RECIPE FOR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE BUNS

I would be lying if I said that I want to be at the gym everyday.  I'm human, and that means there are days where I have no desire to workout, and all I want to do is lay in bed and read or play my 3DS.  So, sometimes I do stay at home, and I do a workout in my apartment.  There is a lot you can do in your home, but to make it simple I'm only going to talk about exercises that don't require equipment for this post.

Squats: This is pretty much the best exercise ever invented ... ever.  Seriously, go squat right now.  Squats are for everyone (well everyone that wants a nice butt. If you want your butt to suck feel free to skip these).  They will work out your entire lower body and your core but you will primarily feel them in the quads and glutes.

Dat booty

When you perform a squat, form is extremely important.  You want to stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead.  Next, you want to sit back, really focus on pushing your butt backwards here (the way you would sit in a chair).  You can hold your arms out in front of you if you are having difficulty balancing.  You want to lower your body at least until your thighs become parallel with the floor.  When you become parallel with the floor your shoulders should be over your knees and your chest should be up, not facing the floor.  People used to think if your knees went past your toes in a squat you were going to injure your knees. While this isn't true (in fact, in a deep squat your knees will usually go past your toes for at least part of the squat), you can use this as a way to monitor your form.  If you knees are going significantly past your toes before your thighs are parallel with the ground, you are probably not pushing your butt far enough behind you.  

Oh hey that's me, I cannot do a home workout without the pups

If you are having trouble getting your thighs to parallel, don't give up! This is a problem for a lot of beginners.  You can use a chair at first: stand about half of your normal step in front of the chair. Lower yourself onto the chair without using your arms, concentrating on pushing your butt back like a normal squat.  Once you are sitting on the chair, stand back up without using your arms or pushing off.  When you can complete 3 sets of 15 squats, sitting down to standing up, advance your squat. Now, as you go down, you no longer sit but rather just touch the chair with the back of your legs before standing.  Then remove the chair entirely.  

Bridges: These can emphasize the quads or glutes (or both) depending on your foot placement.  Lay on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor, then push through your feet to raise your hips as high as you can.  To emphasize your quads, place your foot flat on the floor; to emphasize your glutes, use only your heels.  You can either repeatedly raise your hips and lower them, or hold the contraction at the top (or both if you want to really tear it up).  At the top position, all of your weight should be on your feet and shoulders - you can use your arms to balance yourself though.  If this is too easy for you, use one leg at a time.

Lunges: Again, this is an exercise that works the entire lower body.  They are awesome (but not as awesome as squats).  From a standing position, take a large step forward and lower your body between your legs by bending both of your knees.  Lower your body until both of your knees are bent to a 90 degree angle, and keep your weight centered between your feet.  If your back leg isn't bent then you probably either aren't lunging deep enough or your weight is too far forward.  If you have any history or knee problems use CAUTION when performing lunges.

If these don't make your thighs burn, you're doing them wrong.

Body Weight Calf Raises: As the name implies this exercise works the calves.

They are pretty simple to do, from a standing position push through your toes and raise your feels off the ground as high as you can.  Again if they are too easy do them one leg at a time.

Pliee or Sumo Squat: By modifying the squat you can place extra emphasis on the adductors (groin) 

So, for this mix-up with the squat, stand with your legs about twice shoulder width and turn your toes out like a dancer.  Then, for this squat, instead of pushing your butt back, you want to go straight down, pushing your knees to opposite walls.  You want to stand as straight up and down as possible.  You're probably gonna feel off-balance - take your time, and get the feel for the exercise.  As your muscles warm up and you become stronger and more flexible, you'll be able to go deeper into this squat (hue hue hue deeper).

yeahhhh I wasn't gonna put a pic of me here

Fair warning, this exercise will probably make you feel super awkward the first time you do it.  I mean, the whole legs spread and squatting and all that ...... but suck it up, buttercup, they're good for you.

Clam Shells or Fire Hydrants: This exercise is meant to work the gluteus medius. This is an important muscle because it plays a major role in stabilizing your hips.  When you work it, you'll feel it in the top and outer part of your butt.

So the easy version is the clam shell.  You lie on your side with your knees bent, one leg on top of the other.  Then you open you top leg up so it looks like a clam shell.  

The fire hydrant you are on your hands and knees, and lift one leg out to the side.  Kinda like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant... Classy, I know.

This is another one that will make you feel awkward.  Sorry I'm not sorry about it.

Donkey Kicks:  This exercise is meant to work out your hamstrings and glutes

A fabulous pair of hamstrings- seriously, how silly is this picture? I had to pick it

For this exercise, you need to be on your hands and knees again. This time, stick one leg out behind you and then raise it up to the ceiling.  I recommend trying this move with your leg straight and also with your knee bent. It changes how your muscles activate, so it will work your legs differently (plus you don't have to spread your legs).

Push-ups: This exercise works primarily your pectoralis (chest) group, and secondarily, the biceps and triceps

Almost everyone already knows how to do a push-up.  I mean, it's like every P.E. teacher's favorite exercise.  Support your body weight with you toes and hands, hold your core tight so that your body is a straight line between your shoulders and toes.  Lower you body by bending your arms at the elbow.  As you lower yourself, keep your core tight so that you do not have a "sway back".  Ideally, you can get to the point where you lower yourself until your chest touches the floor, but don't worry if you can't right away. Just work within your limits and as you become stronger your depth will improve.

If you have trouble with push-ups, try starting with your hands on the wall and then move to the floor with your knees on the ground instead of your toes.  Regardless of the difficulty you start at with the push-ups, make sure that your body remains straight.  Just because you are on your knees doesn't mean you should stick your butt up in the air - I don't care how nice your butt looks, that'll ruin your push-ups.

Diamond Push-ups: This exercise works the chest like regular push-ups, but because of the change in position this will place extra emphasis on the triceps group.

These should be performed the same as normal push-ups, with one modification: your hands should be placed close together so that they form a diamond.

Bench Dips:  This exercise works out your triceps as well.
For this exercise you'll need a chair (I know I said no equipment, but let's not get picky - no one really considers chairs as exercise equipment).  Place your hands on either side of your hips on the edge off the chair, and keep your legs straight out in front of you.  Use your arms to hold your body up and then lower you butt toward the floor by bending your elbows.  Lower yourself as far as you feel comfortable, and then return to the starting position.  Make sure your elbows point straight behind you.  It is very important that you only move through the range of motion that you feel you can control. If you feel like you are unable to push back to the starting position, you most likely went too far down for your current strength level.

Dexter had a blast with these

There is a lot you can do to workout at home, but keep in mind there is not as much you can do for your back muscles and you biceps without equipment.  Don't forget about those muscles, too. Remember, curls for the girls.  Now, go, and may your butt always look nice (guys, you need a nice butt too).

Keep in mind, this is a list of exercises, not a specific workout. I just want to educate you on what these certain exercises will do for you, and how to do them.

**NOTE: Some of these exercises are very complicated.  If you are new to exercising, I recommend getting a session with a personal trainer and asking to be taught how to properly perform these exercises.  If you experience sharp, shooting, or extreme pain at any time, stop exercising immediately and see your doctor.  As always, consult your doctor before you make changes to your lifestyle.**