Getting Back into Running...

     I know I've mentioned this before, but I hate running.  I hate the way my back aches after about a quarter of a mile and I hate that I get so bored.  I'm constantly trying to think of new ways to make myself run more, because I know it's good for me.  I try to do strength exercises more than cardio, but I also want to increase my endurance.
     A new style of running that I've been doing the past few days has been my own version of interval running.  One form of interval running could be to walk for a distance, jog for a distance, and sprint for a distance.  My own version is to run a quarter of a mile, perform a strength exercise, and run another quarter of a mile.  This gives my legs and lungs a slight break, but I'm not wasting any energy by walking or stopping all together.  This is how I do it:

• Run 0.25 miles, do 15 squats.
• Run 0.25 miles, do 15 pushups
• Run 0.25 miles, 30 sec mountain climbers
• Run 0.25 miles 15 tricep dips (perfect on a park bench)

     What I love about this workout is that it doesn't feel like you're running far, and by the time you're done, you will have run a mile.  Repeat it once and what do you know, you've run TWO miles!  Mixing up your regular running routine by adding in some strength exercises is not only interesting, but it keeps your body moving in ways other than just a constant run.

     If you're looking for a good running app, I use the Nike running app.  I can set a distance goal, and it'll let me know how much farther I have to run.  It also gives you an approximation on how many calories you burned during your run.  I never go on a run (unless I'm on a treadmill) without using this app.

My Favorite Equipment-Free Exercises

     There are several ways that equipment-free workouts may benefit you.  Maybe you don't have a gym membership, or you're not interested in lifting weights to gain muscle mass.  Or maybe you just want to tone up certain areas of your body.  If any of those reasons are your case, keep reading for about 13 of my favorite exercises to do that require no equipment at all.
     Of course, if you have a pair of dumbbells or a kettle bell at your home and want to add some extra resistance to your workout, by all means do so.  Shoutout to my models AKA little brothers for helping me demonstrate these gym-free exercises!

CARDIO
To begin my workouts, I like to do a "4 minute cardio" routine.  Perform the following exercises for 20 seconds with a 10 second break in between, two times.

0:00-0:20 - Jumping Jacks
0:20-0:30 - Rest
0:30-0:50 - High Knees
0:50-1:00 - Rest
1:00-1:20 - Squat Jumps

Make sure you do a nice, deep squat

And explode up off your feet quickly until the time runs out

1:20-1:30 - Rest

1:30-1:50 - Speed Skaters

Remember to keep you knee behind your toe

Explode up and switch sides

1:50-2:00 - Rest

Repeat once for a total of 4 minutes

ARMS 

I'm always looking for alternative exercises for my arms, because push-ups come very difficult to me.  I've been lifting weights to build up more upper body strength, however, most women just want to tone their arms rather than get stronger.  If that's your case, these body weight exercises will be perfect for you.

• TRICEP DIPS (target muscle group- triceps):

Remember to use only your arms to lift yourself up and down, and only use your legs for stability.

• COUNTER PUSH-UPS (target muscle group- chest/triceps)
  
  These are so perfect for someone who can't do a real pushup but wants to get to that point.  Plus, you can do them anywhere.  I'll randomly do these while I'm waiting for something to cook in the microwave or during a TV commercial. 

  

  Perform a regular chest pushup, with your hands spread farther apart and your elbows going out to the sides to work out your..well, chest muscles.

  
  

  

  Keep your hands closer together and keep your elbows by your sides as you do this pushup to work your triceps.

• CLIMBING PLANK (target muscle group- abs/shoulders)

  

  Step 1: start in an elbow plank

  
  

  

  Step 2: Begin climbing.  Use your arms to push yourself up to a pushup position.

  
  

  

  **your hands should be lined up with your shoulders, ignore his form**

  
  

  

  Step 3: Lower yourself back down to an elbow plank and repeat

LEGS

• LUNGES (target muscle group- Quadriceps and Hamstrings

  

  *I have a detailed description of a correct lunge in my post "3  Exercises You May Be Doing Wrong"
  The main point is to not let your front knee go in front of the front toe.

• CALF RAISES (target muscle group- calves)

You can do these on a flat surface or on a step for a deeper stretch.  The three foot positions target different areas of your calves.

Feet straight foward 

Toes out to the side, concentrates on inner calves

Toes pointed in, concentrates on outer calves

• BRIDGES (target muscle group- glutes and hamstrings)
  
  
  

  

  Push through your heels and lower yourself back down (not all the way to the floor) and repeat

ABS

Last, but most certainly not least.  Keep good form throughout all of these exercises and you'll definitely feel the burn.

• LEG RAISES (target muscle group- lower abs)
  

  

  If it makes it easier for you to keep your hands under your butt, that's fine.
  Inhale as you drop your legs, exhale as you bring them up.

