It's been a while for me, I've been pretty healthy and haven't had to take any time off.
I found it best to hit half workouts the first round of body parts. It sucks to be sore but you also don't want to overtrain so they won't grow. We also have joint health to consider. I'm no spring chicken anymore and my elbows, knees, shoulders, etc... give me problems anyways without overloading them, lol
I like to go at a time when it's close to empty so I can concentrate on building back up without worrying about anyone around me.
Of course I don't like a bunch of people either