The treadmill is a wonderful piece of exercise equipment but it isn’t the best choice for everyone due to joint damage/injuries of users or domestic setting. Finding treadmill alternatives that are just as effective for your cardio training and overall fitness goals is always an option.
Now, if you ask me, which treadmill alternative is the best for you? The answer: it depends-an uninteresting and ineffective answer.
This is due to the fact that getting the right alternatives for your needs depends on a number of things, like your goals, the size of your apartment, and your personal preferences.
I’ve chosen the top 10 amazing treadmill alternatives for apartment and explained everything to assist you in making your choice. So, keep reading to find out which one is best for YOU!
Table of Contents
Treadmill Alternatives for Apartment
1# Exercise Bikes
There is no motor, thus there are fewer moving components to maintain, making them cheaper than treadmills. Exercise bikes can help you work up a sweat and are expected to last for 10 years or more.
Although knee engagement can be challenging for certain people, the reduced amount of stress placed on the knees is a wonderful benefit. When you exercise, your knees aren’t taking the full weight of your body, which means that you’re less likely to experience knee injuries and joint pain in the future.
There are numerous types of exercise bikes available, which makes this selection challenging for many individuals.
There are upright, dual-action, spin and recumbent bikes, to name a few, each with a unique design and exercise purpose. We mentioned spin bikes because they offer an intensity that is comparable to or higher than that of a treadmill, are frequently regarded as the greatest choice for aerobic exercise and weight loss, and are just a better alternative than other types of exercise bikes.
If you want a single treadmill alternative machines for apartment, the exercise bikes should be your first choice.
2# Elliptical Trainer
An elliptical is the machine that closely resembles a treadmill. It’s remarkably comparable to running on a treadmill in terms of the movement pattern (running) and most obvious treadmill alternative for apartment.
While using an elliptical trainer, your feet should remain on the pedals at all times. That means you make the movement less stressful. This is beneficial not just to your own joints but also to the hearing of your neighbors.
It’s not perfect if you’re preparing for a marathon, but it gets you in shape faster than any other cardio equipment.
When you use an elliptical trainer, it will still make some vibrations. Some of this problem will happen with all cardio machines. Most of the time, it doesn’t bother the neighbors as much because it’s a steady, low-level noise that isn’t as annoying. Putting a rubber or foam mat under your cardio machine will help a lot.
3# Rowing Machines
Rowing machines are multi-joint equipment that help you build muscle and stamina through the use of a sliding seat, a pull rope, and various forms of resistance. Rowing machines can either contain magnetic flywheels or water basins to give a more natural form of resistance. The flywheel option is more common.
Rowing is an excellent low-impact exercise for your knees that also offers a significant challenge for your muscles. Similar to a treadmill, you may improve back muscles, quads, and even core muscles while burning calories.
They require a bit more horizontal space than a treadmill but fold up neatly and compactly for vertical storage when not in use.
When using a rowing machine, posture is everything; therefore, you need to be one hundred percent confident that you keep good form above all else, and that you work up to increasing your intensity and speed without abandoning your form later on as you scale up your exercise routine.
These are, without a doubt, the most effective methods for performing full-body workouts at home. They are compact, relatively inexpensive when compared to the other devices.
4# Suspension Trainers
Suspension training can help you lose fat, burn calories, and get a leaner body, but it is not as cardio-intensive as running on a treadmill. You’ll save your knees, but your muscles will definitely hurt and get stronger.
Suspension training involves the use of elastic or rubber bands that hang from a suspension system. These are usually installed into your garage rafters or between two supporting walls with studs. They occupy a substantial amount of space.
With bands, you can pull on the suspension system to make resistance. You can lean back and perform leg raises, use ropes and rings to exercise your core and keep your body upright, or even employ suspension handles to perform floor-based pull-ups.
These systems are flexible, and you can use them to work out almost every muscle group you would normally work out at the gym. However, because they are aggressive, you will need to ensure that there is enough space in your home to accommodate one of these.
