Opinions on options for NDTFP

Having grown tired of government mandated weak and skinniness, the girlfriend and I have finally given ourselves the gift of a home gym. However, it's not exactly an optimal setup, given that we live in a one bedroom apartment. We also don't have a bench yet, but will in a couple of weeks. I have some ideas about how to manage these shortcomings, but figured it can't hurt to ask for the wisdom of the board as well.

Problem #1: Low ceilings and no bench yet. Long term, I'll have to do seated presses, and have resigned myself to that. How would you guys press until the bench arrives? I was thinking floor presses and kneeling presses, but I'm open to suggestions. Or maybe I just find something else to sit on? As I type this, I just thought of the old piano bench I have somewhere potentially rendering this whole question moot, but still, suggestions welcome! I was also wondering about kneeling presses longer term. I assume you can press more seated, but I was also thinking that the longer kinetic chain and balance element of a kneeling press might transfer better to a standing press whenever I can get back into that. Any merit to that stray thought, and perhaps working on both?

Problem #2: Deadlifts. I'm not trying to get evicted for shaking the building, so will probably have to work on some variation for the time being. I was thinking RDLs would be the most neighbour friendly. Eventually I'd like to get around to building Andrew Lewis' dampeners, but I'm not the handiest guy, nor do I have the necessary tools myself, so that's a project for a future date. So, are RDLs the best alternative under the circumstances? If so, how should I program them? Spare me the "Move out of the city," comments. I know... Also, Andrew, if you catch this, do you think your dampeners would spare me eviction? Your video makes them look pretty damn effective.

Thanks for any input!

We have the exact same issues.

#1) We do L sit presses from the floor, with the bar supported on the catch bars between sets. The L sit is the most stable position we've found, and a killer core workout.
The bench is probably fine to sub 100% for OHP for now, or floor bench press is probably fine.

#2) We got the Titan silencer drop pads and they are awesome. I know titan is evil and ripped them off from Pound Pads but those and the Rogue version are more than double the price and weren't available in tbe beginning of the summer.
Barbell Silencer Drop Pads - Weightlifting Drop Pad Set

We are lifting in what used to be our dining room, on cement slab with water lines in it that would be brutally expensive to replace, so a quiet deadlift was a top priority of ours.
Here's a video of my last deadlift for noise reference. You can compare it to the background noise of my husband making dinner and running the air fryer, lol. I can deadlift without waking anyone in the (cheaply built) house up.
crash pads - YouTube

Obviously the issue with the pads is the height difference, so you'll need a platform. We looked at buying a premade platform / low box but they were all kind of expensive.
This 6" stackable box was a contender:
Stackable Wooden Plyometric Boxes

Instead, husband built a rudimentary platform for me. It's 2x4s (you can have home depot cut them to length) stacked in a square, plus a cross beam, with a thick piece of smooth 3/4" 2x4' birch set on top, screwed together with a couple wood screws. We made the supports 44" wide, the max that would fit between the rack supports. We wanted it as wide as possible so we could use a deadlift jack, because it's a PITA to change plates on top of a cushion.
The total height you need is 5.25", which is slightly shorter than the pads to account for the "sink".
Here is a picture of the underside:
PXL_20201216_202053895 | Elle N | Flickr

I don't know. Depends on how fast you set the bar down and how tolerant your neighbors are. I think you probably won't get evicted on the first offense. They'll probably give you a warning first. If the warning never comes, you're probably fine.

Generally, a courtesy conversation can spare a lot of headaches. Just give the people above you, below you, and adjacent to you your number and let them know they can call if they want you to be quiet.

I think you should just deadlift like normal and set it down carefully. It's going to limit you a little, but it's still better than not doing the program.

uh,
how much ya press bro ?
I don't know I would trust a piano bench for much more than,
wait for it,
pianos.
sit on a cinder block first,
or from your knees

A piano bench is a bad idea. Just wait until your bench arrives to start training bench presses.

Deadlifts can be set down in a controlled way. I am in a second floor apartment and am deadlifting in the low 400s at the moment. I'm not going to post video of me deadlifting in my boxers, but the plate rattle coming off the floor is about equal in loudness to when I set them down. Yes, it's harder, but if you're thinking of doing RDLs you may as well learn to set them all the way down with the same level of control.

Agree with Elle on the seated presses, although I know them as Z presses, after Zydrunas Savickas. I think we're talking about the same thing. Your ability to stabilize yourself will probably limit your poundage before your pressing strength does though. That's the issue with those.

A piano bench is plenty strong if you want to do it that way as long as it's stable enough. I'm assuming you're not a 250 pound guy with a 250 pound press here.

Floor presses are a good exercise.

Thanks guys!

Elle: Those pads look like they do a pretty good job. I'm just curious how much weight you guys have dropped on them. The website says their capacity is "300+ lbs" which obviously isn't all that helpful haha Before this layoff my work sets were in the low 400s, and hopefully will be again soon!

Andrew: Well, when my gf and I first moved into this unit we got a noise complaint for "walking heavy." I think we have new downstairs neighbours now though. I think you're right about finding a way to deadlift normally. Might have to wait another paycheque or two before I invest in any more gym equipment, but since I'm coming off a looooooong layoff from barbell deadlifts, I can probably just set them down gently for the time being.

Neil: Currently? Not much! I haven't been barbell training for months, and lately have gotten out of the habit of training at all. The piano bench is an old solid wood one, so I think it's sturdy enough for anything I'd be lifting for the first handful of workouts before my actual bench arrives.

By L sit I mean sitting with your legs straight out in front of you.

I think my husband is only up to 300lbs right now, but it's not making a bit of difference compared to the 175lb set I posted. Maybe a max dent of 1/4" into the pad.
Back in my CrossFit days we used the brand name Pound Pads for olympic lifting and the guys would drop heavy jerks on them no factor. Obviously the bumper plates help keep things quiet compared to metal plates.