Apartment Workouts

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caseyjade88
caseyjade88 Posts: 89 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Many of you may know the "joys" of apartment living... I can't even walk without disturbing my neighbors below and next to me. It bums me out that I can't do any of the workout DVDs that I want to do (like the 30DS) because it requires a lot of jumping around. Does anyone know of any other workout DVDs that I should be able to do in the convenience of my own home? Also, if you've done any of the ones anyone mentions in this thread, can you post your before and after pics? Thanks a bunch!

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  • mrykyldy2
    mrykyldy2 Posts: 96 Member
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    Have you looked in to doing tae bo??? It works really well and there was not any jumping around. I saw result in about 3 weeks time. Unfortunately, I stopped. I had one of those ex's that would derail my efforts when I tried to lose weight.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
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    Just a small suggestion - I bought one of these to go under a very big and clunky treadmill and it removed all the vibration and noise for my downstairs neighbour. Might be worth trying to find a really good mat to jump around on?

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/treadmill-anti-vibration-mat-2mtr-x-1mtr-x-25mm-thick-/300633502021?pt=UK_SportingGoods_OtherSports&hash=item45ff273145

    El
  • jenna715
    jenna715 Posts: 201
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    This won't help your situation now, and you probably know this by now, but always request a downstairs apartment. I guess you could go up and down the stairs as a work out (but those can be noisy too!). As far as dvds, you could do dvd's that only involve strength training and no jumping around (or do a light step side to side when the dvd is doing jumping jacks). If I remember correctly, Jillians 6week 6pack has a little less bouncing around than her other dvds. I love downstairs and was doing workout dvds, but then I found that I love running. If there is a path you could figure out to run, try it. I started by running and walking, and now I can run the whole route. I live in the city and it is noisy and smelly, but I put on my headphones and I'm able to focus on the workout.

    Goodluck!
  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 558 Member
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    i get it. Lots of apartments are so cheaply built you can't even drop a fork and the neighbors are yelling. I walk in place on a yoga mat while I watch TV and do lots of stretching at home. I also use exercise bands. There's almost no muscle you can't work using them. And you can get a good sweat going too. It's all in the effort. Floor exercises, abs (yuck) and the like make no noise. . Have you checked out walk with Leslie? There are lots of things you can do without jumping.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    I'd say kettlebell. I do kettlebell in my second story apartment and never have any issues with my downstairs neighbor. And we have super thin floors, I know, because it's a three story building and I once had to go upstairs because it sounded like my neighbor up there was about to come through our ceiling, things had fallen off our shelves and our pictures were all crooked. Got up there and it was a woman who was maybe 5'2", super thin and super fit working out to an exercise DVD. I was shocked, I expected to see someone my husband's size from the amount of noise and rattling. lol

    But one of the big things with kettlebell is control of your movements and there's not a single bit of jumping or even heavy stepping involved in the DVD I had. It's a great strength and mini-cardio workout that gets me sweating and my heartrate up, so that would be my recommendation.
  • rachelnielson
    rachelnielson Posts: 9 Member
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    You could be like the people above us and just jump around anyways (lol)! Does your apartment have a workout room? Ours has a really small one, but it's done the trick :-)
  • kehuizenga
    kehuizenga Posts: 151
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    Is there any communal area where you would feel comfortable bringing your laptop and doing the DVDs there? Maybe even storage areas in the basement or something?

    On a side note, thank you for being such a considerate neighbor! The girl who lived above me in my old apartment would do exercise videos at 11pm when I was trying to sleep, and it sounded like my roof was caving in.
  • basslinewild
    basslinewild Posts: 294 Member
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    This won't help your situation now, and you probably know this by now, but always request a downstairs apartment. I guess you could go up and down the stairs as a work out (but those can be noisy too!). As far as dvds, you could do dvd's that only involve strength training and no jumping around (or do a light step side to side when the dvd is doing jumping jacks). If I remember correctly, Jillians 6week 6pack has a little less bouncing around than her other dvds. I love downstairs and was doing workout dvds, but then I found that I love running. If there is a path you could figure out to run, try it. I started by running and walking, and now I can run the whole route. I live in the city and it is noisy and smelly, but I put on my headphones and I'm able to focus on the workout.

