JockBoyLocker.com - The Lockerroom Blog

Lower abs

How can I get my lower abs more defined. I do situps and crunches all the time and it seems like I cant tone up lower abs. Can you help?

I get this question a lot. Here are a few exercises that you can do to get your abs in better shape.

1. Leg Lifts

Start off by laying on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs so they are vertical.

Contract your midsection by engaging the upper abs.

Then, lower both legs so that the back of your feet are right above the ground. After holding that position for a few second, return your legs to the vertical position.

Repeat.

2. The Ab Wheel

Yes believe it or not the ab wheel is a great workout for your abs. Try it out and make sure you do the exercise properly so you dont hurt yourself.

3. Kick Boxing

I bet you didn’t expect that to be the third exercise! Kick boxing is an excellent way to develop the lower abdominal muscles. The abs are used quite heavily every time you throw a kick towards the heavy bag. Whack on some sneakers and go out and try to kick the heavy bag 100 times for each leg without stopping. Round house kicks where the top of your foot strikes the side of the bag are the best for this.

Building Bigger Triceps

Muscle: Triceps Brachii: Long Head

Origin: At the scapular infraglenoid tubercle

Inserts: At the posterior surface of the ulnar olecranon

Function: Extends the elbow and extends the arm behind the body; has minimal action, except when the extension is forceful

Muscle: Triceps Brachii: Lateral Head

Origin: At the lateral and posterior proximal humerus

Inserts: At the posterior surface of the ulnar olecranon

Function: Extends the elbow; minimal action, except when the extension is forceful

Muscle: Triceps Brachii: Medial Head

Origin: At the medial and posterior distal humerus

Inserts: At the posterior surface of the ulnar olecranon

Function: Extends the elbow; “Work Horse”—active in all arm extensions

Indications of Weakness

If the triceps becomes shortened, the ROM of elbow flexion decreases. Shortening and hypertonicity of the triceps can also decrease strength in the biceps neurologically due to the muscles’ interaction as agonist and antagonist. Numbness, tingling, or weakness in the arm, forearm, or hand indicate possible radial nerve entrapment in the shoulder due to shortening of the triceps long head compressing the nerve. Weakness in the triceps can cause problems with locking out the bench press or overhead shoulder press.

Optimal Training Principles

In triceps extensions with little or no resistance, the medial head is the Work Horse and is always active. The lateral head contracts minimally. The long head is virtually inactive. In triceps extensions with resistance, the medial is involved even more. The lateral and long heads are recruited to aid. The lateral and long heads are reserved for heavily resisted elbow extensions. Train all three heads with a variety of exercises in different planes and ROM.

Exercising the long head (a.k.a. the “Lazy Head”) requires a lot of weight. This head fully contracts only when the weight is in the 5 to 8 ROM range. It is maximally stressed in:

(1) Close-grip bench press

(2) Lying E-Z curl triceps extension

(3) Power lifter tricep push-downs (by internally rotating the hands and allowing elbows to swing out)

Exercising the lateral head:

(1) Narrow grip triceps push-down

(2) Dumbbell kickbacks

Exercising the medial head:

(1) Used in most triceps exercises

(2) Dumbbell kickbacks

(3) Heavy overhead presses

Triceps isometrically contract the most at 90 degrees of arm flexion (Currier). The exercises that best mimic that position are:

