Category Bodybuilding

Here Are The 2016 Liquid Sun Rayz Sponsored Athletes!

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I am BEYOND thrilled to be chosen as one of the Liquid Sun Rayz Sponsored Athletes for 2016!

This company is the very best in the industry! You can count on perfect color which is applied professionally by the NICEST people on the planet! Liquid Sun Rayz also sells an entire line of skin care products which optimize competition color and regular spray tans. They have a line of beautiful and affordable jewelry for female competitors, and they also have a Beauty Team which provides fantastic makeup application and hair styling. The people who work with Liquid Sun Rayz are like family to me, and I am honored and blessed to be affiliated with them!

Please click on the link below to see who made it into the 2016 Team. Please also LIKE the Liquid Sun Rayz page so you can get all of their updates!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.945371798872481.1073741894.157115621031440&type=3

Competing And Self-Worth

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Team U 35+ top 5

I had an amazing time competing as an NPC Bikini competitor, and also had fun competing as an IFBB Bikini Pro, despite the fact that I didn’t place well as a Pro. However, I don’t miss the maddening prep which precedes each competition, nor the constant self-scrutiny which always surfaces during prep. Though I always want to win, I am not going to have a nervous breakdown over the fact that my placings as a Pro have been underwhelming. I don’t feel pressured to step onstage, and I honestly wouldn’t have a problem with retiring completely from competing if that is what I decide to do. Yet I still get that question, “When’s your next show?”

A number of people have mentioned that the stakes have been raised lately, due to the more muscle-bound, newer Bikini Pros. They have told me this as if I wasn’t already aware of that fact! I am well aware of who is competing in the Pro ranks, and what the ladies are bringing onstage these days. Here’s the truth: I am tired of trying to balance a very busy schedule with two-a-day cardio sessions and double training in order to prep for a contest. My attitude is that I already won. My singular goal with competing was to attain IFBB Pro status, which I did. So should I feel that my value has somehow diminished because I am not one of the handful of IFBB Bikini Pros who have decided to continue competing in the Pro ranks? If you think about it, the majority of Pros do NOT compete. There are over 400 Bikini Pros now, but only a small percentage of them choose to keep hitting the stage.

What happens when a Pro chooses to continue with competing? The stakes are raised in the Pro ranks, with stiff competition from other Pros, and a more stringent judging panel which is necessary when assessing the best physiques in the world. It can be quite intimidating, which I think is a major factor for Pros who avoid the stage the minute they go Pro. It can be rather disappointing to achieve the crowning victory of Pro status, then get slapped down because you aren’t one of the best Pros. Basically, you go from being at the top of one heap, to being at the bottom of another one.

Since life is about balance, many Pros shift their focus to career, family, and other interests. The idea of returning to the stage can be downright repellent to some Pros who finally realize what they were missing when they were in the throes of competing during their amateur days. I have heard people in the industry talk smack about Pros who “let themselves go”, which in many cases is code speak for situations in which a Pro began to finally live like a normal person. In the world of bodybuilding, being “normal” is often regarded in a negative light.

For those of you who are IFBB Pros and are feeling some remorse over not stepping on stage as a Pro, you need to stop beating yourself up about it! As long as you represent the IFBB in a classy manner, and continue to inspire and motivate through your fitness lifestyle and whatever other respectable endeavors you are involved in, you don’t have to compete. You are still a Pro, always amazing, and one of the top athletes in the bodybuilding world!

Stuck in A Workout Rut? Try Pyramid Training – REPOST

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I figured that this article which I wrote a while back deserved a repost. I hope you enjoy!

If you have hit a training plateau or are just bored with your current training regimen, you might want to mix it up by incorporating pyramid training into your routine. Pyramid training is an extremely effective way of increasing strength and muscle mass and is easy to incorporate. There are different types of pyramid training designs which exist, but the ascending type is the best for individuals who are relatively new to weight training, as it provides a warm-up for the body before the weight used increases.

