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Hi Guys! Happy Monday:) Today is October 17th. This means that my proposal defense is 11 days away, Halloween is 14 days away, and my birthday is 19 days away. I sent my dissertation proposal to my committee this past Friday so I got to relax for a little while this weekend. I made sure to spend the greater part of my Saturday and Sunday outside since the weather was so beautiful. It has been my mission to spend as many waking hours outdoors while the weather is so nice. Thus far I’m doing pretty well:)

Now let’s talk workouts. As promised in my previous post about working out in an apartment, I’m kicking off a new series called “Go Gym-less.” In this series I’ll be reviewing different workouts that you can do in your own space and on your own time. Each workout I review will be one that I’ve done at least three times. I’ll be addressing a bunch of important stuff like whether the workout is apartment friendly and if I found the instructor to be annoying.

One more thing I’d like to say before jumping into the first review. I’m not anti-gym; I’m pro being active. As a grad student both my time and funds are limited (real talk). Working out from home ensures that I’m consistently active, which is very important to me. For reasons of time, convenience, or preference I know other people out there may feel the same way and I wanted to launch this series to help others find good workouts. And please feel free to share some of your faves below as well! Sharing is caring:)

Now that I’ve spoken my peace, first up is a barre workout. I first got into barre workouts a few years ago when I was looking for a much needed break from some of my high impact plyometric focused workouts. I had heard of barre workouts before and upon looking into them decided to give them a try. I found the workouts to be very challenging but in a different way than what I was used to. I quickly got hooked!

If you haven’t done a barre workout before it’s based on exercises that ballet dancers do at the ballet barre to perfect their posture, work their leg muscles, and strengthen their core. Since it is a strengthening workout you’re relying primarily on your own body weight as resistance, but you may also incorporate equipment like weights, a resistance band, or a small, pilates-type ball.

Quick & Dirty:

Workout: Cathe Friedrich Low Impact Series Turbo Barre

Areas worked out: total body

Equipment: light resistance band, 5 lb. weights

Length: 74 minutes (seven sections)

• Warm Up: ~10mins
• Upper/Lower Body Muscle Endurance: ~11mins
• Leg Work with Resistance Band: ~6:30mins
• Ballet Barre Leg Conditioning: ~28mins
• Floorwork: ~4mins
• Abs/Core: ~7mins
• Stretch: ~8mins

Fitness Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Extra Details:

Hardest Part: The barre section is tough. If you’re like me there will be multiple points during this section where your legs are burning but it’s such an amazing feeling when you get to break from it. You feel like a warrior.

Impact: While this is a low impact workout since there aren’t any plyometric or “explosive” types of moves (e.g. burpees), barre work tends to involve a lot of squatting and plies so if you have knee problems you’ll want to ease into these moves.

Noise level: Since this workout doesn’t involve any jumping moves it’s a pretty quiet, apartment friendly workout.

Music: It makes all the difference when I’m working out. If you play the right song when my energy is waning I can sprint harder for an extra 30 seconds, squeeze in a couple more push ups, or knock out a few more squat jumps. That’s the upside. The downside is that music can be annoying and distracting. For this workout the music was pretty neutral. In my book that’s a good thing too. I’d much rather the music fade into the background then it be obnoxious.

Instructor: There are a couple remarks Cathe makes over the course of the workout that might annoy some people. For example, she says something like “I hear you struggling back there and you should be. Everything should be a challenge.” I don’t find this annoying but some people may. She also does this voice change thing in a couple of places. The best way I can think of to describe it is that it sounds like she’s an announcer for some type of school sporting event. This only happens like once or twice during the workout though.

In saying all of that I think Cathe is a great instructor. She gives you a lot of helpful tips throughout the workout about form and ways to challenge yourself. Another thing that’s really big for me in judging an instructor is whether they’re actually doing the workout with you. I find it incredibly annoying when an instructor is telling you to push through a particularly challenging rep but they’re not doing the rep with you. Of course it’s easy for you to yell “push!” Your legs aren’t the ones quivering like it’s below zero degrees outside.

I understand at times they want to indicate what proper form looks like on someone else but there’s a limit. At some point it comes off like a cop out when an instructor keeps excusing themselves to show you proper form. That’s not the case here. Cathe is in it with you all the way. There’s not a single rep that she’s not doing with you. In fact she often ends up doing a couple more sets than the other girls because she’s showing you the next move while they’re still resting. I have a few other workouts by Cathe and I’ve found her to do the same thing. She gets nothing but respect in my book for this.

Stretch: I hate a rushed stretch. You need to take your time doing stretches because your workouts become counterproductive without them. Not only do you get a solid stretch at the end of this workout but you are also stretching throughout the entire workout in between sets. I also really enjoyed the music they played at the dedicated stretch at the end. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

Sweat: If you’re like me then you sweat when you workout. With this one you’ll be at a slight glisten. I quite appreciate a workout where I don’t have to sacrifice intensity or challenge for how much I sweat. Thanks Cathe:)

Dread Factor: This workout has a slightly addictive quality about it which I rarely find myself saying. It’s quite challenging but I really enjoy doing it. Somehow my mind has glossed over the pain of the workout by the time it ends and I’m game to do it again sooner than I would be with other workouts. It definitely helps that the time goes by pretty quickly. Also, what I like to call “the fit crew” that Cathe works with is solid. They’re all upbeat but no one is overly enthusiastic or being extra perky while going through the moves.

