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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

13 Rules For Eating Well While On The Road

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Please read my latest article for Oxygen Magazine online! Original post can be found at:

13 Rules For Eating Well While On The Road

staying-fit-on-the-go

Sticking to your diet and training schedule can be tough this time of the year. We share some tips for staying fit and eating well while on the road.

Dr. Stacey Naito | November 16, 2015

The holidays are here and for many of us that means traveling to see family and friends. It also means being tempted with less-than-healthy foods, and foraging for fitness resources like a gym to train in and places that carry clean food selections. All of these challenges can make it extremely difficult to adhere to a regular training schedule and healthy eating habits.

However, with a little determination, it is definitely possible to stay focused when you’re on the road. The guidelines listed here will give you a blueprint that you can use to manage and stay on track with your fitness goals.

On-The-Go Training

With a little creativity you can do your daily workouts while on the road. Here are some suggestions for making the most of what is available to you when you’re traveling.

1. Search for gyms in the area before you travel. Once you know your destination, you can do an online search of the area to find gyms and fitness centers. In some cases, hotels have very nice fitness centers, which are fully equipped with free weights and exercise machines.

2. Try hotel room workouts. It is always possible to create intense workouts in any location by performing body-weight exercises, exercises with resistance bandsand mat work. Resistance bands are lightweight and won’t take up much room in a suitcase.

3. Train outdoors. In most cases, you should be able to find a local park or school where you can perform body-weight exercises, plyometrics, calisthenics, stairclimbing or running. You can use park benches or ledges for your workouts as well. Get creative, and keep up the intensity to get your body moving and the blood pumping!

Fit Foods On-The-Go

Whether you’re a seasoned competitor who is accustomed to following a strict meal plan, someone who wants to adopt healthier eating habits, you may find it very difficult to pass up regular restaurant meals, fast foods and holiday treats when you’re on the road. The holidays can be especially brutal, since evil culinary temptations abound and threaten to sabotage any efforts at maintaining clean eating habits.

If you aren’t on prep, you can still indulge in small amounts of rich foods as long as your other foods are healthy and clean. This means that your abs don’t have to hibernate during the holidays. However, if you compete and are getting on stage soon, you can’t exactly throw caution to the wind and consume whatever you want. You will need to keep a tight reign on what you consume while traveling.

Here are some tips to keep you in line with clean eating while traveling.

1. Invest in a great food cooler bag. A food cooler bag will enable you to enjoy your trip without having to worry about what you will eat throughout the day.

2. Prep your meals in advance. That way you’ll have total control over ingredients, cooking method and portion sizes. Once you have prepared your food, store single-serving sizes in individual containers or bags, which are easy to pack. Freeze the food you will eat during your trip, and refrigerate the food you will eat on the day you travel to your destination.

3. Ask the hotel for a refrigerator in your room. In most cases, hotels can supply a refrigerator upon request.

4. Consider a meal prep service. Meal prep services can be a blessing because they take the hassle of having to prep food out of the equation, and they can deliver directly to your destination.

5. Pack emergency fit foods. Non-perishable foods like protein powder, protein bars and nuts can be easily packed into your luggage and will ensure that you have backup food.

6. Consider staying in a room with a kitchenette. You can visit a local market, purchase fresh food, and prepare it in your hotel room.

7. Consume a small amount of lean protein right before you have a carb cheat. This will slow down digestion so that the carbs aren’t stored as readily.

8. Drink at least eight ounces of water before you indulge in a decadent treat. This will help to fill you up so you consume less food afterward.

9. Eat smaller, more frequent meals. If you have a holiday feast to attend, make sure to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours beforehand to ensure that you won’t be ravenous come party time.

10. Don’t cave in to peer pressure. Sometimes family and friends can sabotage clean meal plans by 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.

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!

Static Trapeze

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static trapeze

I recently started taking flying trapeze classes and have enjoyed them immensely. However, I began to analyze the reasons why I enjoyed the flying trapeze, and realized that the acrobatic moves were the most intriguing to me. Though I love the whole idea of swinging 20 feet up in the air and doing catches with the catcher, the timing is critical. When you’re trying to think about your trick, setting up your trick with proper timing, and paying attention to the calls from the catcher, all while swinging up in the air, you can get a bit rattled.