Types of Pyramid Training:
ASCENDING: You will start out with a light weight and perform 12 to 20 repetitions in the first set, then increase the weight used while decreasing the number of repetitions in subsequent sets.
1st set – 15 to 20 repetitions with a light weight
2nd set – 12 to 15 repetitions with a light to moderate weight
3rd set – 10 to 12 repetitions with a moderate weight
4th set – 8 to 10 repetitions with a moderate to heavy weight
5th set – 6 to 8 repetitions with a heavy weight

DESCENDING: You will start out with a heavy weight and perform 6 to 8 repetitions in the first set, then decrease the weight used while increasing the number of repetitions in subsequent sets.
1st set – 6 to 8 repetitions with a heavy weight
2nd set – 8 to 10 repetitions with a moderate to heavy weight
3rd set – 10 to 12 repetitions with a moderate weight
4th set – 12 to 15 repetitions with a light to moderate weight
5th set – 15 to 20 repetitions with a light weight

DOUBLE PYRAMID: You will start out with a heavy weight and perform 12 to 20 repetitions in the first set, then increase the weight used while decreasing the number of repetitions in subsequent sets. On your fifth set, you will decrease the weight used while increasing the rep range. When you are on the descending portion of this pyramid, you will not be able to perform as many repetitions due to the muscle fibers being closer to failure.
1st set – 15 to 20 repetitions with a light weight
2nd set – 12 to 15 repetitions with a light to moderate weight
3rd set – 10 to 12 repetitions with a moderate weight
4th set – 8 to 10 repetitions with a moderate to heavy weight
5th set – 10 to 12 repetitions with a moderate weight
6th set – 12 repetitions with a light to moderate weight
7th set – 15 repetitions with a light weight

Yes, I Really DO Eat Clean Year-Round

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A couple of my fitness friends have recently noticed that I continue to eat clean, almost as if I was in prep for a contest. One of those friends IS in prep, so I guess she expected a stark contrast between what she has been consuming and what I eat on a regular basis. Basically, I continue to eat seven meals each day, and my protein intake these days is around 150-170 grams per day. I don’t pig out on forbidden foods, but I am not fanatical about eliminating all fat and carbs. On low carb days, I allow myself a bit of healthy fat, usually in the form of avocado, olive oil, or nuts. I have two high carb days, and I make sure that my weekly cheat meal falls on one of those days. Every once in a while (perhaps every three weeks) I may indulge in something like a nonfat mocha from Starbucks, a slice of gluten free zucchini bread, or a bowl of chicken pho.

Out of the 49 meals I eat each week, only ONE meal is a dirty cheat meal. Because I follow clean eating the majority of the time, I have been able to maintain a reasonable off-season weight. I compete at 117-119 pounds, and my weight has hovered between 119 and 122 pounds for quite a while now without even trying. I know I could always pack on more muscle, and my body fat is up a bit (around 15-16% right now), but I am happy with where I am at. My abs come out to play every now and then too, which is something I always welcome. They aren’t super chiseled and ripped, but I don’t need to walk around like that.

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STACEY NAITO – IFBB Bikini Superstar (Interview)

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Please check out the great interview which Christian Duque from Strength Addicts hosted, and in which I am the featured guest! We talked about a lot of topics, and I covered a lot of ground on my background, my contest journey, and my philosophy on training, diet and competing. Check it out and please LIKE and SHARE! Thank you so much!

I Can’t Eat That! – Balancing Healthy Eating And Normal Life

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Fast_Food hottie

There are countless challenges and roadblocks which can derail us from our efforts to follow a healthy meal plan, especially when we are faced with the indulgent foods that emerge during the holidays. Whether you are a seasoned competitor who is accustomed to following a strict meal plan, someone who wants to adopt healthier eating habits, or battling excess body weight, it can be very difficult to pass up regular restaurant meals, fast foods, and holiday treats. However, it IS possible to stay on track even in the face of such temptations.

The first and most important thing is to remember your GOAL, whether it is improved health, weight loss, or getting into contest shape for an upcoming event. Your goal should serve as a tangible mark which you are aiming for. I always tell my patients and weight management clients to post images of people who possess the type of physique they covet in a prominent place (such as a refrigerator) so that they can be reminded of their specific goal.

Here are other effective strategies to help you follow a healthy meal plan:

1. Keep forbidden foods out of the kitchen so that the temptation to eat something unhealthy is removed. This means that you need to avoid purchasing chips, crackers, cookies, ice cream, packaged pasta dinners and whatever other unhealthy foods you tend to gravitate towards. If unhealthy foods are not in your kitchen cupboards, you won’t be tempted to grab them and indulge.

2. Prep your meals at home beforehand. Meal prep can be tedious but it is well worth it when you consider the control you will have over what goes into your body. You can control ingredients, cooking method and portion sizes and maximize your chances of maintaining healthy eating habits. Once you have prepared your food, you can store single serving sizes in individual storage containers which are easy to pack when you need them.