Most gyms don’t use suspension trainers since they aren’t suited for cardiovascular exercise, but they are common in CrossFit clubs and other strength-oriented, military-inspired gyms. It is an alternative that will assist you in achieving your objectives while putting less strain on your joints.
5# Vertical Climbers
These elliptical-like machines are vertical, compact, and take up far less space than a treadmill. In addition, they are beneficial for the knees, unlike treadmills. Vertical climbers are also known as incline steppers or step machines. This relieves a lot of the strain on your knees while still enabling you to burn calories rapidly.
It’s a very specialized piece of equipment and can be intimidating if you’ve only ever done exercise on a treadmill. So, it’s difficult to determine whether or not you’ll immediately fall in love with it. Your best option is to check to see if a nearby gym offers a one-day trial pass so you can try it out and see how it makes you feel.
There are a wide variety of vertical climbers available, offering a broader range of activity levels, resistance levels, and height adjustments.
6# Jump Rope
Both jumping rope and running on a treadmill place a significant amount of stress on your knees. While jumping rope may appear to be a far cry from running on a treadmill, the two are surprisingly comparable.
Both of these activities can have a moderate to high impact on your knees, but they are excellent methods to break a sweat and get in shape. Jumping rope can be less impactful if you’re smart about it.
These pieces of equipment are for cardio, so don’t expect to build a lot of muscle with them. However, jumping rope allows you to exercise more muscle groups than running on a treadmill does, so if your objective is to keep fat at bay, jumping rope may be more beneficial than running on a treadmill.
7# Kettlebells
Leaving the cardio machines behind, we can find some excellent alternatives that will still provide us with a wonderful cardio workout without the annoying noise. One of the better alternatives in this group is the kettlebell.
Try to perform kettlebell swings continuously for a few minutes. You’ll definitely out of breath. Swinging a kettlebell is a fantastic interval training exercise. They raise your heart rate and are good for strengthening your back, hamstrings, and glutes.
The only impact that comes from training with kettlebells is when you put the bells back down on the ground after each rep. That happens only once per set, and you can put it down gently.
Kettlebells with a vinyl coating that reduces noise are also available. If you’re still concerned about the impact, place a yoga mat or even a piece of carpet in the area where you’ll place the kettlebell, and no one will notice.
8# Mini-Stepper
Mini-steppers are quite popular in the home exercise community, and for good reason. Although it is a little device, it helps increase leg muscles, strengthen the pelvic floor, and enhance balance – as well as providing a wonderful aerobic session!
Hide it beneath your sofa and utilize it while watching your favorite television show. Due to its small size and low noise level, this appliance is great if you wish to maintain a cordial relationship with your apartment’s downstairs neighbor.
9# Boxing
Now we are moving into the region of ambiguity. How does boxing compare to running on a treadmill as a form of exercise? Well, it is better in certain aspects. Boxing isn’t just for hard-core athletes: you may utilize boxing merely for aerobic training.
The finest part is that you can remain entirely immobile, resulting in no impact on your knees. You only need to concentrate on your core and arms while maintaining a steady pace and practicing your breathing.
Boxing can be a strenuous activity, but its difficulty can be adjusted. It need only become as intense as you desire. Boxing has an advantage over treadmill running in that it utilizes your biceps, triceps, and core. Boxing can cause some temporary (good) muscular discomfort, and further workouts will lead to noticeable gains in strength, muscle tone, and growth.
10# Dancing
We’ve come to the most remote treadmill alternatives. Dancing offers numerous advantages, including increasing your confidence, providing you with another talent to practice, and working out more muscles than you would on a gym machine.
You won’t lose the same amount of calories until you practice intense dance genres, but this is scalable, just like boxing. You can personalize it, do it your way, and still burn a significant quantity of calories while cutting fat from numerous places of your body. It’s a win-win situation (and if machines bore you, this is a fun way to take control of your cardio).
Final Words
It’s important to remember that engagement varies based on the machine you use. You won’t burn the same number of calories on suspension trainers as you will on a treadmill, and that’s fine. These are treadmill alternatives for apartment with comparable benefits rather than direct replacements.