Treadmill advice
I am thinking of buying a treadmill so I can run even when its nigh impossible outside (for example this week most days had slippery snowy goop out, probably still can run most days but coupled with how early it gets dark and how cold it is I am just not morivated most days in the winter). Biggest problem I have is that I live in an apartment, so I am scared I couldnt run cause my downstairs neighbors would hate me. Is there any way to make it work? Or does anyone have any ideas how to properly motivate myself to run in winter? I used to go running every other day and I loved it and I want to run more somehow, I barely force myself to do it like once a week now in the winter. Its just annoyingly cold before I warm up, or if I put on too many layers instead I am too sweaty after I warm up. Maybe I need better clothes?
Unfortunately there's no real way to fix this problem; the conventional (and correct, imo) advice is to "be bold, start cold," knowing that you'll warm up eventually.
One thing that can help is to do as much warmup inside as possible. It gets the blood flowing, etc and it's not quite as bad when you do get out and start running.
Honestly I think a treadmill in an apartment is just.. bad. They're really big and really loud. Especially if you're an every-other-day runner and not someone trying to qualify for Boston or whatever.
Planet fitness has super cheap memberships?
Honestly, I think this is the answer here. The cost of a half-decent treadmill would pay for like half a decade of cheap gym membership. And then when you murder your knees from running too much, you can switch to an elliptical without needing to buy another expensive piece of exercise equipment. ;)
If your apartment has a parking garage, you could run there when the weather is less than ideal. I just run laps in a visitor parking area which is essentially abandoned most of the time.
This is obviously not as nice as running outdoors (and you do have to watch out for the occasional person slowly driving through), but it's free, doesn't take up any room or require maintenance and won't disturb anyone.
If you live near any other sort of public area with a roof (park with a sheltered area, etc), it might also be possible to make it work there, but I found the parking garage to work best since it's for residents only and there aren't many people passing through.
cow stall mat + treadmill placement + your own form
it'd be worth visiting your neighbors on all sides while someone runs on the thing so you know how loud it actually is.
Seconding this. I have an elliptical, free weights + bench, and a Speediance Gym Monster in our top floor condo, and have them all set up on 7mm thick, 4x6ft rubber workout equipment mats that I got from Costco. Pic of my setup. IIRC, they were "Rubber King" brand ones, if OP is interested in getting similar. It's really quite noticeable how much they dampen the sound compared to before I had them, and so far I haven't had any complaints from the downstairs neighbors either so that's a good sign, I hope. I only work out during reasonable hours (9am cardio, 9pm weights) though, so YMMV if you work out at crazy early or late hours no matter how much you try to dampen the sound.
Do you want a treadmill in particular or just an indoor cardio routine? If you're open to other indoor cardio you have a bunch of additional options that naturally produce less of that thudding that carries through floors and walls.
Ideally I’d like to do running but yeah maybe doing something else is the answer. What would you recommend specifically?
Personally my preference is a rower, although they are pretty big and depending on the style can be considered loud. My experience is that while it can be loud in the room it is the type of loud doesn't carry. Even my light sleeper of a wife can sleep through as long as there's at least a wall between.
The model I use specifically is the Concept2 RowErg. I mention this because the resistance style matters a lot for both feel and noise. This one uses a fan in air for resistance so my pulling goes toward spinning a big fan through the air resulting in the primary noise sounding like a big fan, but it can admittedly be quite a loud fan. My understanding is that magnetic resistance models can be much quieter, but I haven't used them.
Rowers aren't necessarily for everyone though. I picked it primarily because I wanted low impact on my knees and hips and just happened to appreciate that the motion is closer to full body. Whether or not it would be a good fit for you I can't say. If making a generic recommendation with no information other than wanting to do quiet cardio in an apartment I'd probably go with a magnetic resistance bike, but I'm really not an expert.
Another Concept2 owner here. I just thought I'd add that the rower actually packs up into a corner relatively neatly and takes less than a minute to set up. It's my go-to exercise if it's raining outside and I don't feel like doing strength training.
It's not running, but if you find yourself relegated to an apartment (better if it's a workday), I can wholeheartedly recommend treadmill desks. It's all slow or brisk walking, but I can write documents, do tasks and write emails for up to 3 hours on my Lifespan TD-1200 treadmill desk. Best purchase I ever made.
This was the revolutionary answer for me as well. I usually run more if weather is nice and start replacing outside time with indoor gym and climbing. Desk treadmill at home integrates well with this winter indoor lifestyle and I can continue to work/play/watch movies on the treadmill.
The other way would be to intentionally get cold and maybe even run in the rain to get acclimatized. I found getting wet and cold to be more of a mental thing, if I just let my self chill and feel my body, turns out it's not that bad. It may sound weird but just standing in the cold really did feel like telling my body "See it not that bad? Nothing's bad is going to happen!" and it responding positively to it.
But YMMV! In the end I love my walking treadmill, because it let's me keep my naturally comfortable indoor lifestyle while still keeping a nice activity level.
Props to you -- I'm glad that I'm not just preaching to the unconverted. The thing I have to mind these days is how long I'm waking as it can trigger plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis when I'm not wearing the right shoes for a nonstop 3 hour workday walk session