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Old 11-19-10, 12:50 AM  
Lizzo
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Working out in small spaces

I have a question for those of you who exercise in small spaces or have in the past. I currently live in a studio apartment and do about 60-75% of my workouts in my apartment. I also have a gym membership and I go to the gym a few times a week, but I mostly prefer working out in private.

As of late, working out at home is starting to build a dread factor for me and I think it might be my confined spaced that is making me feel burned out.

In the mornings, it can be hard to get out of bed to exercise since I work out only a few feet away from where I sleep. When I workout in the evenings, I just have to look a little to my right and see my bed, which sometimes makes me feel the need to cut down on the workout so I can get to bed earlier. If I look to the left, I see my desk/work station with all the reminders of grad school and my stressful job. The funny one is when I'm doing mat work, like Tracy Anderson, and I notice a dust bunny on the floor or an area I missed when cleaning earlier.

For awhile, I thought it was burnout from videos, but I now I think it's my place that is creating the burnout. I like going to the gym, but I love working out at home so much more. It doesn't help that I can't stand my neighbors (noisy, dirty, and lots of partying) and I have a dislike for the new management that recently took over. I'm moving out in the spring, so it's not that big of deal. I'm just wondering if any of you have gone through anything similar and how you got through it.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
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Old 11-19-10, 08:11 AM  
beatchica
 
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Sometimes working out at home can be challenging to say the least. Example, over the holidays we stay at my in-laws (who I really like), I workout in their basement which serves as storage and the laundry room. Always without fail folks decide they need to do laundry while I workout and as they pass through they see me exercising and giggle. It has become somewhat of a running joke, but at the end of the day I don't mind as I am able to get my exercise in.

My favorite small space workouts are KCM, P90X, Insanity, Stephanie Vitorino, Turbo Jam, CLX, JM 30 Day Shred.
I also love Barry's Bootcamp workouts although I find Barry Jay, well a bit much at times.
10 minute trainer and Barry's Bootcamp "Code Red" are great workouts for those days that you are short on time and need to just do something.

Sounds like you are handling a lot right now too, so be sure to give yourself credit and a BIG pat on the back for trying, even if you do not fully manage to get an entire workout in. ; )
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Old 11-19-10, 09:15 AM  
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What helped me when space started to feel confining was (1) doing classes at the gym and (2) working out outside. I would walk outside in different settings (base track, nature trail, around the neighborhood) and I would also do kickboxing, step, and aerobics at the gym. As for weights, I would generally do weights at home. That way, I didn't feel so claustrophobic.
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Old 11-19-10, 09:52 AM  
acey
 
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OMG! I am in the same situation as you! I skipped my workout this morning because of exactly what you were saying...being totally demotivated -- then I log onto VF and read this!

We moved this spring into a Manhattan co-op out of a rental. I used to work out in the living room. It was completely separately from the bedroom (which was basically a walk-in closet) and the kitchen.

Now, we live in a three-room apartment. The kitchenette, living area and DH's desk all take up one room. So I can't work out there because DH is making his coffee, sitting at his desk, etc.

So I work out in the bedroom, squeezed between the foot of the bed and the wall, with the litter box on my left and my desk on the right. It's maybe 5 x by 6 ft.

I have to do grapevines in baby steps, diagonally. If I do roundhouse kicks, I am basically kissing the wall so that my kick doesn't hit the bed or the desk. When I lie on the floor, my face is almost under the bed while my feet are inches from the litter box.

I haven't even bothered trying to do a step workout in here.

I have to wait until DH is out and about in order to do workouts in the living room. Unfortunately, he is a total homebody, with a routine like clockwork. I literally have to kick him out on the weekends, make him go see a movie, if I want to work out reasonably.

Maybe we should start a check-in about this!

So basically I have no good advice to offer -- only utter empathy.
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Old 11-19-10, 10:32 AM  
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I agree with the 'un motivating' comments. Since I exercise in our living room my available space is covered by the 5x8 rug. Since the rug is new I have to first roll it out of the way. Then if I want equipment I have to dig it out of the closet or from where ever else in the house I have had to stash it. {dining room, sewing room, office} It feels like a workout just to get myself ready to work out.

