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Old 07-08-20, 11:36 AM  
pharma_gal
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Philadelphia, PA
For those who live in an upstairs apartment/condo

Hi all

I am moving next week into an upstairs condo and I am worried about my workouts. First I will definitely have to change my workout time from morning to later in the day since it’s a condo and my daughter will be sleeping in the adjacent room so it will be too loud for her. I have always worked out first thing in the morning so I am already freaking out with that and secondly worried about disturbing the downstairs neighbors. For those who live upstairs did you have to do any modifications to your workouts or timing? I only workout for 30-40 mins max and do cardio a few times a week which is what I’m worried about. Strength training and yoga shouldn’t be a problem. I tried to get a downstairs place but wasn’t able to and was somewhat on a time constraint that’s why I had to get the upstairs place. Any advice? I’m mostly using Cathe’s workouts. I’m wondering if getting a rebounder will help? Thanks!
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Old 07-08-20, 12:01 PM  
Vintage VFer
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You might want to have a chat with your new neighbors and find out their schedules. That could nip some issues in the bud. Some condos have paper-thin walls and floors.

We lived in a downstairs condo and our upstairs "neighbor" was totally inconsiderate. She would vacuum at 11pm! Her son blasted his radio all night. She would do laundry at all hours of the day and night. I could hear bang-bang-bang and not be able to sleep.

Talking to her made no difference.

We had to move.
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Old 07-08-20, 05:23 PM  
KathyW
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I used to live in an older building (in Boston) and the downstairs neighbors never particularly noticed my exercising. So maybe you’ll get lucky and it will be a sturdy building!

In another place, I ended up arranging my exercise space so it was over the downstairs neighbor’s living room instead of their bedroom. I was an early morning exerciser at the time, so that helped avoid issues.

Oh, and when I was in school, I would do step workouts in the afternoon when the downstairs neighbors weren’t around. That required a very flexible schedule on my part, of course, which you may not have!

And I agree you could mention to them if you meet them that they should let you know if anything bothers them. Good luck! It’s a stressful situation, but hopefully you can work something out with timing, location, and activities to make it work.
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Old 07-08-20, 07:33 PM  
videofit
 
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Why not limit your cardio to running up and down the stairs?
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Old 07-08-20, 07:47 PM  
tangerine
 
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I used to workout in an apartment a while ago, in the living room. Similar to suggestions above, I introduced myself to the downstairs neighbors and told them to let me know if the noise bothered them. I was mostly low-impact except for jumping jacks sometimes but I did a lot of Leslie and all the marching was heard down there.

They never complained and we used to chat every so often and it was never mentioned. I would recommend talking to them and also trying some lower impact stuff.
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Old 07-08-20, 09:28 PM  
bfit
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
A lot of it depends on what construction materials are in the condo/building. Hardwood floors are noisy for the people downstairs, but concrete and steel is not. I've never had a problem in concrete and steel buildings with people hearing my steps or with vibrations from jumping around.
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Old 07-09-20, 05:44 AM  
Carol K
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Chicago, IL
At my old condo, we had a two level apartment and I worked out on the lower level, which was below ground. So I was worried about moving to a new building on the 4th floor. It's a concrete building and we have engineered wood floors. I got a good cardio mat and put it on top of an area rug. We've been here three years, and so far I've heard no complaints from the building manager (and he does get complaints about noise from people).
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Old 07-09-20, 04:30 PM  
Anny
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Australia
I live on the 9th floor but the building is very solid and we don’t hear any noises. We also have carpet so that cushions noise of workouts, I think.

I do low impact and only workout after work in the early evening but some of my sons who live at home with me workout in the morning and do high impact. Because of the building construction and the carpet, noise hasn’t been an issue for our neighbours.

Hopefully you’ll be lucky with your building and apartment and it won’t be an issue.
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Old 07-11-20, 10:20 AM  
Judith L
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For the last ten years I've been in a third (top) floor apartment. I work out, mainly, in my living room where I have my own carpet on top of wall-to-wall carpeting. For yoga, the Black Manduka works well over carpeting.

For cardio or anything like jumping jacks or a rebounder, I use my kitchen, where I've put patio carpeting atop puzzle matting. I feel with the heavy appliances in the kitchen it helps to keep things stable. I have a smaller tv in the kitchen.

As regards speaking to your neighbors, I would first do everything you can to be considerate of your neighors and not speak to them about exercising unless they mention it to you, and then discuss "best times".
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Old 07-11-20, 05:59 PM  
Raineth
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Depends on the condo! I've lived in apartments with concrete floors and never heard my upstairs neighbors, and so felt pretty comfortable doing exercises (figuring they could not hear me). However, the apartment I now live in has old, creaky wood floors and the woman who lives below me has always worked from home, so no time is great. I have a yoga mat below an Airex Corona workout mat (keeps it from sliding) and then top it with another yoga mat. It makes a decent enough cushioned surface that dampens the noise a bit.

I still keep everything low-impact, though, as I want to be a good neighbor.
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