Keeping fit in a small apartment





If you live in a small, high rise apartment, you have a number of options to try to stay fit. You could go to the gym, you could go to a fitness corner or park or you could try to work out at home.

To be effective, home workouts need to be regular and intense and also allow you to achieve progress in the different dimensions of fitness - cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and a healthy body composition.

HIIT and body weight exercises

Personally (speaking as a senior), I believe that HIIT and resistance training are both important maintaining all-round fitness.

HIIT, if performed properly, should increase your aerobic efficiency and help prevent glycogen overload (which is important for your longevity).

But to increase the intensity of your workout and to ensure that you receive a suitable dose of resistance training, you may need some assistance from tools such as dumbbells and resistance bands. 

But what are the other alternatives?

Body weight exercises. 

Without additional assistance, pushups in their various forms, will help you build upper body and core strength. 100 pushups in a single session is nothing to scoffed at. 

Resistance bands and light dumbbells can help you further develop strength and muscular endurance.

Do remember to use a yoga mat so that you do not mess up your floor and also do not slip over!

Machines

Most machines are bulky. Unless you have a spare room or a large living room, they may not be what you are looking for. Machines are also expensive and some cannot be easily maintained or repaired. Without maintenance, machines may often become white elephants.

Barbells

Traditional barbells may be too large and too noisy for most people. A bar, plates, bench and rack are also quite expensive. Dropping plates on the floor has consequences.

Nowadays, small, apartment-friendly barbells are available. However, these barbells still require considerable space (perhaps a circle of 1.5 to 2 m in diameter) for a workout. 

Another issue with such barbells is where do you put them when you are not using them. You need to pack away not just the barbell but also the plates. They can be cumbersome to put away and cumbersome to take out. Out of sight - out of mind.

  

Dumbbells

Many will buy dumbbells which are either too light or too heavy and will also find that the complexity of dumbbell exercises make them somewhat unsuitable for beginners.

With heavy dumbbells, you will need to purchase mats to absorb the shock when you place the dumbbells down after an exercise. The mats will take up space and will be come dirt and moisture traps. Further accidentally dropping heavy dumbbells on an unprotected tiled floor can do quite a lot of damage.

Light dumbbells are good are a good add-on to increase the intensity of body weight cardiorespiratory exercises.

Resistance bands

They are light and cheap. You can get a very good strength and cardiorespiratory workout, particularly if you have a place to secure them to. You can use heavy bands for strength development and light bands with high repetitions for endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness.

You should note that you if you are performing resistance band exercises, in which the resistance bands are secure under your feet, you may need to wear a pair of shoes while you workout. A pair of gloves will also be useful.

Kettlebells.

Kettlebells are great for aerobic workouts and for strength building. However, to be honest, kettlebells are best used outdoors or in a gym. One slip, and your TV or floor are damaged. If you live in a crowded house, you will be worried about the kettlebell hitting someone.

On the other hand, gripping a kettlebell is more secure than gripping dumbbell. If you are using weights to help increase the intensity of body weight exercises, then you may wish to purchase some light kettlebells.  

Sandbags

Sandbags are a very good option for a small apartment. In the house, Sandbags will mainly be used for strength building/maintenance activities. As with kettlebells, you may not wish to swing a sandbag around your living room.

The bags are not expensive. However, depending on where you live, you may find the filling more expensive than the bags.  One of the advantages of a sandbag is that you can drop them (preferably on a yoga mat) and not damage the floor or annoy people living below you.

Another advantage of sandbags is that you do not need to put them away after using them. You can keep them on the floor, sit on them or use them as a foot rest as you work or watch TV.

If find combining sandbag exercises with body weight exercises can provide a very good workout 

Here is an example of a sandbag - bodyweight (mountain climber) routine.








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