3. Invest in a great food cooler bag. Trust me, you NEED one of these!

4. Make sure your meal plan is balanced. The best meal plans have lean protein, healthy fats and slow digesting carbohydrates. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that all fat is bad! You need certain healthy fats to maintain normal cellular function.

5. Avoid fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants (and most restaurants for that matter) feature extremely unhealthy options which can completely destroy your efforts at reaching your health and fitness goals. You will also save a ton of money by avoiding the calorie and saturated fat laden options found at such establishments.

6. Don’t cave in to peer pressure. I don’t know what it is about friends and family, but it seems like they get some twisted thrill out of convincing others to eat forbidden foods. If you find yourself in such a situation, you need to ask yourself if it is worth unraveling your healthy eating habits in order to appease a relative or buddy. I have heard, “Awww, come on, a couple of bites won’t hurt ya!” from people who usually mean well but who are unaware of the psychological torture they might be putting me through. I honestly don’t want to be pressured into consuming something that will make me feel guilty or will not digest well . It isn’t worth it!

So Excited For Everyone Competing At NPC Nationals This Weekend!

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The NPC Nationals will be taking place this weekend, with over 1,000 competitors! This is the largest NPC National event in history. The best way to get a glimpse of what is occurring in Miami this weekend, I have included a video introduction here from J.M Manion. For those of you who don’t know who this awesome man is, here is his Twitter profile description, which I absolutely love:

Professional Photographer & Journalist for NPC News for 30 years. Owner of multi-media company J.M. Manion Productions, Inc. & Jedi Master

Yes, indeed! He IS a Jedi Master! Or wait, isn’t he Batman? Those of you in the loop will get the reference!

Best of luck to everyone competing!

Getting Back On The Horse: Returning To The Gym

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Please check out my latest article for Sports Nutrition Supplement Guide! Please read original post and see the site here:

http://www.sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com/training/training-tips/item/1549-getting-back-on-the-horse-returning-to-the-gym#.Vkpn9RCrSi5

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Perhaps the ebb and flow of life has thrown you off your fitness routine, and you are ready to return to the gym. It might be that you are post-partum, or had to nurse an injury or illness. Or it could be that you have been moving at such a frenetic pace in your life that you got sidetracked from your “every damned day” gym schedule, and need to get back into the groove. Whatever the reason is for putting consistent gym visits on the back burner, the good news is that you can re-establish a consistent fitness regimen. In order to ensure the greatest success with your efforts, here are some suggestions which will motivate you and keep you on track.

Set Goals

I bet some of you may have forgotten about the power of setting specific goals for yourself. It may be that you have been away from the iron den for a long time, so you might want to set strength gain goals in which you move up in your 1 rep max every two weeks, increase the number of free dips or pullups you can perform every few weeks, or even increase the amount of time you hold a plank.

Another type of goal you can set for yourself is to increase muscle mass in a measurable way, perhaps a one inch increase in your calf girth over a 6 week period, for example. Instead of meandering back into the gym and having a general objective, like just getting back in there, make sure to hang a carrot in front of you so that you are even more motivated to stick to the program.

Be Realistic

Thank goodness for muscle memory, because it enables those who are at a high level of fitness to regain their muscle mass and strength rather quickly after a period of inactivity. However, those who were at a lower level of fitness at their baseline will lose muscle and strength pretty rapidly, after even as little as two weeks of not lifting weights. Depending on what your degree of muscularity or strength was before your setback, you will have to give yourself some time to build back up to previous levels of muscle mass and strength. If you find yourself with more padding around the midsection, glutes, or thighs than what you had when you were hitting the weights consistently, make sure that you target fat loss with your training and food intake.

Eat Properly

You can’t expect to achieve stellar results just by hitting the weights like a fiend, while putting junk food in your body, so make sure to establish healthy eating habits to support your return to lifting weights. If your eating habits have gone by the wayside, incorporate a consistent meal plan which provides your body with clean macronutrients and supports your weight training. Throw out the forbidden foods which may be lurking in your kitchen, such as sweets, crackers, chips, and ice cream. Stock your kitchen with whole foods like lean turkey, chicken breast, salmon, eggs, green vegetables, sweet potatoes, brown rice, almonds, walnuts, and avocado. Confine cheat meals to one evening on the weekends.

Don’t Overtrain

Make sure to give yourself time to get back into the swing of things, especially if you are returning after an injury or illness. You MUST take it easy, otherwise you run the risk of injuring or re-injuring yourself, causing an even bigger setback. If you were very fit before you took your break, your muscle mass and strength should both return to their previous levels within a couple of weeks.