(1) Close-grip bench presses

(2) Dips

(3) Triceps push-downs

All have external torque patterns that peak at close to 90 degrees. The triceps kickback has a reverse torque pattern, overloads the triceps at its weakest position of full extension, and recruits all three heads. The triceps extensor or stabilization response: Pressure on the ulnar surface of the palm (little finger-side) causes a neuromuscular reflex that allows greater contraction of the triceps. The triceps reflex extensor maneuver (TREM technique) can be used in the bench press and triceps push-down. TREM technique—Bench Press: The hands are positioned by internally rotating the arm five degrees when the person is under the bar, and the bar sits across the palm. TREM technique—Triceps Push-Down: The hands internally rotate on the bar and allow the elbows to swing out. This is the “Power lifter” version and allows for more contraction and strength development, especially in the long head. Gorman states that the strength of the triceps, like that of the biceps, varies with the arm position relative to the shoulder: (1) Overhead Triceps Extension (arm above shoulder) = 95 pounds (43 kg) (2) Horizontal Machine Triceps Extension (arms level with shoulder) = 82 pounds (37 kg) (3) Dips (arms below shoulders) = 112 pounds (51 kg) Obviously, dips are one of the better triceps exercises, provided the person is strong enough, or their shoulders are healthy enough to perform them with good form.

Workout Wednesday's

Starting today and every Wednesday we will be having "Workout Wednesday's". I will be posting an article on fitness, nutrition or sports conditioning every Wednesday. If you are looking for advice with working out, nutrition or sports conditioning dont forget to send me an email at troy {at} jockboylocker.com. I am a certified personal trainer and will be happy to help you out and answer your questions. Your questions will be featured on the blog along with my advice for you. Check back every Wednesday to see what new articles are being posted.

Workout Tips

A good friend of mine Matt Hennie has a blog called Gaytlsports.com. He asked me to do an article for him about the 5 mistakes to avoid at the gym so head over to his blog and check it out. I was flattered that he asked and I hope you take the time to check out my article and his blog.

Its also a great place to bookmark so you can come back and check out whats going on in gay and straight sports here in Atlanta and around the world. There is also a lot of great eye candy there. Matt does a great job so show your support.

Navy Seals Workout

If you like a challenge and if you want to lose weight, fat, and strengthen your body up give this a try. But I highly recommend that you follow this plan step by step. DO NOT JUMP FORWARD. As with all workouts this workout is done at your own risk. You should consult a doctor or physician better attempting any strenuous workout routine. I have a client who has been doing it now for 9 weeks and they have had great results. This program consists of a lot of running and swimming so be sure to prepare yourself mentally for long hard cardio workouts. I recommend that you take it one day at a time and always remember Don't give up!

First 9 weeks:

Week 1

Running:     2 miles a day 3 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     4 sets of 15 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       4 sets of 20 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 15 min. 4-5 days a week

Week 2

Running:     2 miles a day 3 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     5 sets of 20 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       5 sets of 20 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 3 pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 15 min. 4-5 days a week

Week 3

Running:     2 miles a day 3 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     5 sets of 25 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       5 sets of 25 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 4 pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 20 min. 4-5 days a week

Week 4

Running:     3 miles a day 3 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     5 sets of 25 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       5 sets of 25 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 4 pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 20 min. 4-5 days a week

Weeks 5-6

Running:     3 miles a day 4 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     6 sets of 25 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       6 sets of 25 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 4 pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming: Swim continuously for 25 min. 4-5 days a week

Weeks 7-8

Running:     4 miles a day 4 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     6 sets of 25 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       6 sets of 25 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 5 pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 30 min. 4-5 days a week

Week 9

Running:     4 miles a day 4 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     6 sets of 30 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       6 sets of 30 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 6 pull ups 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 35 min. 4-5 days a week

Second 9 weeks:

Week 1&2

Running:     4 miles a day 5 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     6 sets of 30 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       6 sets of 35 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      3 sets of 10 pull ups 3 days a week

Dips:           3 sets of 20 dips 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 35 min. 4-5 days a week

Weeks 3-4

Running:     5 miles a day 5 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     8 sets of 30 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       8 sets of 35 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      4 sets of 10 pull ups 3 days a week

Dips:           5 sets of 20 dips 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 45 min. 4-5 days a week

Week 5

Running:     5 miles a day 5 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     10 sets of 30 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       10 sets of 35 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      4 sets of 12 pull ups 3 days a week

Dips:           8 sets of 20 dips 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 60 min. 4-5 days a week

Week 6-9

Running:     6 miles a day 5 days a week, using an 8:30 pace

Pushups:     12 sets of 30 pushups 3 days a week

Sit ups:       12 sets of 35 reps 3 days a week

Pull ups:      5 sets of 12 pull ups 3 days a week

Dips:           12 sets of 20 dips 3 days a week

Swimming:  Swim continuously for 75 min. 4-5 days a week

Are you a realjock?

