Five muscle-building moves that you can do anywhere!

When we're on the run, short on time, or out of town, it can be difficult to get a work out in.  Now, I am all for NO EXCUSES, so here are five moves that you can do no matter where you are.  You don't need any equipment, just your own body weight!

-It is best to warm up for about 5 minutes before starting.  Your warmup can include light cardio (jumping jacks, jump rope, high knees) and dynamic stretching.
-Do each move 10-12 times each, repeating the whole circuit (all 5 moves) 3-4 times.  Make sure to focus on the muscles that you're working.  The slower you do these moves, the better.
-You can also add in 20-30 minutes of cardio (running/walking, biking, dancing, etc.).

1.  Push-ups:  Correct form here is key.  To do a standard push-up, start with your hands just wider than your shoulders, feet either hip-width apart or together.  Make sure that your wrists, elbows, and shoulders are in line and pressure is even on your hands and feet.  Keep your head in alignment with your spine and make sure that your core is tight so it doesn't sink down or arch up.  Slowly lower your chest to the floor and push back up.  Imagine pushing the floor away versus pushing your body away from the floor.   

To Modify:  Complete the pushups on your toes.  The form remains the same:  back flat, core tight, head in line with your spine.  You can also alternate one knee down and then the other if you are ready for more of a challenge but not yet ready for pushups on your toes. 
Muscle groups worked:  rear shoulder, chest, triceps, and abs.   
Variations:  tricep, wide, decline, incline, plyometric.

2.  Squats or lunges:  Both of these exercises work the largest muscles which are in the lower body.  Don't be surprised if your heart rate goes up and you are out of breath doing these!
Squats:  start with feet a little wider than hip-width apart, with all of your weight in your heels.  Keep your chest up, your back flat, and push your glutes back like you are sitting down.  Make sure to keep your knees even with your ankle and don't let them go past your toes.  Slowly stand back up, pushing all of your weight into your heels.  For more of a challenge, don't come all the way up to standing before lowering back down to do the next rep.

Lunges:  Start with your legs in a staggered stance.  Make sure that you step far enough forward so that you feel balanced and when you go into the lunge, your knee doesn't come forward over your toes.  Also, make sure your feet are not on the same track, meaning they're not one right behind the other but your back foot is off to the side of your front foot.  Just as with the squat, keep your weight in the front heel and try to keep as little of your weight as possible in the back foot.  You could even lift it up to make sure it's just there for balance.  Press down into the front heel and slowly push back up to standing.   

To Modify:  Just don't go down as low.  You will still be working all the same muscles if you go down half way.
Muscle groups worked:  glutes, quads, calves, hamstrings, abs.
Variations:  squats:  deadlift, one-legged, jumping; lunges:  forward, backward, jumping, plyo (switch front and back leg).

3. Bridges:  Start on the floor with your lower back pressed into the mat, hands by your side, neck relaxed, and both feet on the floor about hip distance apart.  Using the muscles in your glutes, push up into a bridge as high as you can, making sure to squeeze your muscles as you do this.  Slowly lower back to the floor.    

To Modify:  There is not much modification here, just don't push up as high into the bridge.  You can keep it lower, just make sure you squeeze your glutes as hard as you can each time.
Muscle groups worked:  glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs, lower back, center abs.
Variations:  one legged, pulsing.

4.  Crunches:  This is another exercise where form is key.  Start on the floor with your lower back pressed into the mat, hands lightly touching the sides of your head (not pressing into your head or pulling on your neck), chin fist-distance away from your chest, knees bent and feet apart.  Contract your ab muscles and think about pulling them toward your spine.  Be sure not to push them out because doing so does not activate the abs.  Use that contraction to lift you up, rather than using your hands.  You should keep your gaze just in front of you on a spot on the ceiling so you do not strain your neck.  Slowly lower and as you do, make sure that your lower back does not arch up.  It really doesn't matter how high up you come in a crunches; what matters is that you have correct form and really focus on contracting your ab muscles.   

To Modify:  Don't lift up as high.  You can also keep your arms on the floor to give yourself a little more leverage to push up.
Muscle groups worked:  depending on the type of crunch you're doing, you can work all of your ab muscles.  These are lower abs, upper abs, front of the abs (the abs that make up the six pack), sides of the abs and the obliques.
Variations:  there are so many variations of crunches!  Reverse, bicycle, frog, oblique, double (reverse and regular at the same time), leg-lower, knees up, legs up.

5.  Back raises:  These are also known as Supermans.  Basically they are a crunch for your back.  You need to do these types of exercises because the core is made up of more than just the abs.  To really see ab definition, you also have to work your back, and this is one way to do it.  Start by laying on your stomach with your legs out straight, about hip width apart, arms out in front, shoulder width apart.  Keep your neck in alignment with your spine and make sure not to crane it up or push it down.  The best way to do this is to keep your gaze about 3 feet in front of you.  Contract your abs, don't push them into the floor.  Simultaneously lift your arms and legs, contracting the muscles in your back.  Hold and then release slowly to back to the floor.  For an additional challenge, don't lay all the way back down to the floor before doing another rep.   

To Modify:  lift one arm and one leg off the ground at a time, lift just the arms, or just the legs.  Muscle groups worked:  back, glutes, hamstrings.
Variations:  pulsing (lift up and pulse back in raised position), swim (alternate arms and legs quickly without touching the ground), arms back (like you're flying), twist (lift up and touch back of thigh with hand), knees bent (bring knees in as you lift your upper and lower body).

There you have it--the five exercises that you can do anywhere that work the major muscle groups.  Of course there are many, many more, but these are simple, have different variations, and can be modified easily.  If you'd like more information about these exercises or any others, just ask!  Thank you for reading!