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

Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe

     Taco seasoning is a delicious add-in for a variety of foods.  Sadly, store bought seasonings are full of unhealthy junk like MSG and loads of sodium.  Making your own seasonings is much more nutritious than using the store bought ones.
     My mom has made this seasoning for years.  Whenever we run low, I just make another batch and we're good for a few months.  I usually double the recipe that I'm putting down below but feel free to make as little or as much as you wish.

Mix the following ingredients in a small container and enjoy:

• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp crush red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1tsp black pepper

Healthy Taco Salad Recipe

     I just made this taco salad for my family the other night and they loved it!  The best part?  It's SUPER cheap.  I made this while in school and we had leftovers for the next day or two.
     This recipe served my family of seven comfortably with a small amount left over and we only spent SEVENTEEN dollars at the grocery store.  It costs double that amount for my family to eat fast food.  So not only will this feed you family delicious, healthy food, but will also fit just about anyone's budget.  I hope you try this out for yourselves and love it as much as I do!

Needed ingredients:

• 2-3 frozen large chicken breasts (or 4-5 small ones)
• 1 white onion
• 2 cans of whole kernel corn
• 2 cans of black beans
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes with chilis
• approx. 3 tablespoons of homemade or store bought taco seasoning (post with seasoning recipe coming soon)
• fresh spinach

What to do:

1. Thoroughly cook the chicken in a skillet with olive oil. (optional: season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic salt)
2. Chop the onion and brown in a large pot with olive oil.
3. Once browned, turn heat down and slowly heat corn, beans, and tomatoes. (sometimes I add fresh lime juice here)
4. Mix in taco seasoning.
5. Once chicken is cooked, shred and add to the large pot.
6. Serve on top of fresh spinach and top with fresh lime juice, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

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.   

3 Meals to Make on a College Budget

        As mentioned in my last post, eating healthy is crucial to begin and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  As many of you may already know, living off of a college budget is tough.  But I have learned some easy recipes that are "college friendly", actually taste good, and won't break your bank account.  Keep in mind that some of these meals might not be suitable for someone who's living somewhere without an oven or a stove top.
        Frozen chicken breasts are my best friend when it comes to making easy meals in the apartment.  You can get a bag for less than $10 at Walmart or Food World and it'll last you for several meals.  Be very cautious when cooking and handling raw chicken.  Make sure everything is sanitized once you're done cooking and make sure you take the time to check if the chicken in cooked thoroughly.
        When I cook, I usually am cooking for myself, Taylor, and his brother Mason.  Maybe that will give you some idea to how you could adjust the recipe to fit your needs.  If I don't explain anything well enough feel free to critique me or ask any questions in the comments.



BALSAMIC CHICKEN (One of my favorites)

        This recipe has so much flavor and is so easy to make!  If you want to make it even healthier, use less dressings and honey to make less sauce.  If you want to add more color, add some cherry tomatoes in with the other vegetables.

What I use:

• 3 frozen chicken breasts (1 per person)
• 1 12 oz bag of frozen or fresh green beans
• 1/2 box of uncut fresh mushrooms
•  1/4 cup of Italian dressing
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp balsamic dressing

What I do:

1. Thoroughly cook the chicken in a skillet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper if you wish; set aside when done
2. If green beans are frozen, you'll want to cook them before the mushrooms.  Use the same skillet that you used for the chicken and cook the green beans with some olive oil.  Once the green beans are cooked through, wash and add in the mushrooms until they begin to soften.
3. Remove the vegetables and set aside.  Add both dressings and honey into the skillet until it begins to bubble.  Add the chicken to warm it back up and get coated with the sauce.  If your vegetables stay warm you can plate everything at this point, but if they cool down too much you could throw the vegetables in to heat back up.

BUFFALO CHICKEN BOMBS

        Now this recipe isn't the healthiest to make, but it is so delicious and easy for those nights that you don't want to put a lot of effort into a meal.  Pair this with a side of green vegetables and you're all set.

What I use:

• 2 12 oz cans of white or dark chicken (drained)
• 1 can of croissant dough
• 1/4 cup of hot sauce (you can use more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
• approx. 3 tablespoons of mayo (eyeball this. You really only need enough to make a thick mixture) 
• *optional: 1 powdered ranch packet

What I do:

1. Preheat oven according to croissant can directions.
2. Combine chicken, hot sauce, powdered ranch if desired, and mayo in a bowl
3. Unravel and scoop in chicken mixture evenly between croissants and fold edges
4. Bake according to croissant directions and enjoy!

CHICKEN FAJITAS

        I love this recipe because of it is so versatile.  You can add in or take away the ingredients that you do or don't like and it'll still taste amazing.  The vegetables add so much color and texture to the meal and it is so filling.  Make it a little healthier and skip the tortilla, it actually tastes amazing in a bowl!

What I use:

• 3 frozen chicken breasts
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 2-3 tablespoons of hot sauce
• olive oil
• 1/2 of a yellow onion
• approx. 1 bell pepper per person (use different colors for flavor variety)
• 1 lime
• *optional: tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream

What I do:

1. Marinade and thaw chicken breasts in refrigerator for up to 2 hours in 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp hot sauce, and 1 tbsp taco seasoning.
2. Cook chicken in skillet thoroughly and set aside.
3. Use same skillet and cook onions in a bit of olive oil until they are golden brown.  Add in peppers until they begin to wilt and char.
4. While vegetables are cooking, cut chicken into strips and add into skillet.  Add another tbsp of taco seasoning and more hot sauce if you wish.
5. Serve on a tortilla or in a bowl with any toppings you want and a bit of lime juice.

I hope y'all will try some of these recipes and enjoy them as much as I do.  Once again, let me know if you have any questions or if I need to clarify anything.  Send me a picture/message on any of my social medias letting me know that you tried one of the recipes and what you think of it (my username for everything is @shaynerw)