Less and less of us are returning to an office environment, preferring if given the option to work from home and it comes with a lot of big perks. Amongst them is the idea that you can exercise any time of the day. It’s no longer necessary to squeeze it in before 9am or after 5pm.
But what if you live in an apartment for rent? There’s no longer just you to consider. Read on for our tips on how to navigate working out from home.
Talk to your neighbors
It’s the simplest way to avoid a noise complaint. Take some time to have a conversation with the people on the other side of the wall. You’ll be surprised how reasonable they can be and how irritable they can be if they don’t know you. Somehow putting a face to the situation can ease things a lot.
Plus, maybe they’re working while you’re in the apartment. Maybe you can negotiate times, like agreeing to wrap things up before a reasonable child’s bedtime.
Soundproof your environment
Soft is the word of the day. Keep your equipment soft and squishy. There are yoga mats, workout balls, and noise cancelling mats all available for a quiet workout. Swap out your squeaky trainers for socks with grip, or your own toes.
If you want to get serious about it, take some tips from YouTubers. All those foam pieces stuck to their bedroom walls isn’t for decoration. Close your heavy curtains. Carpet over wooden flooring will also be adventitious for deafening noise if you’re not renting, but if you are, maybe look into a very fluffy rug.
Exercise
There is a wide variety of full body at home workouts on YouTube for you to browse. If you search for low impact and low noise, YouTube can provide. Remember that low-impact doesn’t mean low-energy. Yoga has been a staple of fitness for centuries for a reason.
In HIIT and pilates classes, swap out jumps for squats, lunges, or deadlifts. If you prefer to jump, learn to jump softly. Apparently, it is possible.
Use your stairs. If you’re in an apartment, and you don’t mind running into your neighbors while you work out sometimes literally – then take advantage of the stairs to give you a decent cardio workout.
Swap your weights for resistance bands for some strength training. Provided you don’t hurt yourself, it should be silent.
You should also add a protein shake to your routine to maximize the effect of your workout. You can find a range of protein powders at Ingredient Optimized which are designed to deliver maximum results. By incorporating shakes into your routine, you can ensure you get the most from every session.
Incidental exercise
Do you work from home It would be advantageous to you if you did. Learn to blend exercise with another task: the favorite is of course dancing while doing the housework and as long as the music isn’t heard by the neighbors, that shouldn’t be so bad.
If that’s too much chaotic movement, if your living room raving is making the ground shake, think about getting a fold-away treadmill for your apartment. You can place it in front of a desk and walk as you go. Running will be too loud, but a walking speed will have you exercising without even noticing it. Walking gets blown off as too low energy, but that’s exactly the point. Walking doesn’t have you feeling sore for the rest of the week, unable to move, but will burn calories without you really noticing. Combine a desk or laptop riser with a treadmill and you’ve got a low-impact, low-noise exercise routine that you won’t even have to postpone for a video meeting.
However, treadmills, even foldaway ones, can be expensive. If you’re looking for something a little easier on the credit card, consider getting an under-desk pedal machine. The miniature bike can come with a desk attached, or simply just the pedals for less than $50. Keep your legs moving while you work. Once you get moving it’ll feel weird to stop.
Equipment
There are options if you’re willing to spend a little extra money and you have the space for them. Stationary bikes, rowing machines and cross trainers can come in quiet variations if you’re looking for more energy, but treadmills aren’t designed to absorb the sound of your trainers hitting them. With bikes and cross trainers, you keep your feet on the machine.
Lately the humble hula hoop has taken off as a way to get a snatched waist before hot girl summer. Sorry, it won’t work miracles, but it will get you moving in a small space with little noise or movement. You’ll be belly dancing in no time.
There are also weights, within limits. Installing a pullup bar will give you a strength workout without the weights. Just install it well. There are to many viral videos of people falling to the floor with a bar that looks like it was attached with chewing gum.
And there are all in one home gyms. They are compact for a small space but you will have to be careful not to make so much noise with weights clanging all around.
If you insist on lifting weights, get yourself some silencer pads so as to not damage your apartment or terrorize your downstairs neighbors.
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