Quiet cardio equipment?

missashleigh92
missashleigh92 Posts: 37 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all;
I live in an upstairs flat and was looking to get some sort of cardio equipment. But the problem is I don’t want to be super noisy to my neighbours downstairs if I’m running on a treadmill or the like. So I was wondering of any suggestions that I could get which are perhaps a little quieter. Maybe a rowing machine?
What do you guys use ? Any suggestion is welcome

Replies

  • emjay6x3
    emjay6x3 Posts: 213 Member
    When I was living in an apartment, I had a rowing machine and found it to be fairly quiet. A good choice! I've also previously owned an old school stair stepper (completely manual - no electronic panel or anything) which made absolutely no noise if you ignored the groaning from me because that thing kicked my *kitten*, and an exercise bike (one "regular" and one recumbent) with only very quiet whirring from the motor and fan. Lots of variety out there! Also, if you like to do videos, check out Blogilates Silent Death Cardio. I pulled that up on YouTube the other day - OMG. :D
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    Either a spin bike or a rowing machine would be quiet enough and without impact such that you won't bother your neighbors.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2018
    I do most of my cardio outdoors...mostly cycling. When the weather is in-climate or I'm just being a wuss with the cold I have an indoor cycle trainer that I can just mount my bike to and do spin classes on YouTube.

    If it were me, I'd opt for a rower...but that's due in large part to the fact that I already have a bike and as stationary exercise goes, I enjoy rowing the most.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Outdoor bike.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    So I know you asked about equipment specifically, but if you're interested in videos, Fitness Blender's "low impact" videos are also great for keeping the downstairs neighbors happy. I live in an old, creaky house and find that a basic yoga mat has absorbed any extra noise from changing position and that kind of thing.

    https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos?trainingtype[]=10
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    something that's manual, not motor driven. having said that, my neighbors complained about my rebounder, too.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    I don't think my rowing machine (Concept 2) is all that quiet. Waterrowers are a little quieter, but I'd rather row a C2. No downstairs neighbors here, though.
  • alicebhsia
    alicebhsia Posts: 178 Member
    stationary bike or step for step workouts. i have both and love them both.
  • missashleigh92
    missashleigh92 Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks everyone for your help! Much appreciated :)
  • 69HealthyMe
    69HealthyMe Posts: 24 Member
    I have an elliptical and haven’t had any complaints from neighbors.
  • Prime_Rib
    Prime_Rib Posts: 6 Member
    I ordered a folding recumbent bike for my mother after she had knee surgery.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004O6TXVS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Here is what I like about it:

    1) The price is right (and was better reviewed by exercise sites over bikes costing more).
    2) It is quiet AF. You cannot hear that thing at all. You don't need to turn up your television.
    3) It is a solid piece of equipment, mainly being a steel skeleton welded together.
    4) It folds. It is a bit of a PITA, but if space is a consideration, then this is definitely the bike for you. I bought some furniture slides and put it underneath and she just slides it from one room to another. But she is 68.
    5) The resistance is really good on it.

    The "computer" on it is kinda cheesy. But TBF, you aren't really going to use it. You can count calories used in a myriad of ways. Basically, it is a timer and a distance measure. There is a heartbeat monitor on it, but it is more for a general sense of where you are than a piece of science.

    Also, if you are under 5'2" or over 6'2", this bike will not work for you.

    She's had it six months now and, to my surprise, uses it almost daily. (The holidays put the kibosh on it a little but she is back.)

    If you really need something silent, than this is the bike for you.
  • blueheartrisen
    blueheartrisen Posts: 30 Member
    I had a stationary bike in an upstairs apartment, I thought it wouldn't bother the downstairs neighbor...turns out the vibrations from the thing were shaking lights and things on her walls, which as you might imagine got really annoying for the neighbor after a while.

