Put the kettle (bell) on
HOW TO WORK OUT IN YOUR TINY HOUSTON APARTMENT
As summer hits full swing in Houston, it’s time to head indoors for workouts. But if you’re like the more than 200,000 Houstonians living in small apartments tucked inside massive complexes, squeezing a full-body workout in a small space can be a challenge.
The average Houston apartment is about 800 square feet. And while many of the mid-rise luxury buildings scattered throughout the city offer central gyms for residents, they’re likely to get jam-packed as traffic picks up. But bringing your workout into your living room doesn’t have to mean sacrificing all your living space and feng shui — if you make smart choices.
Start by buying a kettlebell, says Angie Jameson, owner of Iron Strength Kettlebell Gym in Sugar Land. It’s a versatile tool that won’t take up too much floor space.
“Without getting really intricate and crazy, when you’re holding the bell by the handle, that’s not the center of gravity for the weight. So it takes more muscle to handle the movement of the bell,” she says. “If you have a dumbbell, it’s centered and balanced in your hand, and it’s easier to handle. Whereas, moving kettlebells through space requires a lot more muscle.”
Translation: While you may need a whole rack of dumbbells to complete a full body workout, you can likely get by with just one or two kettlebells, which will save tons of space in a small apartment.
Jameson’s favorite small-space move will give you a great workout with just one kettlebell and limited floor space. And bonus: You probably won’t even have to slide your coffee table out of the way.
“Try a Turkish get-up,” she says. “It’s basically a way to get up and down off the floor with a bell held over your head. Typically, you start on the floor with one arm up, holding the kettlebell. And as you stand up, you’re absolutely using every ounce of muscle.”
Rex Garner, a certified personal fitness trainer at My House fitness in the Heights, also is a big proponent of kettlebells.
“You get more of a workout with lighter weights with kettlebells, instead of a whole rack of dumbbells taking up your whole living room,” he says. He also has a few other suggestions for equipment that can add a lot of value without taking up space.
“Jump rope is a very good cardio exercise without having to be in the heat,” he says. “Try to jump rope for three minutes, and it’s very difficult. If you can get up to 10 minutes, that’s great.”
He also suggests buying a pullup bar to place over a door frame. They’re easy to hang, and come down quickly, so they can be tucked in a closet when guests
come over.
“What I like to do is a good warmup to get your muscles moving – with jump rope or jumping jacks – and then I like to do a strength exercise followed by cardio or abs,” he says.
His go-to? The dreaded burpee, a four-part squat thrust that works the whole body as you transition from standing, to squatting with your hands on the ground, kicking out your feet, returning to the squat, then jumping up to stand again.
“So maybe 10 to 20 pushups, then five or 10 burpees. Do three or four sets of that, then move to the pull-up bar, and more burpees for three or four sets,” he continues. “It’s a high-intensity interval training circuit in your apartment, and you can get a really good workout in 30 or 40 minutes.”
But where should you stash your equipment all when you’re done? Amy Vance, owner of EcoModern Concierge, has helped people organize their apartments for more than a decade. And along the way she’s found a few favorite products to help her clients store fitness gear.
Her top pick is Ikea’s Kallax shelf unit, which is organized into eight cubes for storage.
“That’s the most common solution we use,” she says. “So if you have cute dumbbells or kettleballs, then some people want to display it as art so it blends with their aesthetic. But most people want to hide it, so we often buy cute baskets or cubes to slide in there, so they’re out of sight.”
Just remember to check how much weight the shelf can stand before you throw a bunch of weights into a basket and call it a day; according to Ikea’s website, each shelf in a Kallax unit can handle 29 pounds.
But while that’s a great solution for kettlebells and jump ropes, bigger items like yoga mats require a different solution. And Vance has a hack for this: The Container Store’s gift wrap door and wall rack may be engineered with storing rolls of wrapping paper, bags and bows in mind, but it’s a perfect behind-the-door solution for yoga mats, resistance bands and even your jump rope.
“Obviously, if you have more space or more builtin storage in your apartment, it would be easier,” she says. But Vance knows that’s not the case in many Houston apartments. “That’s why we have to create storage solutions and think creatively and outside the box sometimes.”