Have you checked out realjock.com? If not, you need to go over and set up a profile right away. Its an awesome site with a lot of hot athletic guys. There is also a lot of information on working out, health, fitness and even workout programs for you. Not to mention a very active forum section where you can read and post on just about any topic. As you know I am a certified personal trainer and sports conditioner and I am continuously putting up new articles on here to help you out. Don't forget I'm even here to answer any questions you have about working out or sports training. When you head over to real jock make sure and look me up and add me to you buddylist or your hot list :-) http://www.realjock.com/JockBoyTroy. I'll see you there. 

Alcohol and working out

Thank God its Friday. That's right, the weekend has begun, and for the average guy, what do we do on weekends? PARTY! And let's face it, despite what you tell your parents, what do parties center around: beer! In college, social lives pretty much revolve around alcohol. Just about everyone in college drinks, many go into college saying they won't, few uphold that promise.

As bodybuilders, our bodies are our lives. We eat right throughout the week, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, stay as healthy as possible, and of course, workout. We put all these efforts into ourselves throughout the week, but on weekends we drink like fish and get shit faced. I used to drink heavily on party nights too, until a couple weeks ago when I realized just how much getting drunk was hurting my gains. I'm hoping that after you've read this article, for those of you that drink, you will see just how detrimental alcohol is to building muscle and hopefully cut down on drinking.

Alcohol is empty calories. It doesn't have any nutrients, but does have a caloric value of 7 calories per gram. In just one shot (1.5oz) of 80 proof vodka there's nearly 100 calories. For those of you trying to lose fat, forget it if you are drinking. Not only will the high calorie content of alcohol have a negative effect on your total calorie intake, but it also slows down your metabolism by disrupting the Kreb's cycle. Since the Kreb's cycle isn't working correctly, fats cannot be broken down. In short, your body is trying so hard to digest and metabolize the alcohol, that fat burning stops all together.

Alcohol consumption also hurts muscle growth. Not only due to hangovers lowering your workout intensity, but it actually lowers protein synthesis by 20%. Twenty percent! There are several reasons why it does this. For one, it dehydrates your muscle cells. As many know, hydrated and even over hydrated muscles (like when you take creatine) allows for a much higher anabolic environment. Because your cells aren't holding as much water, it becomes much harder to build muscle. The second reason why alcohol can severely hurt muscle growth is because it blocks the absorption of many important nutrients that are key to muscle contraction, relaxation and growth including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and potassium.

OK, so above I lied, there's actually a third way that alcohol slows down protein synthesis, I just wanted to dedicate a big part of this article to it. For those of you that don't already know this, alcohol lowers testosterone and increases estrogen! Yes, you read that right. In one particular study, men's testosterone levels were measured before and after consumption of alcohol. At the most intoxicated state, testosterone levels had dropped to an average of 25% lower. It was also interesting to note, that when blood alcohol levels were the highest, testosterone was at its lowest. Alcohol has also been shown to cause a quicker aromatization of androgens into estrogens, which would explain why heavy drinkers often get gynecomastria (bitch tits) over a period of time. For those of you taking andro (and I'm sure you already know my views on andro) I would absolutely avoid alcohol since you already are in risk for gynecomastria with the high androgen levels in your blood. By drinking, you are further putting yourself in risk for aromatization. We should also note, that in a study done with rats, alcohol reduced Insulin like Growth Hormone-1 (IGF-1) by up to 42%. That's a huge drop in IGF-1.