So those are my thoughts. Overall I really like this workout and would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a challenging but quiet workout with low dread factor. I purchased this workout from Amazon for $20. If you try it do make sure to let me know your thoughts. Also, like I mentioned above tell me about any home workouts you have that you love? I’m always on the hunt for a new one:)

The main reason that I’ve been able to workout so consistently for the past three years is that I prioritize convenience. My gym is free, open 24 hours a day, and just a few short steps from my bed. Translation: I workout exclusively from home. Do I plan to venture out and sign up for a gym membership in the future? Probably. I’ve done so in the past. But right now, exercising at home works perfectly for me. You want to know someone who it may not work so perfectly for – my downstairs neighbors. That’s if I didn’t take proactive steps to ensure that I was being a considerate neighbor.

In my last two apartment complexes, I’ve lived on the second floor or higher. This means that I had downstairs neighbors who would be subjected to intermittent thumps produced by jumping jacks, burpees, or high knees (depending on my workout of the day). There is nothing worse than a loud upstairs neighbor. As someone who’s also lived on the 1st floor of an apartment complex, believe me I know.

Being active is very important to me. However, it shouldn’t come at the expense of my neighbor’s peace. Below I share some tips I’ve learned along the way about how you can get your at home sweat session in without your downstairs neighbors plotting to slash your tires.

The first thing I recommend is reaching out to them – preferably with a note left at their door. In the note, leave your contact information so they can get back in touch with you. Depending on your comfort level, I’d say to leave your phone number and email since some people may have a preference for one mode of communication over another (e.g. someone who is more introverted may prefer email).

In the note you send, start off by introducing yourself if you’re not already acquainted. From there you can explain the situation.

Unsure of what to say? Check out a sample letter I drafted below,

Hi,

My name is Jane and I’m your upstairs neighbor. I like to maintain an active lifestyle, and the most convenient way for me to do that at the moment is by working out at home. Not all, but some of my workouts involve high impact moves, which means there may be noise transmitted to lower levels. As much as I enjoy working out at home, I do want to make sure that I’m being a courteous neighbor. I’m bringing this to your attention to be proactive in the hopes that we can reach an agreement that works for us both. In doing so, I have a couple of questions, particularly regarding my workouts that involve high impact moves.

Are there days or times that are better for me to do these work outs?

Conversely, are there specific days and/or times that you’d really prefer I don’t do these types of workouts?

*Are there spaces in your apartment that you use less frequently, that would not be as bothersome for me to workout over?

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it. You can get in touch with me by cell phone at 123-456-7890 or by email at janedoe@gmail.com to let me know your thoughts. Have a great day!

Jane

*This question seems a bit more personal to me so ask this depending on your comfort level.

Keep in mind that this is the beginning of the conversation. There may likely need to be some compromise on your part, and perhaps theirs. By initiating this conversation, hopefully you can keep things amicable.

Many of the bad experiences I’ve heard about in these types of situations happen when the exerciser seems to be uncaring of his or her neighbors. Sending this letter can be really helpful because your neighbors will likely appreciate the fact that you reached out to them, and are taking their feelings into consideration.

Additional options for you:

Look for specific places in your apartment that a) have reduced sound transfer or b) that don’t overlap with theirs. For any loud workouts or loud moves try to confine them to these spaces. My apartment is carpeted but close to the entrance there’s a section that’s tiled and underneath it’s concrete so it makes much less noise when I jump. Consequently, I move to this space when I’m doing these moves. If you’re unsure about where there isn’t overlap between your apartment and theirs try checking with your apartment complex to get this information.

Look into interlocking floor mats. I haven’t personally used these, but I’ve heard from others that they help muffle (not necessarily eliminate) sound transmission. They may be a worthwhile investment if you’re committed to at home workouts and have downstairs neighbors.

Incorporate low impact, high intensity workouts into your workout regimen. You don’t have to sacrifice workout intensity by opting for low impact or less noisy workouts – trust me! I have plenty of workouts in my collection for which I know my quads will be shaking (and there isn’t a single plyometric move involved). Examples of challenging but quieter workouts include:

• Barre
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Strength training (incorporating hand weights)
• Resistance training (e.g. bodyweight only exercises or exercises that use things like resistance bands)

To this last point, I’ll be starting a series next month where I review fitness DVDs for several factors including whether “they’re apartment friendly” based on their noisiness factor. Stay tuned.

Do you have other tips that you’ve used to workout at home without disturbing your downstairs neighbors? Tell me about them below!

I hope you have a wonderful week:)