Exercise! Love it or hate it, let's motivate each other to just DO IT!

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Old 04-24-2006, 12:30 PM   #1  
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Default Small Apartment and Exercise

I've never really been into exercise. I've never liked it. I think most of that stems from the fact that I hate people seeing me exercise and sweat.

Bit of a back story:

I have some major self-esteem issues, and basically I've tried to find ways to hide myself from others. Now if I'm by myself, I know that no one will know/see, I really have no problem exercising.

When I lived alone in my dorm room a few years ago, I had no problems with exercising. In fact, a lot of the times I feel that I over did it. I knew that there was no one living below me, so I knew that no one would know what I was doing.

After moving back home to my mom's bottom floor apartment, I barely did a thing unless I was home by myself. If someone was home, I'd close the door and tell my parents not to come in for x amount of time, and if I heard the smallest noise outside the door, I'd freak out and I'd stop.

I know this probably sounds totally insane.

Anyhow, I know that in order for me to lose weight, I need to exercise. Changing food choices and portions won't be enough. Might be in the beginning, but for long term life change, no.

Question:

Right now I'm in a one bedroom (fairly small) apartment, second floor.

What are some things that can start me moving my body that won't disturb my neighbors below and allows me to move in such a small area?

As I haven't exercised in quite a bit, I know I need to start small.

I do have a beautiful park across the street from me that has trails, but I find that I can't bring myself to go out there by myself (takes me back to trying to hide from others).

My apartment doesn't have a fitness room or anything, nor does the place that I work at (can't really afford a gym membership at the moment either). So until I can move forward with some other things, I need to start somewhere, and that's my apartment.

Sorry for the long post. Does anyone have suggestions, or has anyone been in a somewhat similar situation?

Thank
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Old 04-24-2006, 12:53 PM   #2  
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Maybe you could try Walk Away the Pounds. The videos are primarily low-impact, so not a lot of jarring around on the floor, and they can be done in a small space.

Or one of the mini stair-stepper thingies you can get a WalMart for around $30 (they're also called lateral thigh trainers). You can work up a sweat, and there's no impact on the floor at all, they take up about 2-3 square feet of floor space, and they're light and can be picked up and moved out of the way when you're not using them.

I'm the same way though, I hate for people to see me exercise. I'm starting to let my fiancé see it, though if he's standing there watching me I usually stop. But once you start losing some weight you will get a little more confidence in yourself, and taking your workout outside (maybe for a walk in the park) will be more appealing to you.

Or if you just want to walk in the park, wear some comfy jeans and just normal clothes so it's not so obvious you're there for a workout.

Hope this helps
~Elisha
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Old 04-24-2006, 12:54 PM   #3  
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I've had similar dilemmas. Have you thought of picking up some sort of used exercise equipment, like a treadmill or even one of those mini-trampolines? They can often be found on craigslist or similar sites for free or cheap.

I understand the fear of walking/exercising in public. A few years ago, my son got teased because he and I were on a walk in our neighborhood and someone told him that his mom was fat (typical middle-school behavior). I didn't walk in that section of the neighborhood for YEARS. I crossed the street and walked that neighborhood instead.

Can you invite a friend over to walk the trails, or hit them early in the morning before anyone is out?

Oh yeah, and Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds tapes are great!
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Old 04-24-2006, 01:33 PM   #4  
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I second the mini-trampoline/rebounder idea. There was one advertised on craigslist nearby my home for $15 the other day, or mine cost me $49.99 new at a sporting goods store. Because the elastic absorbs the weight of your movement, there is little noise, and you can store them up against a wall, or most even have legs that unscrew or folding mechanisms so they can be stored under a bed.
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Old 04-24-2006, 02:25 PM   #5  
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I work from home and I have a treadmill that I bought used for $50. I also have Leslie Sansone's DVD. I have one that has a 1 mile, 2 mile and 3 mile workout all on the same DVD. I also bought used on Ebay. I bought a aerobic step at Wal-Mart and I step un and down on it while I watch a movie on the computer. I walk on the treadmill while watching movies to it makes the time go faster.
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Old 04-24-2006, 02:56 PM   #6  
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I live on the third floor of a townhome that's broken up into apartments. When I work out at home, I use my stability ball. There are cardio moves that you can do without any jumping up and down, so you won't disturb those living on the floor below you. Also, there are great strength workouts you can do with dumbbells. There are lots of dvds out there so you can get some variety if the workout starts to get boring.

I can definitely sympathize with not wanting people to see you exercise. When I still lived with my parents, I would also stop exercising when I heard someone come by. Even where I currently live, I don't like for my boyfriend to be in the same part of the house as I am when I'm working out. I'm gradually getting over that though and I've actually worked out while my boyfriend was in the same room - a big step for me. Just start small; once you get more comfortable with your own body while working out, it will follow that you'll feel more comfortable with other people around your body working out (even if it takes a long time).
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Old 04-24-2006, 10:28 PM   #7  
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Those are all very excellent ideas! I will definitely have to look into them.

I'm pretty broke, so I will definitely check out the places mentioned.

I remember last year (I think) there was some discovery challenge where you got a free trial through Balley's for the duration of the challenge. I tried doing it, but I never finished. However I had a bit of an easier time if I'm with someone.

phantastica, I'm sorry to hear you had to go through that. That is one of the worst feelings ever. When I was in high school, I'd walk home from school. Always on this one street, at the same time every day, they'd be in the bus driving past me. They'd yell out things at me, and once they started throwing stuff out the window at me... mortifying. I think that kind of brings me to where I am with the whole exercising bit.

But I definitely want to check these suggestions out. Thanks!
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Old 04-28-2006, 07:12 AM   #8  
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yoga....I love yoga and have done yoga dvd's all my life instead of classes because "I ain't bending like that in front of no one!!" LOL ..and I have done it on the second floor of my apartment all the time with no problems. a dvd will cost you 15 bucks or so depending on where you buy it...and maybe a towel on the floor, eventually get a mat (walmart has them for 20 bucks..) and go for the power yoga and you can get a pretty decent workout and it feels great when you are done!!!

hope it helps!
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Old 04-30-2006, 09:49 PM   #9  
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ckatgo: lol I've tried yoga a bit before (maybe twice?), however the second time I ended up getting exhausted during the introduction of the dvd (just the beginning credits). I would get ahead of myself. I would be watching the introductory credits thinking it was the actual dvd, so I'd be trying all of these difficult and advanced moves, thinking it was absolutely impossible.

Finally the dvd would start, and I'd just stare at the tv realizing I just tired myself out and made myself really sore over something I wasn't supposed to be doing... lol

Anyhow, I would like to give it a try again. It definitely deserves a fair shot, and perhaps this time I'll start where I should.
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Old 05-01-2006, 02:28 AM   #10  
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Not sure if this is do-able for you or not but I live in an apartment like you and after whining about wanting to have my own Dance Dance Revolution pad for a few weeks my bf went and bought it for me today. It's a dancing video game that actually has a workout mode on it that tells you how many calories you've burned. I thought this might be good for you also, since you said you aren't that "into" exercise and this doesn't even feel like exercise. It's a bit tricky at first but you can definately catch on. We have it for X-box and so far it's a lot of fun!
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Old 05-06-2006, 10:45 PM   #11  
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I'm in the same boat. I also live in a small apt, 2nd floor. Also we work 3rd shift! So that makes it extra tough for us! We are trying to find a 24 hr. fitness place so we can go work out after work (get off at 4 a.m.) so there will hopefully not be many people there at that time! lol.
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