Tag success
Throwback Image from B-House Photography…Booty Booty!
Prozis at Mr. Olympia 2014 – Interview with Stacey Naito
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How To Succeed With Your Fitness Goals
For those of us who are in the fitness world, especially those of us who compete, there is so much structure to our regimens that it is easier to keep ourselves in line. We are conditioned to keep our blinders on and stay the course with food and training. But those who are not immersed in the world of fitness and bodybuilding tend to struggle more with a regular regimen. If no specific fitness or health goal is defined, people tend to zigzag with their regimens, adding more unscheduled fun meals, more alcohol, and more missed trips to the gym.
If you are one of those people who tend to fall off track more easily, there are some guidelines which you can follow (listed below) which will help to keep you in line. More importantly, however, you need to remind yourself WHY holding yourself accountable is beneficial. When you hold yourself accountable, you stoke a fire that propels you towards your health goals. By staying on track, you develop a “can-do” attitude which extends into all areas of your life.
Here are some tips on how to keep you on track with your eating habits and exercise plan.
1. Train with a trainer. When you work out with a trainer, you become accountable to that trainer. You need to show up and do the work!
2. Train with a friend. Similar to training with a trainer, when you and a friend agree to meet for a workout, you hold each other accountable. I always recommend setting a day and time and then prohibiting each other from cancelling, no-showing or rescheduling.
3. Prep and pack your food in advance. Prepare your day’s food the night before and store it in individual serving containers so that you can easily pack them into a bag the next morning.
4. Keep junk foods and snacks out of your kitchen. If you have tempting foods in your kitchen, you risk sabotaging your own efforts to stay on a healthy eating plan.
Remember that you can maintain focus on healthy patterns. Keep your eye on the prize!
New Autographed 8×10’s Available
$15 includes personalized autograph, shipping and handling.
$15 includes personalized autograph, shipping and handling.
Please message me here or post a comment with your email address so I can respond with details. Thanks!
The Bottleneck: Breaking Through From National To Pro
Every single year I watch nationally qualified competitors duke it out onstage in hopes of finally making it through the bottleneck and achieving Pro status. Some competitors get smacked down repeatedly, yet keep hitting the national circuit for so long that they must compete against new blood, further limiting their chances. There are times when I shake my head in wonder over the outcome of a national or Pro event when individuals who clearly should have been in first callouts were neglected. I know that feeling all too well because it has happened to me a number of times. Every year the national level events get bigger, which results in even more pressure and more competition to get through that level and into the big wide world of Pro status. When a competitor finally gets pushed out of the bottle and glides into Pro waters, he or she will bask in it, enjoying the victory, but the majority of Pro competitors soon discover that becoming a Pro doesn’t mean that life will become any easier. If anything, it becomes more difficult, because the bar is set much higher.
Those of us who compete live in a bubble. In fact, I will go as far as to say that when we escape the bottle, we end up in a fishbowl instead of open water. Please don’t interpret this to mean that I lack appreciation for being a Pro, because it is indeed a great honor. But the world at large is a vast ocean which bodybuilding leagues really don’t connect to, similar to the artificial environment which a bowl provides for a pet fish. Bodybuilding is its own world, and though I may love it, I also know that it won’t make me a superstar. Even the biggest bodybuilding legends (except for Arnold) don’t have the full global recognition which they deserve, because bodybuilding is such a niche industry. The only bodybuilders who are household names are the ones who became thespians.
I will admit that when I finally got my Pro Card (after 14 Pro qualifiers), I was relieved and ecstatic because I had finally reached a goal I had set for myself. However, I also fully realize that it wasn’t entirely up to me when or if I would ever get that card, so I always tried my best not to berate myself when I fell short of that Pro card goal. A number of competitors who have been on the national circuit for a very long time have built up a tremendous following on social media channels and have so much power and influence, yet they sell themselves short because they focus on the Pro Card chase as a singular goal. These are precious gems whose shine is only dulled by the disappointment they experience when the sport of bodybuilding edges them out of the winners’ circle.
If you have been competing for a very long time and are getting weary from slipping in national placings or just missing that Pro card too many times, it’s time to take a good look at where your passion truly lies. If your true passion lies directly in the experience of stepping onstage, then by all means continue. However, if you are broke, exhausted, sore and dejected, and you have a true passion beyond the stage for inspiring others to reach fitness goals, then why not BREAK the bottle and swim into the wide ocean? If you build a name, a brand, and a following, you can establish a presence in the real world which will enable you to impact others in the truest sense. In addition, you might stand to make some decent money from nurturing your passion for fitness. Honestly, how much money have you made from competing? Just saying.
