Fitness equipment for small apartments: space-saving and quiet

Contents

• How much space do you really need?
• Which fitness equipment fits in a small apartment?
• Which equipment can really be stored away?
• How loud will it be for the neighbours below you?
• Which equipment is not worthwhile in a small space?
• How much does a home gym for a small apartment cost?
• Frequently asked questions
• Conclusion

Two rooms, 68 square meters, third floor, neighbors below you: That is the normal situation in Zurich, Bern, or Basel, and it is why most home gym guides miss the reality. They show basements with rubber flooring. This article answers the question that really matters: Which equipment works in a normal rented apartment without sacrificing furniture or risking a dispute with the neighbors downstairs?

How much space do you really need?

For cardio plus floor exercises, a clear area of around 2 x 1.5 meters is enough—about 3 square meters. That is less than most people estimate and roughly equivalent to the area of a two-seater sofa plus one step of space in front of it.

The calculation behind this is simple. A yoga mat measures around 180 x 60 cm when rolled out. You need half a meter around it on each side to stretch your arms without hitting the coffee table. A walking pad fits into exactly the same area because you do not move sideways on it.

Something else matters more than the number of square meters: Will the area be permanently blocked, or only during training? That is exactly where small apartments fail. A device that is permanently in the way becomes a clothes rack after three weeks. A device that disappears in 20 seconds survives.

So plan in this order, not the other way around:

1. Storage space first. Under the bed, behind the wardrobe, in the storage cupboard. Measure the height under the sofa before you order.
2. Training area second. It can temporarily be the living room.
3. The in-between part. You only maneuver a device weighing almost 30 kg through a 70 cm-wide door exactly twice.

Which fitness equipment fits in a small apartment?

All equipment that can either be stored flat or works without impact will fit in a small apartment. The following table compares our range precisely according to these two criteria, plus price. All dimensions and prices are current as of today.

Our recommendation for a small apartment is the oak Walking Pad, for an unromantic reason: It is the only cardio machine in the range that disappears completely from view after your workout. The base version runs at up to 6 km/h, while the CHF 499 version runs at up to 12 km/h and has a folding handlebar. Both support up to 135 kg, and the speed can be adjusted in 0.1 km/h increments.

If you can permanently give up one square metre and prefer seated workouts, the water rower is the stronger choice for full-body training. It is designed for rowers up to 200 cm tall and 180 kg, can be stood upright against the wall, and weighs 29.5 kg, plus 8 to 16 litres of water in the tank. This is not equipment you move every day.

Which equipment can really be stored away?

Only equipment that folds flat and is light enough for one person to move alone can genuinely be stored away. That is the hard dividing line, and it runs right through the marketing term "foldable".

Here is an example from our own range, to make it clear that we do not sugarcoat things: Our home Pilates Reformer has a genuine folding mechanism, making it much more suitable for apartments than a studio reformer. It still weighs 75 kg. When folded, it saves space lengthwise, but you will not carry it to the storage room every evening. Anyone expecting that will be disappointed.

The honest breakdown looks like this:

• Easy to put away daily: Yoga mat, Pilates set, weighted vest, balance board. All under 5 kg, all out of the way in seconds.
• Movable weekly: Walking Pad. Flat enough to fit in the gap under the bed, with transport wheels making the journey there manageable.
• Set it up once, then leave it there: Indoor bike, rowing machine, reformer, weight bench. These pieces of equipment need a permanent place that you deliberately make available.

The third category therefore comes down to a different criterion: Does the equipment look good enough to remain visible? That is exactly why solid wood is used instead of black plastic. We have explained in detail why wooden fitness equipment for the living room partly solves the storage question by making storage unnecessary.

How loud will it be for the neighbours below you?

For the neighbours below you, almost only one thing matters: whether your workout creates impact. The motor of a Walking Pad produces around 40 to 50 dB when walking—about the level of a normal conversation—and a concrete ceiling absorbs that with ease. What travels through the ceiling is your footsteps, or impact noise.

That is why we receive the same question from rental apartments almost every day: Will I get complaints from the neighbours? The answer depends less on the equipment than on the movement it supports. We have written a separate noise check covering how loud a Walking Pad really is and what difference a mat makes.

For choosing equipment in a small apartment, this rule of thumb is enough:

• Unproblematic: Rowing, cycling, Pilates, balance training. No impact, no impact noise.
• Unproblematic at walking speed: Walking Pad at 2 to 5 km/h. One runs daily in our Zurich office next to phone calls without anyone needing to speak louder.
• Potentially problematic: Jogging from around 7 km/h, jumping rope, jumping on a trampoline, dropping dumbbells. The flooring determines whether this causes trouble.

Then there is the legal framework: In Switzerland, nighttime and midday quiet hours, as well as Sunday quiet hours, apply; the exact times are set out in your house rules. During the day, you can almost always exercise within the rules. Sprinting at 10:30 p.m. is not.