  

  Don't let your feet touch the floor!  Keep your core tight.

• CHAIR KNEE TUCKS (target muscle group- all over abs)

  

  Sit on the edge of a chair and keep your back straight.

  
  

  

  Keeping your core tight, pull your knees up to your chest.

• MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS (target muscle group- obliques)

While this can be a cardio exercise, take this one nice and slow to really work your sides.

Start in a good pushup position.

Keeping your hands lined up with your shoulders, take one knee and touch your opposite elbow.

*try not to tilt to one side like Jack is doing here*

• JACK KNIFES (target muscle group- all over abs)

Jack insisted on this one...

Keep shoulders and feet off the ground during this workout!

Don't pull your neck forward, pull your feet and chest together and make
a V-shape, crunching your core.

I hope you all enjoyed these workouts descriptions and I hope you'll give them a try!  

Let me know if you tried these exercises!

Twitter/Instagram- @shaynerw

High School Volleyball Agility Drills

If you don't already know, I am the assistant varsity volleyball coach to my old high school team.  For the past few weeks the girls have been working hard and getting back into shape for the upcoming season.  We had one session where I wanted to focus on speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination. I recorded a few of the girls performing the exercises and compiled the clips into a YouTube video. So, check that out and then keep reading for a in-depth description!






LADDER DRILLS
Before these workouts were performed, the team goes through a special warm up routine that takes about 10 minutes.  After the warmup, I like to work on their speed and agility while their bodies are nice and warm.  I use an agility ladder from Troy University's KHP department.  I was not able to get a video of these ladder drills, but hopefully a few pictures will help you understand.

-Hopscotch
The first exercise I like the girls to do is "Hopscotch".  Two feet go in a square, then out, then in the next square, and so on.  I have the girls do this exercise two times through.

-Lateral Single Leg Hops

Pick a side of the ladder (let's use the right side for example).  Standing on your left leg only, hop in and out of each square all the way down the ladder.  Repeat on the left side, with your right leg.

-Plank Walks

Get in a GOOD plank position (body flat, butt down) and put two hands into each square down the length of the ladder.  Repeat on the other side.

TENNIS BALL THROWS
I had all of the girls grab a partner and a tennis ball and simply throw the ball back and forth.  I wanted to girls to create a good movement and have their muscles memorize the moves.  Throwing a tennis ball uses similar moves to a simple volleyball serve.  Have the girls hold their arm up in a "bow & arrow" stance and turn their hips during the release of the ball.

I had the girls simply throwing back and forth with their partner for several minutes while they took turns doing the reaction ball and playing card catches.

REACTION BALL CATCHES

This is a reaction ball, you can buy one at Walmart for less than 8 dollars.  The bumps on the ball causes it to bounce in a random direction.  It's pretty difficult to catch, and not fun to chase around.  But as seen in the video, A.B. did an AMAZING job!  I would bounce the ball a few feet in front of them and let the girls catch it about 15 times each.

PLAYING CARD CATCHES
This is probably the most difficult exercise out of the rest I've mentioned.  I don't expect the girls to catch the cards, even a touch is a good way to view hand-eye coordination and reflex speeds.   I would throw about 15 cards to each girl.  It takes some practice for the coach/exercise leader to learn how to throw the cards close enough to the girl's body for them to make a good attempt at catching the card.  I learned this drill from watching an Instagram video on @usavolleyball's page.

I really enjoyed these agility workouts and I believe the girls did, too!  As always, leave any questions below.

Should You Run Every Day?

        I have this secret insecurity about running around other people.  As my last name suggests, I am not a runner, nor do I have a lot of endurance when it comes to running.  So when I go to the gym and all of these girls are running at 7 mph for 30 minutes to an hour, I get pretty self-conscious.  However, I hear girls complaining about how they are always running but not losing any weight.  This makes them run even more.  Well, if you are one of those girls, I'm here to tell you that “running until you don't jiggle” might not be the way to get the results you want.  Once again, I'm no expert, these are just some things I've learned and changed about my workout routine.  So grab a snack, sit back, and get comfortable.  Hopefully I won’t ramble too much…

Change up your routine

Our bodies are very adaptive to the exercises we do. So just like you would do a variety of leg exercises and not just squats, maybe a little change in your cardio routine could be beneficial to you. Instead of jogging for an hour, jog/walk for 4 minutes, sprint for 1.  Do this until your workout is complete.

Space out your workouts

Running is a high impact cardio workout on the body. Think about it: you're constantly pounding on your leg muscles and bones, not to mention your entire spine as well. While running is important and is a great way to stimulate muscles all over your body, doing something that is so high impact every day for long periods of time is not giving your muscles enough time to heal.  After a high impact/high intensity workout, it can take your body at LEAST 3 days to heal.  But you don’t want to wait for more than 6 days before you repeat your cardio workout, or do another type of cardiovascular exercise.  

