Please check out my review of the Hot Logic Mini on YouTube. It’s a portable mini oven which you can take everywhere with you! All you need is a power source, and you can heat up pre-made meals or even cook something from scratch.
Go to http://www.hot-logic-mini.com/staceynaito to order, and enter discount code STACEYNAITO at checkout for 20% off your order.
Please read my latest article for Sports Nutrition Supplement Guide!
Original post can be found at:
http://www.sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com/training/agility-drills/item/1567-try-a-new-sport-to-break-fitness-plateaus#.VsJ6RvkrLIV
If you are a dedicated weightlifter, you have probably had to struggle with fitness plateaus at some point. What most lifters do when they reach a sticking point with their progress is they switch up the rep range or lifting technique in order to activate the muscles differently, but they usually won’t step outside the gym to explore other activities.
However, perhaps the best way to break through a stubborn plateau, especially if you have already tried with the weights to no avail, is to train in a sport which will address your areas of weakness in a novel way, and in many cases, produce the results you seek. Though I am a big proponent of weight training, I also promote training in other sports as a means of changing things up and challenging the body.
One of the most common laments I hear is that the shoulders often lag behind development of the back and arms. So if you have deltoid muscles which won’t respond to iron therapy no matter how you switch up your training, you might want to consider giving tennis or basketball a try. People who regularly engage in these sports tend to have some of the shapeliest shoulders and arms around, because the body mechanics which characterize them incorporate a lot of movement around the shoulder joints. If the region of your body which is lagging behind is your lower extremities, you can engage in sports such as soccer or cycling to ramp up your training efforts and shape up your legs rapidly. If team sports aren’t your thing, you could take up a martial art or boxing to improve your strength and agility while also making your physique appear more balanced.
On a personal note, I took a few flying trapeze classes last fall and was amazed at how much back recruitment occurred during those classes. Though I didn’t sign up for flying trapeze classes with a goal of widening my lats, they indeed became wider as a result of all the static hanging I did from the trapeze pole. I also noticed that after every class, I was sore in places where I never felt sore when I lifted weights. It was a great challenge for me which also enabled me to confront a mild fear of heights. I also found it challenging to refrain from shrugging my shoulders or pulling my body up as I would do during a pullup at the gym. I began to use my body in different ways, and it rewarded me with an improved back silhouette.
In essence, practicing a sport can often break people out of a weightlifting rut and force them to use their bodies differently. You can still adopt the “Gym Is Life” mentality, but by broadening your horizons, you’ll have fun in the process, improve your athletic prowess, and if you choose your sport wisely, may be rewarded with a more balanced and conditioned physique.
Every once in a while, I will experience hunger that never seems to subside, no matter how much I give into my body’s insistence on foraging for food throughout the day. Since this type of insatiable hunger is exceedingly rare for me, I generally will allow myself to indulge in greater amounts of fuel than what I would normally eat. I usually take strong hunger impulses as a sign that my body actually needs the fuel, and that I might be lacking in some nutrient. Sometimes a killer leg workout will spark this mad hunger, and other times it might be a cleaning spree which causes my appetite to ramp up.
I almost relish the times that my body craves food like this, because I am usually not too excited about food. When I was in my teens, I went through anorexia, and feared many foods. Though I became a bit of a foodie in my twenties, exploring gourmet foods whenever I could, I had to adopt an “eat-to-survive” attitude once I reached my thirties, as a result of the rigorous medical training I underwent. During medical school and internship, I lived by the credo, “Eat when you can, use the bathroom when you can, sleep when you can”.
Then in my forties, the world of competing caused me to fall in love with some of the foods which I had demonized back in my teens. Though I rarely cave into the powerful lure of chocolate, desserts, pizza, and fried foods, I definitely learned to appreciate them during my competitive years. These days, I can stock chocolate, nuts and nut butter in my house without fear that I will go hog wild constantly and consume them all in one sitting. They are even relatively safe when the hunger beast strikes.
When I experience hunger which I cannot satisfy, I do NOT turn to unhealthy foods. Instead, I keep eating clean meals like chicken and green beans. However, I will often feel just as hungry after eating a meal as I did when I reached for the meal in the first place! When that happens, I will wait about a half hour, then snack on something relatively healthy, such as a small handful of almonds, or some lowfat cottage cheese, in hopes that my hunger will abate.
