I have a serious problem. The floors and ceilings of my apartment are loud. When we moved into our apartment I was pregnant with our second boy. Our upstairs neighbors had two boys, at the time ages 3 and 5 (as old as my boys are now), and we had never heard anything like it. Some days it sounded like the second coming was about to appear through our ceiling.
At the time we had no idea that the building’s floors and ceilings were hollow, completely un-insulated, the reason we could hear every creaky uncarpeted floorboard. And no amount of carpet will baffle the sound of children jumping from furniture. As we were moving in, our neighbor took one look at us and said, “I’m so sorry.”
The noise was surprising at first, but as our children got older, we realized that this is just how it is trying to raise two kids in an apartment in the city, and eventually we got used to it. Sure, sometimes they get loud but then, so do we. And thankfully they are the most gracious, friendly, beautiful neighbors a family could ask for, and we are so lucky to have them. I’d even embrace the sound of one more kid.
Our downstairs neighbors had a grown, grumpy son still living at home when we moved in. Our children’s room was above his bedroom. He was not too impressed and did a lot of banging and cursing and eventually moved out (which personally I think his parents should give us credit for). The old man is still pretty grumpy about the noise. And you know, we do make a lot of noise up here. We try to limit the jumping, stomping and running the length of the apartment, but they’re little kids and they need to jump and run, especially with this winter. Needless to say we spent a fair amount of time in running around in the lobby.
All this is to say, I find it really hard to work out at home, knowing that I am shaking the ceiling every time I jump up and down. I feel guilty for adding to the jumping and running and stomping. And I don’t know if you went outside this past winter, but it was m-f-ing cold out there, way too cold to exercise. Although not according to my Run Club, those tough ladies have been running all winter long. I dropped out the first time the temps dipped back in December. My toes are cold just thinking about it.
But I also know that spring is finally here, or at least the crocuses are. And I am running out of excuses! So here’s a fast workout for all of you apartment dwellers with creaky floors and grumpy neighbors. Turn the music up and get your workout on. This workout limits jumping so it’s great if you’re newly postpartum or have any incontinence issues. Get the kids involved. Work it out! Tank top season is coming!!
Warm up – include a combo of bringing alternate knees up to hip height, bringing the opposite heel to butt, big side steps bringing arms straight up or out. 1-2 minutes of each. Remember to always loosen your muscles before you begin to exercise.
push ups—10 reps
cat cow—5 reps
repeat 3 times
bicycle crunches (opposite elbow to knee) 30 reps (one on each side counts as 1 rep)
side plank—30 seconds
other side plank—30 seconds
repeat 3 times
fast squats—20 reps
step alternating reverse and side lunge—20 reps
repeat 3 times
plank—1 minute
supermoms (lie on the floor, arms and legs extended straight, hold them up) —20 reps
repeat 3 times
Anna Catherine Rutledge is a fitness instructor and personal trainer. She runs Brooklyn Fit4Mom offering Stroller Strides and Body Back classes and the Brooklyn Mom’s Run Club. She randomly blogs at How To Build a Better Mother and is always looking to interview moms who do cool stuff.