        What I like to do (take it or leave it), is to work my legs on Mondays and Fridays, arms/back Tuesdays and Thursdays, and cardio Wednesdays and Saturdays.  That is, if I get in every workout that I plan.  You might be wondering how I manage to keep up my amazing 6 pack (lol right).  I work out my abs every day that I think about it.  According to the strength and conditioning coach at Troy University, you can work out your abs and calves every day if you wanted to.  These muscles are really thick and can heal quickly. 

Slow it down!

There is a difference between cardio and fat burning exercises. While cardio workouts CAN burn fat, they will not maximize the potential fat burn. You can actually alter a few things from your normal cardio workout to make it a fat burning workout. During a steady run, your heart rate will be around the 180 bpm range. At this point, your body is in “cardio mode”. Your body is gaining the ability to take in more oxygen and is improving your lung, heart, and blood vessel functions. However, when your heart rate stays between 120-140 bpm, your body is in “fat burn mode”. The best way I've found to keep my heart rate in this range is to walk on the treadmill at about 3-3.5 mph (enough to keep you breathing slightly heavy) with a 4+ incline. Something that helps me know that I've reached the fat burning point of my workout is when my stomach sweat is cold. Gross, I know. If you get to this point, don’t quit!

Let me know if any of these tips have helped you, or if you have any of your own.  Also, if you have any suggestions or ideas of things I could write about, feel free to comment below or let me know on any of my social medias.

3 Exercises You May Be Doing Wrong

        For many exercises, quality is more important than quantity.  Using the correct form when working out is important for injury prevention and muscle conditioning.  The lunge, crunch, and plank are three exercises that are commonly performed incorrectly.

LUNGE

Lunges are a great way to strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.  One of the most common mistakes while performing a lunge is actually lunging too far forward (pictured) where the knee is lined up with or in front of the toe.  This puts unwanted stress on the knee, rather than the leg and butt muscles. 

When doing a lunge, not only should you remember to keep your lower leg at a right angle with your foot, but you should also keep your head and chest upright, with your shoulders back.  Keeping good posture will help ensure that the right muscles get worked out and reduce muscle strain.  When bringing yourself back UP from a lunge, remember to use your front leg to bring your weight up.  The lunging leg is the one your are working at the time.

CRUNCH

I see this mistake so often.  When performing a basic crunch or situp, it is common to keep your hands behind your head.  After a few crunches, your core becomes tired and you want to find ways to make your 100 reps easier or faster.  Pulling on your head like I've demonstrated above is putting stress on your neck rather than your abs.  In a way, your arms are doing all of the work for you, while crunches are supposed to work your core.

Instead of pulling on your neck, simply rest your head in your hands and focus on squeezing your core to pull your body up.  To perform a simple crunch, only go up far enough to lift your shoulders and upper back off the floor, lower yourself (not all the way back to the floor), and repeat.  Keep your elbows out, look up, and keep your chin off of your chest.  Imagine that you have a grapefruit fit under your chin while you're crunching.  Also imagine that you have a string attached to your breast bone and someone straight above you is pulling on that string to lift you up.

If you find it too difficult to keep your elbows out to your side, and you frequently catch yourself pulling your head rather than using your core, try crossing your arms over your chest while keeping good form with your head as well.
*Try to keep your feet on the floor as best as you can while crunching.  If your core isn't strong enough yet, find a partner who can hold your feet down or something to fit your feet under so you aren't relying on your feet to pull your body up*

PLANK

The plank is a great move to throw in your workout because it doesn't just work your abs.  Your entire body is working hard to hold this difficult position.  Remember to keep your butt down and your back as flat as possible and keep your forearm and upper arm at a right angle to ensure that your shoulders are getting a good workout as well.  This move is HARD, but so good for you.  Keep breathing during your hold and try to keep your core as stable as possible.

While this is technically a plank because I'm still holding my body off the floor, I'm putting the majority of my weight on my elbows and toes because I am leaning forward so far.  Try not to let your back cave in, but let it be like a flat shelf from your shoulders to your butt.

Keep your weight evenly distributed between your elbows and toes and keep your arms lined up with your shoulders.   

How I Fought the Freshman Fifteen

        You always hear that “everyone’s body is different” and “what may work for me may not work for you” but it's true.  ESPECIALLY when it comes to weight loss or getting in shape.  There are different body types and everyone's metabolism varies, causing some people to lose weight quickly or slowly.  But I have noticed ways that I can keep weight off and tone up even with all of the nasty foods you might “have to buy” and are surrounded by on a college budget.  Now keep in mind that I'm not a certified nutritionist or physical trainer or anything like that, but exercising and staying healthy is a big passion of mine, so I catch myself researching and experimenting with different exercises.  So, here is what I have learned to work to completely avoid and fight that dreaded freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior fifteen.