My Nutrition Coach Certification
Despite the fact that I am a fully licensed and board-certified physician, and also hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science, I realize that some people get hung up on specific certifications. My education covered nutrition in exhausting detail, which is why I am able to customize meal plans for clients and patients based on a myriad of factors. However, I also obtained a Nutrition Coach certification from NAFC to fortify the credentials I already had.
For those of you who are curious about the course, here are some details:
NAFC’s Nutrition Coach Foundations delivers scientifically-based nutrition education so health and fitness professionals can better serve their clients.
Develop the skills, knowledge and abilities to successfully work with clients seeking goal-based nutritional guidance.
Gain an occupational advantage with enhanced education and a credential to differentiate you from your competition!
NAFC’s Certified Health & Fitness Coaching course blends sound basic science with the latest in nutritional science along with proven coaching skills to help you successfully guide your clients toward better health, better performance, and a better body!
In Section I of this course, you’ll get a strong introduction to the basic sciences; in Section II you’ll become immersed in the field of nutritional science; in Section III you’ll learn about the art & science of being an effective coach; and finally in Section IV you’ll go through a step-by-step set of instructions on how to implement nutritional coaching competently & profitably (including over 30 pages of questionnaires and assessment tools to use with your clients).
No other nutrition certification puts all of these components together. No other nutrition certification was written by a physician with over 35 years of experience in the areas of nutrition, fitness, personal training, anti-aging medicine, and performance enhancement.
The National Association for Fitness Certification was established in 1992 to provide scientifically-based, standards-focused education and training for Group Fitness Instructors, Personal Trainers, and Wellness Consultants. The NAFC’s combination of demanding standards, practical application of scientific principles, and affordable program pricing have defined it as the most rapidly-expanding certifying organization in the industry today.
The NAFC was established by a forward-thinking group of fitness professionals, representing expertise in fields including Exercise Physiology, Adaptive Physical Education, Medicine and Nursing, and Professional Coaching. Their desire was to enhance current fitness certification standards by providing access to convenient and comprehensive – yet practical and affordable – education and skills.
The NAFC follows guidelines established by the American College of Sports Medicine, emphasizing practical information with respect to a comprehensive knowledge base.
I Will Be At The Muscle And Performance Booth At Olympia This Week!
Come to the 50th Anniversary of Olympia! I will be at the Olympia Expo on Friday, September 19th, and Saturday, September 20th, working at the AIM Publications booth, which features magazines like Muscle & Performance, Oxygen, MuscleMag, and Black Belt. Be sure to stop by to say hello, and get some free magazines!
Here we are at the AIM booth from the Arnold Sports Festival earlier this year:
And from last year’s Olympia:
Comedy And Tragedy
Robin Williams’ suicide brought attention to the depression that often strikes entertainers, but sadly, he wasn’t the first comedic genius to take his own life. Freddie Prinz died at the age of 22, and Richard Jeni died right before his 50th birthday, both from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Evidently, comedy can serve as an outlet for severe depression and psychosis, but the danger lies in the fact that making others people laugh can hide a dangerous secret.
I worked for Richard Jeni for over four years as his personal assistant, and as always blown away by his wit and his brilliance. Being a personal assistant required me to wear many hats, and it was not an easy job, especially when Rich was in one of his moods. He lived in a beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills which I had to maintain, and which, despite all of its creature comforts, always felt very empty. I helped Rich with everything from household related issues, to assistance with booking gigs and organizing travel, serving as his personal stylist, organizing recordings of sitcoms he studied, and traveling with him for Caroline’s Comedy Hour and one of his cable specials.
Rich never married and had no children, and I honestly couldn’t imagine him with a wife and kids because, he was frequently out of town on gigs, and HAD to have everything his own way. There were numerous times that I would find myself greeting a new girlfriend who suddenly was one of the fixtures in the house, only to see Rich’s outlook on life darken when the girlfriend eventually became the ex. I knew that though Rich was incredibly funny, and kept me in stitches when he would dictate his bits for me to transcribe, he was never happy. I knew so much about him, where he was born and raised, how he left law school to become a comic, what foods he wanted in his fridge at all times, what interior design aesthetic he preferred, where and how he wanted his clean laundry distributed, what wardrobe items he wanted me to scout out, etc., but I never knew the depths of his loneliness.