I thought that if I removed the flying variable from the trapeze, perhaps I would be able to concentrate more on the tricks. Because of this notion, I am looking into taking static trapeze classes as well. I took gymnastics for several years when I was a kid, and since my best event was the uneven bars, I thought a great progression from childhood gymnastics would be the static trapeze. I like the fact that trapeze isn’t the first thing people think of when considering athletic pursuits, and I also like the fact that trapeze is vastly different from weightlifting. Hopefully my creaking joints and reduced flexibility will dissipate as I venture more deeply into the trapeze arts.

Once I take static trapeze, I will post an update on the experience.

That Doesn’t Look Like Me!

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headshot gallery
How do you react when you see images, or film or video footage of yourself, in which you don’t look like yourself? I have had this happen to me, and it rattles me every time. Most of the time it can be attributed to bad lighting or camera angles, while at other times, the makeup and hair are so off-kilter that you end up looking incredibly strange or unattractive as a result.

The most recent situation I found myself in was with headshots I had taken two weeks ago. I trusted the process and didn’t think of questioning the photographer’s abilities or asking to see the viewfinder. I wish I had. If I had seen what was being captured, I would have cut the shoot short and left graciously. Instead, I went through the entire shoot, gathered my things, and headed over to a CVS to look at the images and print out some proofs.

The instant I saw the first image, I was stunned. Who was that wide-nosed, unattractive woman staring back at me? It honestly didn’t even look like me. My face looked FAT, there were wrinkles on my face in weird places, and I just did NOT look good at all. The lighting was terrible, the backdrops looked cheap and bad, and even the poses which I was put in looked awkward. The images were so awful that I didn’t even keep the proofs or the disk. Why would I, when the images almost made my stomach turn? Yes, they really were that awful.

So what do you do if you see images which you don’t like? Well, if the images were shot for a paid assignment, or if you did TFCD, then you can’t really do anything. As a matter of fact, you should never second guess the makeup artist, wardrobe stylist, or photographer/videographer unless you see something glaringly wrong with the setup. I have shot commercials and photos which I absolutely HATE, but I can’t do a darned thing about them because I signed away any rights to the images.

However, for headshots, there is never an obligation to use any images you don’t like, especially if they are unflattering and do not portray you the way you really look. You are paying for a service in which the images are supposed to present you in the best way possible. Would you really want to use headshots you hate and which make you look like someone else?

Thankfully, I was able to shoot more headshots three days later with another photographer who got some incredible images. The image below is the main image which I will use from that particular shoot, but there were so many outstanding images from that shoot that it was difficult narrowing down our top choices. That’s a good problem to have!

Maroon Small (819x1024)

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

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!

This 94-Year-Old Grandmother Is A Champion Powerlifter

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I am utterly shocked and completely impressed by this lady! Read on to find out how she got started at the age of 91. This totally proves that you are NEVER too old to lift weights!

Original post can be found at:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22172/this-94-year-old-grandmother-is-a-champion-powerlifter.html

by Emi Boscamp, MBG Editorial – October 16, 2015 5:25 PM

A 94-year-old woman can dead lift 135 pounds. What did you do today? (Yeah, I didn’t do much of anything either.)

Floridian Edith Traina is a grandmother — and that’s an accomplishment in itself — but she’s also a champion powerlifter. She started doing it at the tender age of 91 and has since become addicted to the competition, reports FOX13 Tampa.
“(My friend) dragged me kicking and screaming to the gym, and I figured I’d keep her happy for a while and get her off my back, but I got hooked,” Traina (which, by the way, is the most fitting last name possible) told FOX13 Tampa.

Since then, the self-described “champion” has competed in more than a dozen competitions, is the only person in her age group, and hopes to be able to lift 200 pounds by the time she hits 100. Though it may be good for her health, she does it because of how it makes her feel emotionally.

“With this, I just walk up, lift it, put it down. I get all these applause — great for the ego,” she said.

Watch her do her thing below (and prepare to feel like a bum). Keep on trainin’, Traina — we’re rooting for you!

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!