However, all bets are off if the hunger beast is around on my carb spike day! There have been numerous times in which the two have coincided, and during which I have allowed myself to eat pasta, bread, a large amount of rice, or some other carbohydrate rich food. The aftermath of such a carb bump is that my weight will actually DECREASE 2 or 3 pounds the next morning. This is one of the reasons why I encourage clients to have a moderate bump in calories and carbs every now and then, to spark the metabolic furnace.
As long as the hunger beast comes around only rarely, and you are in tune with your body’s needs, you should be able to indulge it without any issues.
Have you ever run into people who are such die-hard weightlifting fanatics that they are restless during their rest days? I am one of those people, and I suspect that I will remain that way for another few decades. There are a few people who have asked me why I continue to train four to six days per week, EVERY week, despite the fact that I am not in prep for a contest. Why would I continue to work so hard at maintaining or building muscle if there is nothing specific to train for? The main reason is because I train for LIFE. I have no intention of allowing my gains to diminish simply because other people think I am too old for such “nonsense”.
How do I stay so consistent with such a frequent training schedule? I make going to the gym an essential part of my daily routine, and it is so important to me that it only comes second to brushing my teeth and putting on gym clothes before I head to the gym. Food and showering are always done afterwards, first of all because I plan to sweat when I am at the gym, and secondly, because I might throw some fasted cardio into the mix before I hit the weights.
I will never understand gym-goers who spend several minutes between sets chatting with others, checking text messages, and finding other distractions which deter them from starting the next set. I train rapidly, resting only 30 seconds between sets or supersets. That is part of the reason why I do NOT want to chat at the gym. I am so focused on my next set while I am resting that I often don’t hear others, especially because I listen to music while I train. I try not to allow random thoughts to creep in, because such thoughts can throw me off, especially if they are anxiety-provoking. When I am in the gym, I push distractions and worries aside, and truly enjoy the physicality of training. Besides, I have the rest of the day to address issues and responsibilities.
Whether you choose to train four days per week or more, or you prefer training fewer days per week, just make sure you are CONSISTENT. Make your time in the gym a time to decompress and tune into your body.
I am so blessed and honored to be able to represent AIM at various fitness expos! This weekend I am representing them at the Los Angeles Fit Expo.
Here are some fun photos from expos I have worked in the past with them.
With Ian Lauer last year at the L.A. Fit Expo
With Vladimir Dan and Theresa Jenn Lopetrone from a previous expo…good times!
This amazing lady Ashley Kaltwasser added a third gold medal for a three-peat Olympia Bikini win since this photo was taken in 2014!
Goofing off at the Arnold a couple of years ago…
One of the biggest grievances I have as a physician is the fact that people assume that I am on call all the time for every random medical question. People will ask me questions at the gym, the grocery store, and via email. Many people have even contacted me on Facebook with detailed medical questions which they expect me to answer, and some will even cop an attitude when I very nicely tell them that I cannot address their question via Facebook message. No other profession deals with the same amount of queries. Would you ask your tax person a detailed question via Facebook?
I have even gotten texts in the middle of the night (thank goodness I turn my ringer off while I sleep) with medical questions. Sometimes the questions don’t even pertain to the person asking, but to a friend or relative. That is when I get annoyed, because it isn’t my responsibility to dole out free medical advice to everyone.
I realize that by putting my foot down and setting boundaries, I will cause some individuals to seek diagnoses on their own, which is also quite frustrating. They will go online and attempt to find a diagnosis, despite the fact that they have no medical expertise whatsoever. These are the people who infuriate doctors, because they will march into doctors’ offices and behave as if they have all the answers. This type of attitude is not only frustrating to medical professionals, it can be downright dangerous when the wrong diagnosis is made.
Please understand that I will not diagnose your niece’s boyfriend’s strange skin condition, even if you send me five images of the condition, taken at different angles and at different stages of the flareup. Such requests take unfair advantage of all of my schooling and post-doctoral training, which I have every right to charge for. As a matter of fact, it would be irresponsible of me to respond to such requests.
