If you've been lifting for more than a minute you already know exactly what to expect as soon as January hits. It's like a switch flips and suddenly the gym is wall-to-wall people at every hour of the day. All the racks are occupied, machines have a line and good luck finding a matching pair of dumbbells because their scattered all over the place by people who have zero spatial awareness. Its a total mess while the regulars are just trying to get through there workout like they do every other month.

Look I’m not hating on anyone for wanting to start a fitness journey. We were all the clueless new guy at some point right? The part that actually gets under my skin is just the total lack of gym etiquette. People sitting on a machine for twenty minutes scrolling their phones, not re-racking anything, or trying to film a whole cinematic masterpiece while five people are waiting to use the equipment. When training is a huge part of your day-to-day that stuff really kills your momentum.

For those of us who actually live this lifestyle the gym isn't some seasonal hobby or a resolution. It is just part of our routine and how we stay sane so it’s naturally a bit frustrating when everything gets disrupted. It isnt even about ego it's just that I dont have all day to wait around for a bench.

The good news is we all know how this ends. Just give it like three or four weeks and the crowd starts thinning out big time. The people who are actually consistent stay and the ones who were just riding that temporary motivation wave usually vanish by February. If your new and actually want to stick with it then awesome-just learn the rules and respect the space. But if your just here for a quick phase you'll probably be gone soon anyway.

As for the rest of us we just gotta keep our heads down. Put the headphones in, adapt to the chaos, and just keep grinding until things get back to normal.