Exercise equipment in an apartment (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Kikin]

I'm hopefully moving into an apartment later this month but I was told I couldn't bring in a treadmill (which helped me lose over 50 pounds over the years) because other tenants have complained that it's too noisy. Any suggestions on other cardio-type equipment that might not be as noisy? I was thinking maybe an elliptical treadmill or Nordic Track but I'm not sure if sure if those would be less noisy or not.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Paul McElligott]

A sidewalk?

 

[Jay H]

A nordic track is going to be infinitely quieter than a motorized treadmill, cause there's no motor. In fact, you can probably watch TV with a Nordic Track. You'll hear the rollers spinning but it's typically not that loud, and you'll have to wax the skis every now and then for smooth rolling.

You can also use a fluid trainer on a bike, quieter than a wind/fan based trainer. Need a bike though.



Jay

 

[Leila Dougan]

If you're going to be on the bottom floor I don't see how a treadmill would be a problem. If you're going to be up higher, then any of the "ski" type machines should work. The elliptical machines I've used don't make much sound since they aren't motorized.

 

[Daniel Kikin]

Thanks Jay and Leila, the apartment is on the fourth floor so no chance of a treadmill. I'll try the elliptical machine before I go for the nordic track. As long as I have a TV in front of me, I'm okay.

 

[Dave_Brown]

A good stationary bike would probably go mostly unnoticed as far as sound goes. I use a pretty high end bike that has some great computer programs that provide one heck of a work out.
Do you have a covered balcony at your new apartment? I've known people who put their treadmills outside on the patio to avoid the noise and space issue with apartments, might want to consider that. If there is enough overhang, rain and snow (depending on where you live) shouldn't be much of a problem.

 

[Leo Hinze]

Beware of a Nordic Track if you don't live on the 1st floor. I had a Nordic Track for a while on a non-ground floor, and on more than one occasion while using it I've had neighbors knock on my door and tell me to "turn down the bass on the stereo". While the skis are always in contact with the flywheel motivator and the front and rear rollers, the shifting weight of your foot on the skis causes a rhythmic thumping that gets transmitted through the floor the machine sits on. I ended up using some packing cardboard and foam under the machine to help keep the noise down.

I would disagree that they are "infintely quieter" than a motorized treadmill - they may be quiter than most treadmills, but a Nordic Track is not whisper quiet. I would often have to turn the volume of the TV louder than normal to hear it over the machine. There are plenty of moving parts on the Nordic Track, and if you get going at a good clip, it gets noisy enough. Proper maintenance and frequent cleaning helps keep the noise down.

Good luck!

 

[Daniel Kikin]

Thanks for the input guys, I have no patio so it's not an option unfortunately. I like the idea of geting something to insulate the sound.