Which equipment is not worthwhile in a small space?

In a small space, equipment that takes up a lot of room while offering little training variety is rarely worthwhile. Three categories regularly fail our test, and we sell two of them ourselves.

1. Large power racks and wall bars. They need an entire wall plus space in front for movement. In a one-bedroom apartment, that means choosing to give up a piece of furniture, not choosing a piece of equipment.
2. Weight bench plus barbell set. The bench alone is compact, but the plates and bars around it are not. A maple wood balance board plus a weighted vest covers core and leg training on a fraction of the space, but does not replace heavy strength training. If you want to build muscle mass, you cannot avoid weights—and then you need the space.
3. The second cardio machine. The classic mistake: buying a bike first, then adding a treadmill six months later. In a small apartment, one machine you use every day beats two machines you leave standing around and use alternately.

A word on non-motorised curved treadmills and sprint machines: they are technically excellent, but heavy, long and designed for intervals. In a townhouse with its own basement, that is ideal. On the third floor above someone else’s apartment, it is the wrong choice.

How much does a home gym for a small apartment cost?

A home gym suitable for an apartment starts at around CHF 130 and becomes serious from approximately CHF 400. Three levels that our customers actually choose:

• Minimal, from around CHF 130: yoga mat (CHF 39) plus balance board (CHF 89). Takes up no permanent space and trains your core, balance and mobility. No cardio.
• The realistic starting point, from CHF 399: Walking Pad in the 6 km/h version. It addresses the biggest everyday opportunity: moving while you work, then disappears afterwards. Add a weighted vest (CHF 59) for extra resistance without leaving a single weight lying around.
• An investment that stays with you, from CHF 849: water rower for full-body training or an indoor bike from CHF 1,029. Both need a permanent place, but they let you train more intensively than a Walking Pad ever could.

One figure from our own data supports this ranking: over the past few months, the Walking Pad has had the lowest return rate among our large fitness machines, at around 2.8 percent. Equipment that does not get in the way in everyday life is not returned either. You can find the complete range overview in our solid wood fitness equipment.

If you want to go into more detail and plan strength training, cardio and office ergonomics together, the complete guide to setting up a home gym is available as well. This article is the short version, focused specifically on limited space.

Frequently asked questions

Which fitness equipment takes up the least space?
A weighted vest, resistance bands, a balance board and Pilates sets take up the least space. They cost between CHF 39 and CHF 89, fit in a drawer or behind a door and take up zero square metres. For cardio, the Walking Pad is the most space-saving option because it can be slid flat under a sofa or bed.

How many square metres does a home gym need?
Around 3 square metres of clear floor space are enough for cardio plus floor exercises, roughly 2 x 1.5 metres. This area doesn’t need to remain clear permanently. What matters is that it can be cleared in a minute and that the equipment then has somewhere to go where it won’t get in the way.

Can I use a treadmill in a rented apartment?
Yes, as long as you stick to walking speed. At 2 to 5 km/h, the noise level is around 40 to 50 dB and impact noise is low. When jogging from around 7 km/h, your footsteps become the main source of noise, and then you absolutely need a shock-absorbing mat and must respect quiet hours.

Is foldable equipment always the better choice?
No. Foldable only says something about the shape, not the weight. Our Pilates Reformer is foldable and weighs 75 kg, while a Walking Pad is flat and much easier to move. Always check both before buying: folded dimensions and weight.

What’s better for small apartments: a rowing machine or a Walking Pad?
The Walking Pad if you have little space and want to bring movement into your working day. The rowing machine if you can give up a permanent square metre and are looking for an intensive full-body workout. The rowing machine measures 210 x 57 x 53 cm during use and weighs 29.5 kg plus 8 to 16 litres of water in the tank, but can then be stored upright.

Do I need a mat under the equipment?
In a rented apartment with neighbours below: yes. A shock-absorbing mat noticeably reduces impact noise and also protects parquet and laminate flooring from pressure marks. With non-impact equipment such as a Bike or Reformer, it’s mainly about protecting the floor.

Conclusion

Our conclusion: In a small apartment, the best equipment doesn’t win; the equipment with the least resistance in everyday life does. If you’re hesitating between two options, choose the one you can set up and put away again in 30 seconds. Anything that takes more effort will be used less often in November than in January.

For most people, this specifically means: a Walking Pad as a cardio base, plus a mat and a weighted vest, and you’re done. If you want more intensity and are willing to give up a permanent spot, choose the rowing machine or Indoor Bike. It’s better to leave large strength stations out of a small apartment; at that point, it’s no longer a question of space but of the apartment itself.

All equipment from this comparison is listed in our TWHEELS fitness equipment overview, with dimensions, weights, and delivery times for each piece of equipment. If you’re unsure whether a piece of equipment will fit in your apartment, email us at info@twheels.ch or call us on +41 43 508 20 26; we’ll work out the space requirements with you. You can pick up and try out the equipment at our warehouse in Weesen.