    Goodluck!

    Yeah, 6w6p has a lot less jumping around than her other dvds. Level 1 is a lot of mat work. I believe level 2 has more moving around but I'm not 100% on that, it's been awhile.
  • silver_arrow3
    silver_arrow3 Posts: 1,373 Member
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    I was just about to post a topic just like this! My former downstairs neighbors called the cops on us when we took our shoes off (no joke). But I have a roommate and she would rather not have to hear other people and really isn't concerned with my ability to lose weight since I've managed thus far. We're moving soon, but to a third floor apartment. I've looked on a lot of websites and when I'm at home I usually stretch and find simple yoga poses I can try to master to at least work on balance and flexibility on nights where I can't make it to the gym.
  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
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    someone suggested this to me the other day: Go have a chat with your downstairs neighbor and discuss with them your workout. Maybe you guys can come to an agreement that there might be some jumping for about an hour a day and they can be cool with it.

    I thought that was a pretty good idea.

    ETA: here was the members response to my question:

    "I had this problem with Zumba when we lived in an apartment with someone below us..I simply went downstairs, made a new friend and said, I work out between 8 & 9 am...you're going to hear some bumping around....does this bother you? Most people will say NO if they know ahead of time. If they still have a problem, ask them what time of day would work for them. You live in an apartment, you have to work together to live your lives the way you need to. If they don't want to cooperate, I say, be as bad a neighbor to them as they are to you and do your workout whenever the hell you please. They know it's only going to last an hour...they'll get over it. Point made. "
  • heytherestephy
    heytherestephy Posts: 356 Member
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    I need something I can do at home as well. We don't have a lot of space, our apartment is 432 sq. ft. and on the second floor of an old townhouse. Unfortunately my downstairs neighbour works shifts and so I can't be making a lot of racket during the day, and I'm not home often at night because I work 6pm-3am! We have no communal space and no basement storage area. :/
  • MeganDominique
    MeganDominique Posts: 229 Member
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    I live in a dorm where you hear next doors alarm clock going and theres "quite hours"
    really its not a deterent. workout by 9 pm everynight and they cant complain honestly. i do my 30ds in a bedroom the size of most average bathrooms...just jump lighlty and not like an elephant..dont think its effective? you can do it even faster. let them know as the others suggested the people below you that is that from this to this time is your workout time and say i hope you dont mind but figured you should know in advance. the only way i wouldnt is if the people below me had a new born,,,id try and find somewhere else.
  • digitalalchemy
    digitalalchemy Posts: 56 Member
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    bodyrock.tv is an awesome at home workout. It doesn't require equipment or much space. I did it in my bedroom, and my bedroom is teeny!
  • caseyjade88
    caseyjade88 Posts: 89 Member
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    I'd say kettlebell. I do kettlebell in my second story apartment and never have any issues with my downstairs neighbor. And we have super thin floors, I know, because it's a three story building and I once had to go upstairs because it sounded like my neighbor up there was about to come through our ceiling, things had fallen off our shelves and our pictures were all crooked. Got up there and it was a woman who was maybe 5'2", super thin and super fit working out to an exercise DVD. I was shocked, I expected to see someone my husband's size from the amount of noise and rattling. lol

    But one of the big things with kettlebell is control of your movements and there's not a single bit of jumping or even heavy stepping involved in the DVD I had. It's a great strength and mini-cardio workout that gets me sweating and my heartrate up, so that would be my recommendation.

    I looked at some youtube videos of kettlebell after you mentioned it, as I've never heard of it before! It looks like a great workout for me to do here. I'm just not sure where to buy one! Is it expensive???

    Yeah, my apartment building is just like that. I can literally hear the people BELOW me walking around!!! I really hate it and can't wait to move... :frown:

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