Working out in back garden - neighbours complaining.

[LuciferKitty]

I had a baby a few months ago and trying to shift the baby weight which I have gained.

The last few mornings around 10:30am I have been going into our back garden to do a workout on apple fitness+. I have been wearing my headphones as quite frankly my neighbours don't need to hear the cheesy "come on, push it harder" motivation chat from the fitness instructor.

This morning after my workout (I do HIIT - 20 minutes), the neighbour next door came to the door and asked if I could work out inside as they are trying to relax in their back garden in peace and watch their fish. I was a bit taken aback. My DH heard this and came to the door and politely said that I'm not making lots of noise, it's day light and we are entitled to work out in our garden. He pointed out what will they think when our daughter is older and playing in the garden? The neighbour responded "that's different" and apparently my panting noises are a bit "erotic sounding". At this point we said to the neighbour that again, I'm not making excessive noise and that I'm simply working out. His response? "Well join a gym then"

I'm actually really annoyed. We have CCTV outside the property so I checked to hear how loud I am when working out and honestly hardly any noise, mostly just heavy breathing which the camera struggled to pick up. It's not like I'm making noises like Monica from friends when she gets her massage.

I also have a gym in the garage so why would I join a gym? We live in a detached house so no risk of noise to adjoining walls etc. there's not that much floor space to do the workouts inside the garage. Before baby I didn't do the HIIT.

The reason for me working out in the back garden is my DH is working from home and my baby is napping so I don't want to be creating noise inside to wake up baby or disturb DH working. If baby wakes up the monitor pings a notification to my phone so I will know if she is awake and will stop workout to tend to baby.

Neighbour only moved in about 6 months ago and never had any issues since.

Who is BU? Me or the neighbour?

does anybody live near op perhaps they could join in with her exercise in her back garden
or your husband should
definitely listen to your music without earphones
pant together girls

It’s too hot to beat around the bush today, tell your neughbours to f**k off!

*neighbours

How funny though that your work out noises are turning your neighbour on. 😂
I’d have thought he’d just disappear off and give himself a hand shandy rather than complaining about it🤣

Yanbu! What a d*ckhead

Your neighbours seem to have a similar attitude to mine ), although mine are a lot younger and it's the woman who has the most issues.
If I can't get to the gym I'll often do a workout in gasp, horror crop too and shorts. Lost count of the number of times she's needed to comment I've got no clothes on.
She really didn't like it in lockdown, I had all my PT online and mostly in my garden and mynPT is LOUD.

Wish I had a ndn who did what you are doing rather than the batshit selfish gits we have. Live in a detached property but neighbour power washes. At last count she did it seven times in nine days. Not just for 30 minutes but for around 4-5 hrs a day and we have a water shortage. Today it went on for hours and hours third day this week and I am having murderous thoughts. When she stopped, I gave her a long and loud round of applause.

Keep on doing what you are doing op. They actually dont want you to breathe in your own garden. Complain about their fishes attracting vermin or whatever. Poor you.

Seriously ignore them. Erotic noises indeed and sitting watching the fish? Carry on.

Ok. Haven’t read the whole thread but have all OP’s responses.

I feel qualified to comment for 2 reasons: 1) early in my legal career took to court neighbour noise disputes to court and 2) many years after those cases I was at a receiving end of abhorrent noise nuisance and other disgusting behaviours of over 5 flats in a central London building I owned a share of a freehold (I.e spent millions for a home that wasn’t to be).

I will start with 2- it turned out the other flats were ignorant and having endured over 24 months of this noise (and carefully following steps to take legal action as a last resort); they got the message and overnight, they changed. Some came to apologise and we are all happy neighbours but it was so upsetting that I had to live with their noise only to find out they were more careless than intentional and only genuine legal threats got me my home back. It didn’t have to be like that but when I couldn’t use all of ny home because of their conducts; I made it clear it had to stop.

Having done cases in point 1 and having endured the worse form of noise from neighbours; you should be pleased to hear, you are not being unreasonable. However, you do have a problem neighbour and if you don’t get to the bottom of this, your life my get affected. I focus on your neighbour because they are new so you don’t know their history- made they suffered in their previous home; through noise cases, this makes people lose perspective and they get triggered by anything. Paranoa really sets me. Absent this, they are just being unneighbourly.

Look, a) you are using your garden in a ‘home like’ manner- this is everyone’s right. I work my arms in my garden on a bench doing weights for 20 mins when the weather is good- granted, we have a huge garden, but I am just using my garden as a home which is what you are doing. Noise being heard by your neighbours or not.

b) Your workout lasts 20 mins. EVEN if it was really annoying for your neighbours etc etc, each person can allow 20 mins to their next door neighbour to do whatever they enjoy/like as long as it is legal.

