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Apartment-Friendly Workouts That Pack a Punch: Workout Videos for Apartments & Small Spaces

Apartment-Friendly Workouts That Pack a Punch: Workout Videos for Apartments & Small Spaces

Read Time • 6 Min
  • Category Fitness
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Overview

When I was a (completely & totally broke) college student and for a few years after, I lived in small apartments. I was still mostly doing gym workouts at that point, but every now and again I would tackle a workout in my apartment. That lasted until I dropped my rent off at the apartment manager's office, and they asked, "Do you dance around at night...or something? Because the neighbors downstairs are wondering what it is you're doing up there."



It's important to be considerate of your neighbors. You never know who might need to wake up early for work or who might be sleeping before they tackle a night shift or have a new baby or just want to get some quiet time without the pounding of someone's feet overhead. That's fair. But it also seems a fair objective to want to be able to work out in your own living space - it's a seriously convenient, excuse-busting, money-saving option. In an effort to keep both you and your downstairs neighbors happy, I've built a list of apartment friendly workout videos that take into consideration the impact of landing and the amount of space you might have available. These same routines may be great choices for hotel room workouts, too!

We also have over 500 workout videos that could also be easily modified to work for small spaces and neighbors below (never hesitate to modify an exercise to make it work for your needs). 

Strength Training  
Lifting is a great option for apartment workouts because they don't require any jumping; you can get in a great workout that builds muscle and makes you sweat, with almost no impact. All you need is a set of dumbbells or resistance bands and an optional exercise mat. I favor dumbbells, but resistance bands are cheaper and take up even less space. In terms of dumbbells, these adjustable PowerBlocks are spendy, but are well built and take up very little room (because of the way they fit together, the entire set has the footprint of a single large dumbbell).

Need something shorter? Here are 10 minute versions of all of the same muscle groups: 

Apartment-Friendly Cardio Workouts
Cardio workouts may seem like an extra challenge, but the trick is to choose low impact cardio workouts that don't involve jumping. That way, you can work up a good sweat without bothering neighbors. Here are a few options that you can choose from, based on how much time you might have to commit to exercise today:

Pilates Workouts
Pilates is a great way to get in a quiet workout that also uses a small workout space. None of these workouts involve jumping, but they're all great for increasing range of motion, flexibility, and overall body awareness. 

Yoga / Stretching
Always important, yoga and/or stretching can be done nearly anywhere without bothering anyone else. These workouts are slow, calm, and relaxing - and can be a great way to start your day, or end it. All of these also feel great on muscles that are sore from previous workouts. Whether you're looking to gain flexibility or just mellow out, these stretching workouts won't bother your neighbors and they're easy workouts to do in hotel rooms as well.

Hopefully you'll find a few workouts and training styles on this list that will allow you to fire up your muscles and your lungs, without getting an eviction notice.