One thing I found unusual due to the drop in testosterone while drinking is that most guys get really horny. Beyond getting beer goggles, why is it that drinking makes you horny? What I found out is that because alcohol lowers testosterone levels so significantly, the body is struggling to bring them back up by releasing LH, in very large quantities. What's also interesting to note is that LH is just as responsible for arousal as testosterone. Unfortunately though, alcohol reduces testosterone levels at the Leydig cell, not the pituitary, so the LH is ineffective in raising testosterone levels.

Rather than just spitting facts at you, I'd like to take the time to talk about how drinking has affected my lifting. Before coming to college I had drank maybe 3 or 4 times in my entire life. My diet was always perfect, every day of the week, even on weekends. On the first night of college how ever, I discovered just how tasty (and fun) beer was. After that I'd drink every weekend, never on the night before a workout, but none-the-less every weekend. My diet was decent during the week (well, the best I could do with college food), but on weekends I'd wake up late missing at least 2 meals, and often only get 3-4 meals in on those days. Because of the lack of protein, reduction in test levels on those drinking nights and the catabolism due to the alcohol my gains suffered. I went into college last year at about 185 lbs and came out around 205. After cutting up for the summer, I was a lean 195. Had I not drank every weekend, I think I could have added about 10 more pounds of mass.

This year I refuse to make the same mistake. As bodybuilders we are always learning. One thing I've learned is that alcohol does effect your gains, and in a negative way. This year I will stay sober. I still plan on drinking, but I'll limit myself to a beer an hour, and no more than 3 or 4 a night. I suggest those of you in college who are serious about improving your physiques do the same. Maybe once a month I'll allow myself to get trashed.

So what if it is that time of the month, where you hand the keys to someone else and get bombed? Here are some simple hints as how to keep as much muscle as possible from that week while still having fun:

1. Leave at least 2 liters of water by your bedside to drink when you get home before you go to bed. Not only will this prevent a hangover, but it will also help to hydrate your muscles.

2. Drink a protein shake or eat something dense in protein before climbing into bed as well (if you can still stand). This will help curb the catabolism occurring inside your body, not to mention you always need protein.

3. When you wake up the next morning and roll over, pray the girl next to you looks as good as she did last night. If not, shuttle her out of the room as quick as possible before your friends can find out and bust your balls.

4. 45 minutes to an hour before breakfast have a serving of ZMA and 5-10 grams of glutamine. The ZMA will naturally raise your testosterone levels that were lowered from your night of drinking, and the glutamine will help stop catabolism.

5. Eat a big breakfast filled with foods that are rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Your body is craving these key nutrients since the alcohol diminished them the night before.

Let's face it, alcohol is fun, real fun. It makes fat girls attractive, gets ugly guys laid, gives the skinny, shy kid confidence to stand up and make a fool of himself, and helps uncoordinated, white guys like me dance. Unfortunately, it also reduces testosterone among all the other negative things mentioned earlier in this article. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have fun, don't be afraid to go out and have a good time. I've seen way too many bodybuilders who stay in on weekends. Go out, drink a few beers, have a good time, just keep it in moderation.

7 tips for mass and power

1. Eat Like a Bear

The only way you're going to move up to the top of the food chain is to eat like the top dog. In other words, to gain muscle, you need to stay in a state of energy excess. Eat everything that's not bolted down. Make sure you get at least a gram or two of protein for every pound of bodyweight and at least three to four grams of carbs. Eat quality fats like those found in flaxseed oil, olive oil, and natural peanut butter. And finally, cut out the off-season cardio, as this will only increase your calorie requirements.

2. Rely On Basic Movements

They're considered classics for a reason: they've withstood the test of time. Basic movements have cranked out more champions than you can count. You've got the bench, the squat and the dead lift. These should be a part of your arsenal. To these big three, you can add your basic barbell curls, military presses, and the like.

3. Be Tough As Nails When It Comes To Training

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got to train heavy to grow. That's right, but don't forget to train hard with high intensity. To make muscles explode, you got to annihilate them in the gym. You can train with poundage heavier than you can handle, but if you ignore proper form, you're going to miss the target muscles you're trying to hit. As a rule of thumb, train at 60-80% of your one rep max. Or, put on enough poundage where you can only crank out 6-10 reps per set at full intensity.