One question: do/ can neighbour SEE you while you workout? Even if the answer is yes, you are still using your garden in a ‘home like’ manner.

To repeat, although you are not doing anything wrong, for your peace and that of your family, do not ignore this neighbour’s concerns to avoid living in hell in future. Make any adjustments (no need to tell them) yourself. I don’t make any noises when working out although need to let air out through the mouth to avoid lactic acid building up in my muscles, but even that, is quiet. But you know yourself better.

Lastly, do take note if the complaints continue, in which case you take another view.

Good luck.

*may be they suffered in previous home

• paranoia sets IN.

They are moaners, and this is just the start !
Ignore them politely

Definitely the neighbour I think that’s quite outrageous!! what if you were sitting chatting to friends Or had a group over for lunch? unbelievable they’re asking you not to do anything in your own garden. Your husband is right you don’t want to have bad terms with neighbours particularly if they new but you need to stand your ground be polite but firm

don’t they do anything in their own garden??

Normally I just read the AIBU and the responses, but I’ve had to log in because I train too and this neighbour is well out of line , incredibly rude and disrespectful.I know about weight loss and exercise and I love it . Especially Hiit. Personally I think your neighbour is terrible and if it was mine , we would have fell out without any polite replies from me .
so in wishing you well and showing my support , keep on keeping on 👊🏻

id also Take it up a gear and try and get 45 mins each session but definitely enjoy yourself and good luck with your goals

The noise I endured was 24/7. Yes, people can be really in considerate- hence I was in shocked for the first 24 months as I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. When I related it all to the Council in passing years later, the lady on the phone said to me: ‘Well, done!’ X 3 .

Yup, it took knowing the law to make people behave with consideration and thus threatening their pockets.

Carry on doing your keep fit in the garden, you have every right to and don't take no nonsence from Victor Mekdrew next door.

*inconsiderate

I meant Victor Meldrew,

My fingers are too fat for my samsung keyboard!

God. I'm sensitive to neighbour noise but honestly, they are batshit! I though you were going to say you were playing the soundtrack out loud. Ignore and continue as you were.

Your neighbours are nuts and you are being very considerate in using your headphones. Ignore your neighbours and carry on working out in your garden—but please don’t take the advice on here by some PPs to play music/workout program aloud. Two reasons—there is more than enough gratuitous noise in the world without adding to it; and playing a workout program or music aloud can easily result in a neighbour making a noise complaint against you, and it could be upheld as reasonable.

Tell your neighbour to piss off. And well done for getting fit. I’m at the start of my post baby journey back to fitness too so i’d rage if this happened to me

I agree with DrNo007.

I didn’t want to spell it out (well done for doing so) in order to avoid well meaning posters feeling they are being attacked, and from reading OP’s responses I was hoping she would not take the advice to make more noise for 45 mins etc etc, but please don’t do that. I covered this in my comment saying she shouldn’t ignore the neighbour’s complaint although she should not react to it either- at this stage.

I use earphones even with my family inside our home. I workout with earphones as the OP says she does, so keep doing this. My garden is spacious enough for some sound to not be a nuisance to neighbours (from hot tub) etc, but even then, we only use the sound reasonably, at normal hours and for no more than 15/20 mins when in the tub. Everyone needs to be reasonable and in law: ‘you take your victim how you find them’. But so it is clear, even making allowances, your neighbour is definitely being unreasonable. Just don’t join them in being unreasonable yourself.

What's with the bloody neighbours at the moment?! You crack on with your exercise routine (congratulations on your baby!) and get some guys around to play the bagpipes!! All my neighbours have kids, playing in the back garden & I wouldn't dream of telling them to shut up. The kids will be going back to school soon! 💁🏼

YANBU. Carry on - and good for you!

YANBU at all by using your garden to work put. It's 20 minutes, if your neighbours don't like it they'll just have to go indoors and return when you're finished.

One thing though - you said "The reason for me working out in the back garden is my DH is working from home and my baby is napping so I don't want to be creating noise inside to wake up baby or disturb DH working", so you are aware that the workout is loud enough to wake a sleeping baby or disturb your husband's work - so it's unreasonable to not accept that they can hear you, and it is disturbing them. However, I agree you have the moral right to do it as it doesn't sound like it's excessive, and 20 minutes a day is perfectly fine.
Wish I had your motivation to get/keep fit!!

45 minutes?! Are you trying to kill me? 😂

You'll all be glad to know I did my usual work out this morning but I did keep the headphones in lol! Nothing was said

They will get a day off tomorrow as todays hiit had a lot of squats and I can hardly walk now haha!!!