Runner insists on using treadmill at 6 AM 3 times a week, protests when upstairs neighbor asks him to exercise at a different time: 'I thought we had an unspoken understanding'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
May 31, 2026 7:45 PM EDT

A noise complaint from a neighbor is all about an incompatible lifestyle.

The reality is, most of us do not have the good luck to live close to people who have similar schedules and interests that align perfectly with ours. Even if we aren't doing anything that crazy, there is every chance that our day-to-day lives may wind up annoying our neighbors from time to time. It is simply something that we have to learn to adjust to.

The majority of people would agree that some basic ground rules need to be set to be able to live in a neighborhood peacefully (without going full micromanaging HOA). These include keeping on top of basic maintenance that may affect the neighbors and not making ridiculous amounts of noise at unsociable hours. These are the kind of points that can cause conflict when they are not treated with the respect that they deserve.

Nonetheless, many homeowners and renters have their horror stories of living near others who were not interested in keeping the peace in this regard. The worst thing is that these types often argue that whatever they are doing is reasonable. Just because they can justify it to themselves doesn't mean that everybody else has to live with it.

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  • A representation of a man's feet in blue running shoes, walking on a treadmill
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A representation of a man's feet in blue running shoes, walking on a treadmill

  • In this story, an individual rented a house with their family, which also had a rented apartment unit above the garage. A few times a week, they would use their treadmill in the garage at 6 AM. The tenant in the apartment had politely addressed this with them and asked if they could work out at a different time.

    Although they understood her issue, they felt that they had the right to use the treadmill whenever they wanted. Their justification was that she had a dog that barked during the day. They wanted to know if it was a bad idea to keep working out at the same time.

  • Would I be wrong for continuing to use our treadmill in the mornings after our neighbor said it bothered her?

    Our family rents a home in a suburb, and a single woman rents an apartment above our garage from the same landlord.
    via CardiffBDC
  • 2-3x a week I run on the treadmill around 6a for 30-45 mins. I have been doing this for the entirety of the two years this other tenant has lived above the garage. She never said a word about it until this past week when she asked if I would start running at a later hour.
    via CardiffBDC
  • She was polite about it and I can totally see her point because I am sure it is objectively annoying. Still, we have small kids who also get up early, and the only time I have during the week to run is if I can beat them before they're out of bed. This is in why we bought the treadmill in the first place; because otherwise it was nearly impossible to find time to exercise without it.
    via CardiffBDC
  • Frankly I thought we had sort of an unspoken understanding because she has a dog that barks nonstop and often disruptively throughout the day while she's at work and we are working from home, and I think there's a good chance a lot of families would have complained to the landlord about it, so
    via CardiffBDC
  • my spouse and I sort of figured she appreciated how accepting we are of that and perhaps as a consequence never said anything about our exercise.
    via CardiffBDC
  • Now I feel guilty about wanting to continue doing something I know is bothersome to her, but also I am not sure what society expects of me here. I think that to some degree, if you choose to rent an apartment above the garage of a family home, you may have to accept that there could be noise
    via CardiffBDC
  • coming from the rest of the home that you cannot control. But also it's going to be hard for me to enjoy running at all now knowing she's on the other side of the wall feeling miserable.
    via CardiffBDC
  • There is nothing in our lease about quiet hours and it is common where we live for people to use their garages for fitness; there are other people in the neighborhood who also have treadmills too.
    via CardiffBDC
  • A representation of a woman lying on her side in bed under a grey comforter
    via Greg Pappas

    A representation of a woman lying on her side in bed under a grey comforter

  • samthehaggis YTA for two reasons. Firstly, you don't have an "unspoken understanding" because her dog barks during the day while she's at work- if you haven't complained, then how would she know this noise is bothering you,
    via samthehaggis
  • particularly as she's not there to hear it? In contrast, she told you that your running on the treadmill was disturbing her, and requested politely that you do it later, and you ignored her request.
    via samthehaggis
  • Secondly, disturbing someone at 6 a.m. is especially inconsiderate. Just because there aren't official quiet hours doesn't make it fine, especially when you know it's disruptive.
    via samthehaggis
  • You could do the bare minimum to find a solution rather than just ignoring her request- you could run later, as she requested. You could try to find other solutions, too, to dampen the noise that's so disturbing, rather than just ignoring a perfectly reasonable request from a neighbor.
    via samthehaggis
  • Passing TimeOnline YTA. 6 AM is too early - not a reasonable hour. If you have a young family, I'm sure this isn't the only noise she's contending with.
    via PassingTimeOnline
  • picassoclaire Not an answer but have to say that unless your neighbor has stated otherwise, she almost certainly has no idea how much her dog barks when she's gone.
    via picassoclaire
  • Gigafive You work from home. Start your day earlier and take a break at a reasonable hour to run. YTA
    via Gigafive
  • HappyAverageRunner YTA. You have a whole house, move the treadmill there and wake up your own family at 6am if you need to run at that hour. It's not reasonable to subject her to it.
    via HappyAverageRunner
  • TheDeterminedBadger What does her being single have to do with anything?
    via TheDeterminedBadger
  • Btw, YTA. 6am is too early to be disturbing a neighbour. Move the treadmill inside your house and disturb your own household, see how they like it.
    via TheDeterminedBadger

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