Cold winter weather or summer sweltering heat can wreak havoc on your fitness routines. How can you keep up your exercise regime, despite what Mother Nature throws at you? Here are a few of our ideas for staying fit in a DC apartment.
Use Your Building Amenities – Sure if your community has a gym, that can be the obvious choice. But what about organizing a weekly group yoga or strength training class in your community room? This option comes with the added benefit of meeting your neighbors, too.
Create a Home Gym – This is easier than it sounds because you can get in a great workout with little to no equipment. In an apartment, resistance bands are a great option for space saving and portability. There are plenty of body weight exercises that require zero equipment yet still give you a great workout. Just be mindful of your neighbors, and maybe keep the high impact stuff for the outside workouts. Here is a good workout designed just for apartments to keep the noise to a minimum.
Pop in an Exercise Video – Long gone are the days of workout videos that looked like this, and now we have great options with things like Insanity, P90X and the like. There are also plenty of options through cable (Comcast has several fitness options On Demand) and internet for free. Check out Gaiam or Fitness Blender for some great streaming options if you don’t have cable.
Find a Workout Partner – Find someone to keep you motivated on the days you find it hard to get out of bed. Even if you don’t workout together, find someone who will call or text you to get you moving. Or you could use an app or fitness community to keep you motivated. Gym Pact is a fun way to stay motivated, as you can earn rewards for meeting your goals. Websites like Spark People have a robust community to keep you going.
Not only do these workout options work well on snow or sweltering days, but they are great for travel too. Sometimes body weight and a tablet are all you need to get the job done. Just keep up the good work, as better weather is always around the corner, and you’ll want all of the extra energy to enjoy all DC has to offer outside.