    Maybe because the place was 50+ years old, maybe because it was originally a house turned into up/down apartments, but it would make me leery of any exercise machines upstairs.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Kettlebell swings would be quiet depending on how you parked the bell between sets.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Perhaps a spin bike. I was going to say an indoor rower as well but I trust @AnnPT77 on that one. A bike on an indoor trainer is going to be very dependent on the trainer itself. The trainer I currently use is pretty quiet. I've had others that are significantly louder though.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited January 2018
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't think my rowing machine (Concept 2) is all that quiet. Waterrowers are a little quieter, but I'd rather row a C2. No downstairs neighbors here, though.

    The C2 fan does make noise but not enough to bother neighbors thru walls, floors or ceilings IMO.

    When my GF uses my rower in the family room, I cannot hear it in the bedroom directly upstairs. Both floors are carpeted.

    Might be different if the rower were placed upstairs but I doubt it. In that case, I don't think fan noise would be the issue.

    More likely some form of vibration from the fan and/or seat rollers that could be felt or heard thru the ceiling below (like the guy w/ the spin bike above mentioned), especially if its an uncarpeted floor w/o a mat under the rower.

    I think it mainly depends whether there's carpeting (and/or other sound deadening material in the floors/ceiling) and how sound proof the construction is in the building in question overall.



  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    I have an exercise bike. It's really quiet, with the added bonus of being one of the cheaper pieces of cardio equipment.
  • RepswithRyan
    RepswithRyan Posts: 171 Member
    A rowing machine is excellent but if you really want to be quiet, there are some great low impact bodyweight cardio workouts on YouTube.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Just to be contrary, I was in the apartment below someone with a rowing machine and it sounded like they were bowling for an hour every night. I didn't care too much since they used early in the evening but it certainly wan't very quiet.
  • runandbikeNick
    runandbikeNick Posts: 13 Member
    Oh thing for noise is what the machine is placed on. Recommend a large padded type mat (like a dense yoga mat) under equipment. If you have a wood floor, I would even do two mats, one dense and large on floor... then maybe a smaller squishier "comfort mat" or "yoga mat". That is what I have my bike+trainer set on - gives it a slight wobble if out of saddle, but helps isolate noise from floor well.
  • mullanphylane
    mullanphylane Posts: 172 Member
    Just a suggestion for those who already have equipment and are guessing at how noisy or quiet it is: Download a free sound meter app to your phone and use that to check actual sound levels.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    Concept 2 rowing machine is noisy. Water Rower is a little quieter, but not what I'd call "quiet" (for apartment living purposes). Most bikes will be quieter than either. Don't know about other types of rowing machines.

    What I do know about rowing machines is that many, many people use them incorrectly (most people I see at the gym, including some trainers!), and will likely struggle to get a good workout if that's the case.
  • PennyP312
    PennyP312 Posts: 161 Member
    I have a spin bike and bought in when I lived on the 12th floor of a high rise.
    Its quiet and easy to move (small wheels on front of bike) but it is pretty big and doesn’t fold so it will take up a good amount of space.
  • 1972ChrisJG
    1972ChrisJG Posts: 43 Member
    If it's wet and windy outside, or if i don't have a spare 3 hours then I'll go on the turbo trainer or do the next workout on the Tapout XT calendar. Otherwise I'll go out for a ride.
  • Jusomso
    Jusomso Posts: 4 Member
    Hey. I was visiting a friend of mine recently and there were a few cardio machines there. At first I thought it was cool and trained for about 2 hours, but then I got tired of the noise of these machines. It was just unbearable and I didn't know how to get rid of this annoying sound. It was just unbearable! After that, I talked to my friend and he told me that he had known about this problem for a long time but did not know how to solve it. I soon advised him to find quiet equipment at https://fullquieting.com. There is a wide range and there is an overview for each model. This is a really very useful site and I found quiet home air conditioners there and now I can get rid of my old air conditioner!
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't think my rowing machine (Concept 2) is all that quiet. Waterrowers are a little quieter, but I'd rather row a C2. No downstairs neighbors here, though.

    I second this about the C2. I have a model B which is louder than the newer ones, but I have heard that the D isn’t exactly quiet either. However, I have a basement gym and no neighbors to worry about.

    My arc trainer is very quiet though. It is by far my quietest piece of cardio (C2, summit climber, life fitness treadmill, cybex arc trainer, life fitness bike).

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