If the medical malady is of an urgent or emergent nature, then I suggest that you avail yourself of the appropriate service. Urgent care centers and emergency rooms exist for a reason. I am not a stand-alone urgent care center, nor am I a doctor on call 24/7. Please respect my time off.
For those of you who are physicians or surgeons, I welcome responses to this post.
Front January 7, 2014
Front December 30, 2015
Back January 7, 2014
Over the span of two years, my client built quality muscle, and transformed his physique. What is even more amazing is that he was the same weight in both sets of pics. Bravo!
If you are interested in online training and nutrition services with me, please visit:
for detailed information on packages and pricing.
I cringe every single time I hear people say that they stopped taking an antibiotic after a day or two because they felt better. Those of you who are not trained in medicine, who flippantly decide that you won’t continue to take an antibiotic because you “feel much better”, should be aware that by engaging in this habit, you are making the issue of antibiotic resistance even worse.
Bacteria are quite crafty, because they constantly find ways to neutralize or block the effects of antibiotics. Most of the time, they acquire genetic mutations from the bacteria which have become resistant. So even if some of the more susceptible bacteria die, even one resistant bacterium can multiply rapidly and thus replace all the bacteria which were killed. Those new bacteria also have the same resistance which the original stubborn bacterium has. This is how things can get pretty ugly pretty quickly in the face of bacterial resistance.
Antibiotic resistance can occur even when patients follow instructions and take the full course of antibiotic therapy, but the chances are far greater when patients miss doses or stop taking the medication because a smaller proportion of the bacteria are killed or inhibited. Another situation in which antibiotic resistance can run rampant is when antibiotics are taken for viral infections such as the common cold. Specific antibiotics are used for specific types and strains of bacteria, and are not one-size-fits-all medications. Yet people continue to foolishly turn to an antibiotic (usually one which was prescribed for a bacterial infection, and which was abandoned before the full course was taken) when they have symptoms which they believe to be from a bacterial source. I have even heard friends freely admit that they took their child’s or spouse’s leftover antibiotic in hopes that it would make them feel better.
Please don’t be one of those people who contributes to antibiotic resistance by being irresponsible about antibiotic use!
If you don’t have a Six Pack Bag to carry your meals around in, you really should get one! I have had the Innovator 500, the Innovator 300, and I also have the Innovator Mini. I ran the Innovator 500 into the ground from using it constantly over the span of several years. I love the Innovator 300 and use it when I travel, but the Innovator Mini is absolutely perfect for my daily needs. It’s compact, yet it holds everything I need for a day. I put my alkalizer in one beverage chamber, my BCAA’s in the other chamber, and also have three full meals neatly packed on the shelves inside the bag. The bag is lightweight, and has a thick, cushioned strap, so it won’t dig into your shoulder when you cart it around.
You can check out the review I put together when I first got the Innovator Mini right here:
Would you want a “Smart” Bra? I am reposting an article which I saw on New Beauty…the original post can be found here:
https://www.newbeauty.com/blog/dailybeauty/9118-the-smart-bra-that-will-change-the-way-you-work-out/
Brittany Burhop , Senior Editor | January 06, 2016
Tech-wellness company OMsignal is launching a new sports bra that’s sparking quite a buzz in the fitness world.
Created over the course of a year by sports bra designers, scientists and engineers (they developed 1633 prototypes before getting it exactly right), the OMbra changes the way you approach your workouts. Here’s how: Flexible sensors are built into the bra to track your body’s activity levels using real-time biometrics (including heart rate and breathing rhythm) to keep you on track during workouts. Whether you push too hard for what your body can handle or you aren’t maximizing your potential, the OMbra will signal and help you adjust.
Plus, in addition to the high-tech science behind it, it’s designed to provide ultimate comfort and flexibility—the straps are adjustable to fit different body types and the fabric is lightweight and super stretchable with antimicrobial and sweat-wicking properties. Mesh panels on the front and back help enhance breathability.
“I love the idea for this bra. Its functional and innovative, it looks like it’s comfortable, and the best part is that it holds you accountable for your actions,” says celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza. “To me, its best feature is that it allows you to monitor your breathing during workouts, as well as every day, which helps to reduce stress. That makes it a valuable health tool.”
Set to hit the market in April/May, the OMbra kit will sell for $149 and will include a charging cable (you’ll get about 10 workouts in before you have to recharge).