4. Stack More Than Just Plates

Probably the most overlooked aspect of bodybuilding is rest. Training in the gym tears down your muscles. Sleep is that time when your body rebuilds the damaged muscles. Without enough sleep, you'll never grow like you want. So make sure you stack enough Z's at night. You'll know what your body needs. As a guide, throw out your alarm clock. When you wake up on your own, you've slept enough.

5. Don't Over train

Over training can set you back months, even years. In terms of body parts, stick to training each body part only once a week. Like sleep, you need to make sure you give your muscles plenty of rest between each training session. In terms of sets, there's a baker's dozen and then there's a bodybuilder's dozen. For each body part, you should stick to twelve total sets. Again, pick a couple of basic movements, about three or four for each body part, and do three to four sets for each exercise. You're probably thinking this is going to be easy, but trust me, if you do the sets right, you're going to be in for a world of hurt. And if you're not, you’re not lifting hard enough. Finally, don't spend more than 90 minutes per training session. Anything more and you'll run the risk of over training.

6. Rest At Home, Not In the Gym

You should never rest for more than two minutes between sets. In 90-120 seconds, you have just enough time to catch your breath and hit that next set with maximum intensity. Rest beyond two minutes, and you run the risk of losing your pump. Once you lose the pump, forget about it. Your training is shot.

7. Consistency & Variation

Consistency means training when you're supposed to, not making lame excuses to watch TV or head to the bar. More than any other sport, bodybuilding requires a serious level of commitment and dedication. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. So when it's leg day, you do legs. Period. Take your training like a man. While you need to be consistent when it comes to training, you should also consider adding to variety to your routine when it becomes stagnant.

Mix up the order of your exercises. Change the grip here and there. Add a few drop sets for a change. The human body is highly adaptive. Keep it guessing.

Breakfast

Now more than ever there are more diets, theories, programs and pieces of exercise equipment bombarding us every day. However, America continues to grow fatter and fatter every year. Obesity is a major problem. There are numerous factors that play into gaining and losing weight such as activity level, cultural habits, genetics and so on. However, probably the most influential factor is energy intake (i.e. eating). You can work your butt off in the gym day in and day out. Yet, you will never have that six pack if you overeat everyday on top of that.

In the fight for the next big money maker of fat loss miracles, there are two that have stuck around for quite a while now. Those are:

1. Eat a good breakfast to "Jump Start" your metabolism.
2. Don't eat late at night because everything you eat will be stored as fat.

What Is The Truth?

Both of these have explanations and logical reasoning behind them, but regardless of how you come to the conclusion, they are, at the heart the same. But are they true? While it is true that the digestion of food does require energy and creates a thermogenic effect, the question at hand is if eating a breakfast in the morning results in a higher 24 hour energy expenditure or a negative net calorie balance.

The second theory that eating after a certain time (typically ranges between 6-8pm) results in the storage of every calorie that you eat. This is an interesting one that has perplexed me for quite some time. The notion that after 6pm our body alters the way that it processes nutrients is rather fascinating to me. Somehow, for some reason, after 6pm the metabolic fate of all nutrients (especially carbohydrates) is to be stored as fat. These two little snippets of nutritional folklore have hung around longer than most others and this as driven me to get to the bottom of it all. So the pushing question here is, "Are they true?" Recent research has found the answer to both of them! 867 individuals consisting of both men and women were studied for there food intake at various time throughout the day for a number of days. Neither the subjects, researchers, nor dietitians who analyzed the food for nutrient content were aware of which meals would be analyzed at what times of the day. This was done to prevent subjects from eating less/more or lying about actual intakes.

The food intakes were analyzed for density (calories per gram) and at what times of the day meals were eaten. The criteria for a "meal" was it had to be at least 50 calories and separated by 45 min from the previous food intake. They were also analyzed for a satiety index based on calories per minute.

