The new peak times

Having looked at recent member attendances from each day of the week, the latest statistics suggests that gyms are now at their busiest during the hours of 9am-5pm, with huge spikes in attendance between 10am-3pm, around lunchtime.

This is significantly different to the previous gym peak hours, as gyms are no longer emptier in the afternoon, as they usually were. Instead, the early hours of the morning and the evening time are less busy due to people having already completed their workout in the day.

As a result of the lockdown, many people have either been working flexible hours at home, or they have been furloughed, or even not working at all due to the loss of many jobs during the pandemic. This would understandably free up a lot of people’s time to attend the gym during the middle of the day, as opposed to before and after work.

How to avoid busy times

Now that the busy times have changed, here are some tips on how to avoid the peak hours:

• Instead of heading to the gym at lunchtime, set your alarm an hour earlier and go before you start work. Gyms are not longer at their busiest right before work, so this is an excellent time to attend.

• Try an evening trip to the gym after work, for example, at around 6pm-7pm. As mentioned before, many people would have already completed their gym workout before this time, leaving you an opportunity for a more free gym.

• A late evening session at the gym, right before bed, can be the perfect way to end the day, and it would not be peak busy hours. Here at 24/7 Fitness, our gyms are open 24 hours a day, meaning that you could make your way to the gym as late as you like, and not have to worry about it closing.

Gary Lockwood, CEO of 24/7 Fitness, says “The reason we chose to make our gyms available 24 hours a day is because we want health and fitness to be accessible to everyone - not just people with the freedom to get to the gym before a certain time in the evening or morning.

“We always used to experience busy periods either just before office hours, or just after 5pm as most people are leaving work. However, this is now much more spread throughout the working day now. 

“It’s great to see that people have the flexibility to incorporate fitness into their day, and hopefully it means that activities like gym classes and swimming can be even easier for people who would otherwise be stuck in an office all day.”