The feeling of moving into your first apartment after college is a mix of terror and satisfaction. Personally, my first place was the size of an actual shoebox, and I know many of my friends can relate to the struggles of navigating a tiny space to call home. What's more, people who work out at home deal with their own unique set of struggles in this situation, because seriously, adjusting your workout to accommodate a studio apartment forces you to be creative AF, to say the least.
First of all, if you make the effort to work out at home at all, I tip my hat to you, girlfriend. Coaxing yourself out of the comfort of your bed to squeeze in a HIIT circuit atop your cold, hardwood floor is admirable as hell. Once you break a sweat and the endorphins start flowing, though, you start to feel totally on top of the world, and you wonder what could really go wrong in the safe space that is your new, cozy abode.
But, soon enough, you realize there are a few persistent struggles that pop up time and time again when it comes to exercising in your apartment. For real, though, everyone has experienced these seven home workout struggles at one point or another, so if nothing else, take comfort in the fact that you are definitely not alone.
Burpees, jump squats, and mountain climbers, oh my! These cardio-based workouts might seem super convenient to make those #gains in the comfort of your apartment, but unfortunately, your new neighbors will likely think otherwise when their ceilings are literally vibrating from your movements.
If you get some complaints about your bumpy-thumpy workouts, simply own up to your sh*t and apologize for the noise. Trust me, you don't want to make enemies with people you'll see in your building on the reg.
After hashing things out with your neighbors, try to explore some quiet workout moves as much as you can at home, and if you're really feeling the urge to squeeze in some burpees, keep it short and sweet for your neighbors' sake.
This is a classic struggle that comes with working out at home. You start falling into or hitting the walls in your apartment so often that you pretty much become immune to the feeling. And, when you wake up with a fresh set of bruises, you probably can't even remember where they came from. Sound familiar?
To avoid hurting yourself too much, try to take your workout mat to the middle of one of your rooms. This won't be completely foolproof trick, but at least you'll be able to get through a yoga flow without hitting your arm in between every pose.
If you've ever had the brilliant idea of trying out an unfamiliar workout move or a brand new yoga pose without clearing the space around you first, your laptop may have (literally) taken the hit. BRB, I'll be over here having a stroke while I beg the universe to magically restart my computer — don't mind me.
On the real, though, don't freak out over this. Just make sure you keep your electronics as far away as possible from you when there's any possibility of flailing or kicking on your part.
Since you're already moving your laptop out of the way, we might as well discuss the fact that you literally have to rearrange everything in order to clear out enough space for your home workouts.
That pile of clothes you've been neglecting to put in the laundry? Push that bad boy under your bed. The brand new plant you bought so your room could be the epitome of ~aesthetics~? Yeah, go ahead and leave that outside the front door for a few minutes, and hope that no one steals it before your workout is done.
Between the mailman, the UPS and FedEx people, and takeout delivery dudes, the buzzer. Never. Stops. Ringing.
Oh, and don't even get me started on the miscellaneous visitors trying to find their friend's door who keep "accidentally" buzzing your apartment. Yeah, that's not stopping until you buzz them in — they don't care if you have one more minute left in your core circuit.
As annoying as it is, in the name of good karma, take a deep breath and buzz these irritating peeps in anyway. Consider it your temporary break from your workout — a moment to catch your breath, you know?
If you have a roommate, working your fitness in around their sleep schedule might prove to be a struggle in and of itself. Doing burpees while they're snoozing, for instance, is probably out of the question, and would likely lead to a super awkward conversation about your rude noisiness.
Make sure you talk it out with your roomie, and try to come to a compromise about when the best time is (for both of you) for you to do your home workout. Communication is key, my friend.
When you first move into an apartment, you might find yourself slacking on dusting and vacuuming, because it's not like things can get that dirty, right? But then you're doing a plank one day, and you suddenly come eye-to-eye with like, five different dust bunnies, or your elbow sticks to that dried puddle of lemonade you couldn't be bothered to mop up last weekend.
Moral of the story: Keep it clean, if not in the name of basic hygiene, let it be for the sake of avoiding a seriously sneeze-y workout.