Left: Winter Senior Year (2014)
Right: Spring Freshman Year (2015)

EXERCISE

        This is kind of a given, but many students tend to forget when they're staying busy with classes, homework, and other campus events.  But fitting some sort of exercise into your every day routine will not only make you feel better, but you'll also be on the road to slimming down!  Some easy ways to fit in a little bit of exercise includes walking to class, always taking the stairs, or even play basketball with friends.

        I have a pretty busy schedule, but every day I usually have some sort of odd break between classes or practices, so I'll use that time to go to the campus gym and either run or do some sort of weight lifting for about 30 minutes to an hour.  Many people like to work out at the end of the day, but I prefer to exercise at the beginning if possible.  Working out towards the beginning of my day just wakes me up and puts me in a better mood for the whole day.  There's a lot of science behind that, but I won't go into those details :)

        If you're just too busy to fit in a 30 minute workout at some point in your day, there are SO many workouts online (I LOVE Pinterest) that you could pull up on your phone.  I love to do the 5-10 minute workouts before showers if I haven't had time to work out at any other point that day.  I mean, you're about to shower.  So why not work up a little sweat?? That is a GREAT way to fit in some small workouts into your busy schedule.  (If you want me to go into detail with my workouts, let me know)

DRINK WATER

        Another given…but so important!!  Girls, go buy a cute pink water bottle from Walmart and keep it in your backpack (there's a special holder for it remember?).  Having a cute water bottle always helps me get excited about drinking water…weird I know, but try it! Get one with a straw so while you're sitting in class or even walking to your next one you can be sipping on it all day.  You will be going to the bathroom a lot, so be prepared.

        Once you start learning to be less dependent on drinks other than water you will notice a difference in how you feel, and possibly how you look!  As soon as I made the decision to drink nothing but water, I noticed that I felt so much better and not so groggy.  As soon as I tried to drink a soda, it made me sick!  So now I only drink water, and occasionally some lemonade or even an iced coffee, but not much else.  Not only will you feel and look better, but you'll save so much money!  Only a few restaurants charge for cups of water, so choose the healthier, budget friendly route and order water instead of sweet tea!

  

        *tip for those who think they'll get headaches from not drinking caffeine: slowly wean yourself off of it!  If you have one drink with caffeine a day, try to go 5 days without it, and work yourself up until you don't crave it anymore!  It takes dedication, but if you really want to make a difference, you have to suck it up at some point and deal with the cravings.  It's not impossible, y'all!

 SLEEP

        Sleep: a college student’s best friend.  It's a blessing to have a break between classes to have a quick nap.  Really try to get organized and manage your time wisely so you can get to bed at a reasonable hour.  Start to train your body to go to bed earlier, or at least try to find times to squeeze in a power nap.  A power nap is NOT a 2 hour sleep.  A power nap is a 20-30 minute snooze.  You'll definitely notice a difference in how you feel between long sleeps and power naps.  Sleeping gives your body time to heal itself from exercise and of course give you some more energy to get through your day.

EAT HEALTHY

        It's common for students to automatically assume that there's no way they can eat healthy while in college.  There's the popular stereotype that college students are always eating ramen and cereal out of miscellaneous containers, but it doesn't have to be that way.  I don't know how other college dining halls are set up, but at least at Troy’s there is a shelf of apples and oranges.  (Do you realize how expensive those are at the grocery store?) So after you've (hopefully) eaten a healthy meal in your dining hall, grab an apple or two and save them for a snack when you're dying for that bagel from Einstein’s or those peanut M&Ms.  Now that's probably not the best example of how to stay healthy in college, but just be smart and aware of what you're putting into your body.  And when you see opportunities for (free) healthy food, don't hesitate to take it!

        “Myfitnesspal” is a GREAT app to use if you want to watch what you eat.  It's so simple too!  You just enter in your information (height, weight, etc.) and what your goals are (gain or lose weight, and how much) and it tells you how many calories you can eat in a day and still lose or gain the amount of weight you wish.  REMEMBER: there's a huge difference between 1000 calories of chicken and vegetables and 1000 calories of McDonalds.  You just enter the food that you eat into the app and it will tell you if you've reached your sodium or cholesterol limit of the day, etc.  The app has an exercise section so whenever you go on a run on the treadmill or even a bike ride, you can enter in how many calories you burned, and it will add that amount back to how many calories you can eat!  It will even count your steps!  After using the app for a few weeks, it made me much more conscious of what I ate and how many calories I was actually burning in an ordinary day.

        So there’s just a few things I've learned to help make sure that I avoid gaining unnecessary weight and how I can feel healthier all day long.  Hopefully these tips will help you and if I didn't explain anything in detail enough or if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!