I'm looking for a good exercise routine that I can do in my 2nd story apartment without bothering the neighbors. I'd prefer something that will get my heart rate up but toning/strengthing is great too.

I do yoga on and off and lift light weights. My stair stepper is too loud. Sometimes I can get away with a light in home walking video during the day, but definately not marching.

I'm particulary interested in pilates and any other all floor work videos especially for abs, thighs and ass. Not looking for books...

look for something in (oh crap how do you spell this lol) callasthetics?
i think that's the one i'm thinking of, where you do all sorts of excercises where your own body weight is the resistence. stuff like stretches while leaning all your weight against a wall, that kinda thing. supposed to be really good for toning and rediculously easy. i'm sure you could find some excercises online but i'd get a video, cause some of the stretches if you do them wrong you can injure yourself without knowing it, best to see a demonstration.

pilates is a lot like calisthenics and is a great core workout. some of the exersizes will get your heart rate up, too. yoga works, just flow though sunsalutations and a warrior/triangle series faster to get some cardio in. beleive it or not you can get the same cardio benefits from tai chi as jogging. i don't know how much space your have but a stability ball is a cool thing to have. i would suggest videos or dvds for the pilates or yoga . online at
yogasite.com they have a sample series of asanas that you can print out.

thanks guys, i will look into pilates and calisthenics. after i buy some videos and try them out i will post here. i think kathy smith has a pilates video, i will probably look for her. i think shes great!

How about using the stairs as part of your routine? They're already there and shouldn't cost you more money like the videos and books and stuff. I know, I don't like the up-and-down-up-and-down thing.

You could go to the tallest building in your town and climb its many stairs every day.

How about using the stairs as part of your routine? They're already there and shouldn't cost you more money like the videos and books and stuff. I know, I don't like the up-and-down-up-and-down thing.

You could go to the tallest building in your town and climb its many stairs every day.

i have a bad habit of falling down stairs skylark. A is for Amy who fell down the stairs-Gorey

LOL Skylark! I had a friend who had the same idea, and it turned out to be a very good one: a month after he had started his 25-flight routine, the elevators in our building broke for two weeks. While the rest of us refused to go to class because we didn't want to walk up 20 flights of steps, he was able to go to class, recruiting events, buy food, date women...

Terra

I'm looking for a good exercise routine that I can do in my 2nd story apartment without bothering the neighbors. I'd prefer something that will get my heart rate up but toning/strengthing is great too.


You might try a stationary bicycle, or a regular bicycle with a "trainer" attached. If you use one of these, it is best to get a heart-rate monitor (which may be gotten separately), because the value of the exercise is in keeping your heart rate in the training zone for however many minutes is in your plan. Also, make sure you get a proper seat. The one I had initially cut off the circulation to one of my body parts, so I had to get a replacement "saddle."

The other thing about the stationary bicycle is that many people consider them boring. So riding one while watching TV or a movie on the VCR or listening to music is good, but then you might need to use headphones so as not to disturb the neighbors.

Oh yeah. Love my Gorey.

I'm a subscriber to Shape magazine and I have often picked up some handy exercises that aren't noisy and can be done at home. I tear out my favorites, insert them into a clear sheet protector, then clip them into a 3-ring binder. I divide it into areas (arms, legs, abs, combo workouts, etc) and can flip to an area that I'm interested in working on.

I have a friend who loves a Windsor Pilates DVD by Mari Windsor.

Get thyself an excersize ball. Man, those are a workout.

Ruthie - I've been wanting one of those. Where can you get them? Are they pricey?

I got mine at TJ Maxx (its like a discount department store) for $17. I do about 6 or so excersizes on it. What's cool is that it makes it seem more like playing than working out. I saw a woman who was balancing her self on her knees on the ball while doing single curls. I tried and almost broke my neck.

Oh cool :) I'll check around at Kmart and WalMart then - the nearest TJ Maxx is 1.5 hours away.

<< got one with a video at Target.

COol. Don't you like it? I've seen the best results from my crunches using it.

I admit to doing it less often than I should :) But yeah, you can definitely feel the burn (ow).