Rest day? What to do!

You can't lift every day. That just wouldn't be good. You won't recover. You won't grow. You won't gain. At some point it is important to work smarter, rather than harder. You need to have off days typically two or three a week. These allow your body to recover, rebuild, and grow.

With that being said:

Here are three things you can do to occupy your off days!

3. Track your eating habits and calorie intake 


Keep tabs on what you're eating and monitor your primary nutrients. The main ones to watch for are your carbohydrates, protein, and sugar intakes. Evaluate your past few days eating habits. Writing them down can be a great way to assess what you really are putting into your body.


2. Take part in some Active Rest


Go for a bike ride, go for a jog, get out and about. These can be some great low-key ways to give you time  to focus, stretch out, as well as keep the blood moving in your muscles. Just make sure not to over-exert yourself and keep in mind that today isn't a cardio session, it's a relaxing day.

1. Learn or do some research.

Taking a step back on your off day and reading up on different schools of thought or training methods can be very beneficial. Doing so can help you refocus, learn, and ultimately stream line your gains. There are plenty of different databases to learn from, between checking out a book at a library, buying one off of an e-book store, or even just checking out lifting videos on YouTube.


How do you occupy your off days?


Let us know in the comments!

Carving Your Core! Three Moves for Better Abs!

Everyone wants the perfect core. The abs are consistently ranked the most desirable muscle group - thanks a lot right?

Here are the the exercises you can do to be on your way to the physique you want.



3. Captains Chair

A great way to hit the "lower abs", or the lower region of the core is the Captain's Chair.

To perform Captain's Chairs you will need the appropriate equipment at the gym. Make sure you are contracting well on all reps and not swinging.

2. Planks

Build up core strength, ab definition, and overall power with the plank.

Try starting with 30 second planks and working your way up to a minute or minute and a half. These are fun to do with partners to see who can go longer.

1. Weighted Cable Crunches 

Weight cable crunches are a great way to pack on muscle and build strength.

Get on your knees and grab either your triceps rope, or straps. Pull the weight down behind your head and crunch forward. Make sure to go slow and use a weight that you can feel the pull on. Don't go to heavy and be sure to be considerate of your back.


Remember that abs are made in the gym, and the kitchen. When eating during a bulking phase, or any caloric surplus diet the abs won't necessarily be showing. Your body fat percentage does play a large role when it comes to the definition of your core.


Slow and steady - this isn't a race. As always is the case - remember to stretch properly both before and after you lift to aid in preventing injury, growing in range of motion, and assist in recovery time.

Review: Schiek Ab Strap

Schiek Ab Strap 1400

Schiek makes a lot of high end work out equipment. They have been used by the likes of Jay Cutler and Phil Heath. Today we will be reviewing the Model 1400 Ab Strap. You can find it here.


Overall : 9/10


Price :  8/10

When it comes to upgrading your home gym, cost is always a factor. The cost of these straps is $24.95. That's a pretty good buy for the uses they have. 

Durability : 10/10

Durability is a big issue for safety concerns. These do a good job holding up and meeting expectations. The durable material, both the nylon, padding, and metal components hold up with heavy weight. 


Comfort : 7/10


The padding on these is pretty good and they do get snug when using them. . The one downside is that they do tend to pinch the wrists when using them. This can be avoided by wearing lifting gloves of some sort while using them. 

Uses : 10/10

These straps can be utilized for primarily two different exercises. They are very useful when it comes to weighted cable crunches, as well as tricep push downs. 

We Recommend : Go for it. 

For the price these are a great way to upgrade your home gym, and are transportable enough you can even take them to the gym with you. They will hold up, add to your work out routine and may even help you get over the road bumps you are experiencing with your abs or triceps. 

Wanting to look into upgrading your home gym further? Try out these other suggestions! 

Review: Jack3d by USP Labs

USP Labs manufactures the pre-workout drink Jack3d. You can buy it through several outlets online, including here.

Overall : 7/10

Serving Size : 10/10

One scoop. One tiny miniscule scoop. Only 5.5 grams. That's it. It's really simple to mix a little water in, get your swig of it, and move onto just having water. This is great because it leaves you room to drink water while exercising and staying hydrated.

Taste : 9/10

Very sour if you don't mix in water, if you go even slightly to much with water – it will taste like disfavored water. Not in a bad way, very drinkable and easy to get down. This is a very light drink with a big punch effect wise.

Pump : 10/10

The pump you get from jack3d is a top of the line pump. It's good and feels like clean energy. The experience involves longer lifts and bigger pumps compared to some of the other drinks that have been reviewed on the site.

Side Effects : 4/10

There are some crashes from this supplement. It tends to be more along the line of crashing from pushing yourself hard, and not the typical sugar/caffeine crash associated with pre workouts. This can be attributed to the 1,3 Dimethylamylamine. What is it? 1,3 is essentially, or originally was a root extract from germanium. Now it typically is a synthesized substance.

That gets us to the other side effects. This supplement is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list. This is speculated as being for a variety of reasons. Number one being that it hasn't been tested to the degree that they would like it to have been tested. Another reason why it has been claimed to be on the list is the ability for abuse of the substance as for lack of better explanation it works really, really well.

The crash is minimal but the hit this supplement takes being banned is huge. Essentially, if you are in sports that involve testing stay away from it. If you are in body building that doesn't have it as a banned substance or you are just looking to beef up go for it. Just make sure to stay away from killing yourself by mixing in a bunch of caffeine in your day.

Pricing : 10/10

For the 250 Gram (45 servings) will put you back about $29.99 before shipping costs. This comes to about $0.66 USD per serving. This is a substantially lower mark compared to other pre-workout supplements.

Recommendation:

Go for it, but be cautious.  Make sure you are keeping your caffeine and other stimulant intake monitored. Also insure that you build your way up to making sure you have a reaction too and able to handle the stimulants in this drink. 

Review: Nike Pro Combat II Workout Shirts

Nike Pro Combat II

Overall Comfort : 8/10

Comfort for work out clothing is very important. Unwelcome discomfort, like all discomfort, can throw you off your game. Now who would want that? That's not something you will be worrying about wit these shirts. They read as very comfortable when doing lifting, or cardio.

Fit : 8/10

They don't ride up in back, and don't bunch in the shoulders. The fit is lose while not being so lose you feel you are a kid sneaking into grown up clothing.

Texture : 9/10

The texture is light and breathable which is very nice, As far as wicking goes, these shirts are pretty efficient. Moisture distributes and is gone pretty quick compared to standard cotton shirts.

Pricing : 7/10

There is no specific price break on these shirts compared to other work out shirts on the market. The standard pricing being $25.00. That is still reasonable for a work out shirt if you are looking to invest in a essentially inexpensive shirt for a high quality.

We recommend : Go for it

For the comfort, price, and even day to day wearing this is a quality shirt that you would be wise to check out.