Apartment-Friendly Workouts You Can Do Without Waking Up Your Roommate

Sharing an apartment is great for your budget — but it can be pretty tough on your fitness regimen. Those ‘Netflix & Pizza’ nights may help you bond as roommates, but it’s not going to help you run that 5K! And of course, if you’re trying to save money, an expensive gym membership may be out of the question.

Naturally, there are lots of ways to stay fit without gym equipment. An early-morning home workout offers an ideal chance to fit in some fitness without hogging the TV or common rooms. But those AM jumping jacks and burpees can be pretty disruptive to any roommates that happen to enjoy sleeping in. Strive to be the best possible roommate and try one of these quiet, roommate-approved workouts for dynamic fitness without all the noise.

Yoga

Sure, it may not be the most calorie-burning workout around, but yoga is great for your body and mind, plus the added benefit of silence. If you’re looking for a cardio workout, try a sun salutation sequence. When performed in fast succession, these movements can definitely get your heart rate up. For weight training, go for body weight resistance poses, like chair-pose, chaturanga, dolphin or high lunges. These postures don’t require a high degree of flexibility, but they will get your body to burn that extra fat. Whatever you do though, be sure to warm up with a few minutes in down dog first!

Low-Impact Circuit Training

You don’t necessarily have to jump up and down to get a good workout in. There are plenty of low-impact exercises you can do at home without making a peep. Planks, squats, lunges, crunches, and supermans are all classic low-impact, high-intensity exercises that won’t have your downstairs neighbors pounding the ceiling. Do 15 reps of each (or hold for 30 to 60 seconds for planks) and you’ll definitely feel the burn. If you get bored, try mixing it up with variations like side planks, sumo squats, lateral lunges — or any number of other twists on these five classic moves. As a bonus, these low-impact exercises won’t put as much stress on your joints, meaning less chance of injury. Now there’s a definite win!

Resistance Band Workouts

Resistance bands are a great low-cost home alternative to weight machines. Use these stretchy elastic bands to target hard-to-hit muscle groups, like your hip abductors. Or add difficulty to standard body-weight exercises, such as squats, push-ups or crunches. You can even use resistance in place of free weights, allowing you to try out high-intensity arm exercises at home: bent over rowing, triceps extensions, and bicep curls. Resistance band exercises tend to more closely mimic natural movements, compared to free weights. And of course, elastic is usually a lot quieter than heavy, clangy weights.

Ballet Moves

You never hear a ballerina grunting mid-plié. Ballet-inspired moves like relevés, sissonnes and arabesque leg lifts are seriously strenuous—and easy to do without a barre.

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Or if you’re looking for something more comprehensive, check out this workout plan. Supposedly, Natalie Portman used it to get into ballerina shape before filming Black Swan. And best of all, there’s little chance of waking your roommate when you’re on pointe.

Take the Stairs

If your roommate is a really light sleeper, you may be better off taking your workout outside. Luckily, apartment stairs provide all the equipment you need for a seriously sweaty fitness regimen. Just 10 minutes of you walking up and down the stairs burns around 109 calories—almost double if you pick up the pace to a run. Stair climbing builds your body’s endurance and strengthens your leg and ab muscles.

Try these easy apartment workouts every morning and you should begin to notice some serious results.

The best part about these exercises? Next time you order delivery with the roomie, you won’t have to feel guilty about it!