Then the small space, right under a ceiling fan, means I have to modify a lot of steps/exercises just for space. No military press, or french press {or anything hands over head} without moving to the edge of the room. I have a lamp that shakes with fear everytime I do kickboxing, LOL.

I would love to have a dedicated exercise room, so I can just walk in and everything is set out and waiting for me.
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Old 11-19-10, 11:47 AM  
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Oh, I feel for you. I lived in a studio in grad school, so I know the struggle.
I found it helped some to set up clear zones to separate the space into its different functions. My shelves of workout videos actually separated my "bedroom" from my workout / main living space, and my shelves of books separated that from my kitchen and eating area. I was lucky that still gave me enough room to do a decent workout, but on a cold, dark morning at 6:30 am that space could feel pretty darn small and dark (I need light). I was also lucky that I had a desk in one of the libraries where I'd do a lot of work, so my desk in my apartment saw more of my goofing off online, making that a little less stressful. (But now I have a hard time doing work at home because I got in the habit of working at the library, only now I don't live anywhere near that or an equivalent library. )

I have my own workout space now, which is a step up, but it's not the luxurious workout spaces some lucky folks have. It's an unheated attic room with a sloping roof and one uncovered light bulb that hangs down in the middle. Add in someone who's on the taller side, and I have to watch what I do where. I've had to trade away some workouts because I can't go overhead for them or fit them in a fairly long but somewhat narrow space.

I'm not sure what some instructors are thinking when they film their workouts. I know that a lot of the earlier videos, especially from outlets like the CIA, were designed by group fitness instructors for group fitness instructors, and then we at home exercisers latched onto them. But some instructors either don't have a clue what many people have to deal with or don't care. I mean, it's great that some people have a whole finished basement with a bench and various steps and a squat rack and a pull-up station and barbells and rows of dumbbells and a few kettlebells plus various other things (that's my dream), but for many of us the cliche of having to push aside the couch and then return everything to its place in the closet or under the bed is our reality. I appreciate it when instructors seem to have given workouts a real world test, using them with their students and even trying them out at home or thinking about keeping them compact.
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Old 11-19-10, 12:49 PM  
marmalade
 
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I live in a studio, too. I love it, actually -- small environment footprint, reduces need to accumulate more stuff, etc. And I have one wall that's all glass with a great view, so it never feels confining.

But oh sometimes it's hard to workout when the office (laptop) is right there demanding I get back to work, and every household chore I've left undone is staring me in face, and every distraction in my home is within a few steps.

But I think hating the neighbors and the building management would be the absolute worst, even more than the size of the space. You have to feel good in your home. No advice... just wanted to wish you good luck making it until spring!
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Old 11-19-10, 01:02 PM  
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I have a small space, but I am very lucky to have a dedicated room in the basement.

What about doing something simple to "prep" your space beforehand? I am thinking about little touches like throwing a decorative quilt over your desk, lighting a candle, etc.--even (if you can afford it & have a bit of room) buying one of those screens that you could put up to separate yourself just when exercising. These things might help to make the space seem a bit more special during this time, you know?
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Old 11-19-10, 01:50 PM  
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I don't have a large space~or dedicated space either. In my last home I had a huge workout space so I've had to make some changes. I put things out in the corners of my room unapologetically, lol. I can do step but only simple kinds without lots of movement. I like The Firm, Slim Series, Kelly Coffey-Meyer best for small spaces. Oh~Leslie Sansone is good for low impact cardio that doesn't need a lot of room.
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Old 11-19-10, 01:53 PM  
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Gin Miller also has a workout specifically for small spaces. The name escapes me right now, though.

ETA: It's called Cramped Quarters at www.ginmiller.com


I think zones are the way to go ... I work out in my living room and while I'm sure I have more space than you do it's still not a lot. I basically work out in the space of a 5 by 8 area rug.
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