This measure gives an idea of just how badly these people were stuffing themselves and at what times of the day. And as a side note, the average weight of the participants was 150 pounds, so no these were not already overweight people who were accustomed to overeating.

The First Point:

The results were interesting to say the least. The first major point was that as the day progressed meal size increased and the time between meals decreased. So people were eating more, more often! This is where the satiety index comes in.

For what ever reason people seem to feel more and more hungry as the day wears on and of course will eat until they are full. You know the old bodybuilders adage - You never want to go hungry!

The Second Point:

The next point made actually helps to answer the question about getting in a good breakfast. There was a very strong and negative correlation between meal size early in the morning and meal size late at night. That means people who ate meals with high energy content in the morning were eating less total calories the rest of the day, and vice versa. The people who didn't eat much in the morning actually ended up eating more the rest of the day.

Between 6pm and 11pm calorie intake per meal skyrocketed from 525 calories to a whopping 720 calories per meal. And remember, people were eating more meals more frequently at this time. Not only that, but the calorie density shot up.

So these people are eating high calorie, low volume / weight food. These are the people that always tell you that they don't eat much but can't seem to lose weight. On top of that, during that same time period carbohydrate intake shot from 35 grams per meal to 72 grams per meal. That is more than double!

This suggest that people tend to underestimate just how many calories they are eating and that is probably a direct result of feeling hungrier and hungrier as the day wears on. Many things can affect hunger, not just how much food is actually in your stomach. The things we see and smell, a phrase, someone just talking about food. All of these things can make you hungry. And the more time that has passed in the day only give more chances for one of those to pop up and make a person hungry.

There You Have It...

So there you have it. We have answered out two pressing questions. Does eating breakfast "Kick Start" your metabolism? No, the reason that eating breakfast can be a factor in a structured weight loss program is because you will tend to eat less calories over the course of a day. And our second questions, does restricting food past a certain time (especially carbohydrates) prevent a person from getting fat? Again, no it doesn't.

For what ever reason the overall calorie density of food that people choose to eat at these times of the day skyrockets. And more over, the foods that people seem to reach for seem to be carbohydrate rich. If one were to cut the carbs after 6pm, you just taken a big chunk out of your total calorie intake.

Add that to a good breakfast in the morning and you are likely to eat even less during the day. A lower total calorie intake over the course of a day, month or year is not a magic metabolic formula for fat loss. It is just another way to get you to eat less.

Conclusion

In today's modern world the average length of an individuals day has increased dramatically. Before the invention of the simple light bulb much of the day’s activities were over by sundown. Now we are up through all hours of the night. For most people, being up doesn't always involve being active.

There are many people who sit up watching late night infomercials thinking how they should get that new piece of exercise equipment and get back in shape while they munch on some delectable snack. The bottom line here is pretty simple. It's not the carbs, its not the time of day.

There is no magic ratio, combination or super pill that will make you thin. It comes down to being absolutely sure you know the exact number of calories you are putting into your body everyday.

Certified Personal Trainer on hand for you

Are you getting ready to buy a new pair of underwear and want to look your best while wearing it? How about showing off in your hot new swimsuit this year at the beach? And let's not forget about wearing a sexy new tank top with a pair of skimpy shorts to the gym.

While you are buying your underwear, swimwear and athletic wear from JockBoyLocker.com why not get some health and fitness advice from a certified personal trainer. Troy Meyers, one of the owners of JockBoyLocker.com has been a certified personal trainer and sports conditioner for over 5 years now. He has certifications from NESTA, Scirion Institute and IFPA. He is willing to help you any way he can, whether it be losing weight, gaining muscle, or training for your particular sport.

New articles will be posted on our blog on a regualr basis going over Nutrition, weigth training and sports conditioning and best of all he has made himself available to answer your questions. Email him at Trainer (at) JockBoyLocker.com. Let's get those emails started and keep an eye out on our blog for more fitness advice coming soon.

For some workout charts email Troy and he will send you some that you can print off and use to keep track of your workouts in the gym. Keeping track of your workouts is the best way to make improvements.