Why have all gyms got the balance completely wrong between cardio and free weights?

I've not come across a single gym that has the balance right. Not even close to being right in fact. They have hundreds of treadmills, cross trainers, elliptical trainers etc. which are never more than 10-20% full (hence 80% of the machines are a complete waste of space). They have strange weights machines (which isolate particular muscle groups), most of which are empty all the time.

And yet the free weights section is absolutely rammed at virtually all times of day, with just 1 bench (almost always being used), 1 power rack (again, almost always in use) and 1 rack of dumbbells. With the 15kg-35kg almost always in use.

Why has every gym got it so badly wrong? You would think maybe one gym out there would understand...

Have you visited all gyms?

You do realise there are gyms just for lifters? Join one of those.

Gyms are about making money. Cardio machines take up less space and also the length of visit is faster. Id expect females and non lifters are more profitable. The chain gyms at least monitor who visits the gym and why. If they get it wrong they go out of business. Supply and demand.

I've not come across a single gym that has the balance right. Not even close to being right in fact. They have hundreds of treadmills, cross trainers, elliptical trainers etc. which are never more than 10-20% full (hence 80% of the machines are a complete waste of space). They have strange weights machines (which isolate particular muscle groups), most of which are empty all the time.

And yet the free weights section is absolutely rammed at virtually all times of day, with just 1 bench (almost always being used), 1 power rack (again, almost always in use) and 1 rack of dumbbells. With the 15kg-35kg almost always in use.

Why has every gym got it so badly wrong? You would think maybe one gym out there would understand...

Sorry, Gym lad.

Do you experience the same problem?

So why are at least 80% of cardio machines never being used, yet weights area is rammed with people waiting to use the bench and power rack at all times of day? It makes no sense. Cut the cardio machines down by half, add a couple more benches and racks, they would almost certainly get more customers.

I've not come across a single gym that has the balance right. Not even close to being right in fact. They have hundreds of treadmills, cross trainers, elliptical trainers etc. which are never more than 10-20% full (hence 80% of the machines are a complete waste of space). They have strange weights machines (which isolate particular muscle groups), most of which are empty all the time.

And yet the free weights section is absolutely rammed at virtually all times of day, with just 1 bench (almost always being used), 1 power rack (again, almost always in use) and 1 rack of dumbbells. With the 15kg-35kg almost always in use.

Why has every gym got it so badly wrong? You would think maybe one gym out there would understand...

You're visiting the wrong gyms. There's one local to me that has very little cardio equipment and absolutely loads of free weights / benches / racks etc.

You should look at the clientele over the course of the day. At peak times the cardio gets a lot of use. Cardio can be highly utilised.

Weights take up more space and clientele tend to spend longer plus have more free time. Gyms are about making money. If you feel they have got it wrong then go and complain to the gym or write to head office telling them how to make more money.

It doesn't get enough use to justify all the machines. Hence 10-20% of machines are in use even at peak times (did you even read what I wrote?).

They have got it wrong in terms of making money. Although in my opinion, they don't want to attract the type of person who uses weights. They'd rather take a small hit financially, than attract lots of meathead lifters by adding more weights.

I've not come across a single gym that has the balance right. Not even close to being right in fact. They have hundreds of treadmills, cross trainers, elliptical trainers etc. which are never more than 10-20% full (hence 80% of the machines are a complete waste of space). They have strange weights machines (which isolate particular muscle groups), most of which are empty all the time.

And yet the free weights section is absolutely rammed at virtually all times of day, with just 1 bench (almost always being used), 1 power rack (again, almost always in use) and 1 rack of dumbbells. With the 15kg-35kg almost always in use.

Why has every gym got it so badly wrong? You would think maybe one gym out there would understand...

Half the cardio machines are crap anyway, only really need a Concept 2 and maybe a Treadmill. Gym cardio is a waste of time imo

Nothing is a waste compared to just sitting down to be fair. Also, I think cardio get's too much of a bad reputation, it isn't all bad - even if you're just using some elliptical or a stationary bike. I don't fully agree with the "You just need to lift and diet well" mantra that has become popular these days. Even seasoned bodybuilders do cardio.

With regards to things like Running/Concept 2 vs other machines - Sometimes you have to factor convenience over efficiency, if you tried to do a diet and exercise routine which was 100% efficient, it might not be one that you could stick to. For example, I sometimes drink diet drinks (to keep me sane). Sure it would be much better if I just drank water, but if the diet drinks help me keep my routine consistent at the cost of a bit of efficiency, it's better than being at 100% efficiency and lasting a week.

As for the original topic, I think I've experienced two gyms which had ample weights. One was the Loughborough Gym (no surprises there), and then the Barking Sporthouse Gym (which would be the best gym if it had longer opening hours). As someone has mentioned here, there are some lifting gyms you could go to - although I noticed that due to the nature of the gym, you may end up with the same problem of queuing.