Though I quit working for Rich to embark on my medical education, we stayed in touch from time to time and in this way continued our friendship. The last time I had seen him was in 2005 when his cable special, “A Big Steaming Pile Of Me” premiered. He was paranoid and disjointed during the premiere, and exhibited bizarre behavior which turned out to be the early stages of paranoid schizophrenia.
I still remember seeing the headline on AOL News on March 11, 2007, which announced that Richard Jeni had shot himself in the face and was dead. It stunned me. It was also extremely strange to find out via the Internet, but with Rich’s modest celebrity status, it was appropriate. I still can’t fathom how he had come to the point where he took the gun and pointed the barrel at himself, but I also cannot understand how a family man like Robin Williams chose to wrap a belt around his neck and cut off his own life breath. Both deaths were tragic, unnecessary, and highlighted an insidious mental disease which lurks among people from all walks of life. No amount of money, success, or fame can ever guarantee the happiness of a human being.
In honor of Richard Jeni and Robin Williams, both of whom were brilliant comics, I am posting these videos for you to enjoy:
Spelling Champ
I have been a excellent speller since early childhood, when I exhibited an intuitive sense of word structure. I still remember shocking my teachers during my very brief time in kindergarten (I was advanced to first grade at the age of five after a few weeks in kindergarten) by spelling the word SCISSORS correctly. Apparently my ability to spell this word was rare for my age, and from that point on, I earned the label of great speller. In the fourth grade, at the age of eight, I decided to learn the longest word in the Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, and I remember it to this day. It is a 45 letter word which is synonymous with a coal miner’s lung disease. Here is the word I memorized:
PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS
I was honestly fascinated with words and loved spelling them and investigating sentence structure as well. This continued throughout grade school, and by sixth grade, I was the kid to beat in the spelling contests my homeroom teacher Mrs. Mackenzie would conduct. The fact that I was unbeatable sparked a great deal of competitive energy in my classmates who wanted nothing more than to make me topple from my spelling perch. At the end of the school year, Mrs. Mackenzie hosted the grand finale spelling bee, which, instead of featuring candy as the grand prize, boasted a gold toned medal hanging from a red ribbon. The instant I saw the medal, a fire was lit inside me and I was determined to take the big title. On the big day, one student after another was defeated by words that proved too challenging for them to spell properly, and I stood there unfazed while they dropped out of the competition. Finally, it wound down to two of us: Martha Phelps and I stood across from each other, glaring daggers at each other. I could feel her anger seething from her, and could tell that she was out to destroy me. She was given a word, puffed out her chest, and began to spell it. F, A, C, E, I, OUS!
WRONG.
I almost jumped out of my skin, I was so excited. Mrs. Mackenzie turned to me. The word was mine to spell. F, A, C, E, T, I, O, U, S. Yes, I emphasized that T, rubbing it in like a smoker would rub out a cigarette on the sidewalk. It was like slow motion after that, when Mrs. Mackenzie turned to the table behind her, grabbed the medal, and handed it to me. A roar erupted as the students who had been standing around watching cheered for me.
Martha was not nearly as pleased as the others were for my victory, and made her displeasure known by punching me in the gut after we had walked from the auditorium back to the classrooms. What a sore loser and a snotty little bitch.
My classmates mentioned my talent when they scribbled in my yearbook at the end of the year. Two girls who were exceptionally poor spellers wrote “spelling medle” and “spelling metal”, which gave me a chuckle. It was a very memorable year for me and I took great pride in achieving an academic pinnacle so early in life. I think it would be fair say my hunger for competing began with spelling bees.
Skip ahead to high school, during which time I served as a living spell-check for my best friend Diane. Diane would call, and after I would say “Hello?”, I would hear a word being uttered, after which I was expected to spell it. Then I would hear, “Thanks” and the conversation would usually come to a quick end. Sometimes Diane would tell me that she had looked up the word, but her spelling was so off the mark that she couldn’t locate the word she was trying to spell. This free best friend service was something I was always happy to do, and because I made myself so readily available with my knack for spelling, this amusing little ritual continued throughout college and beyond.
To this day I am still asked by a number of good friends how to spell certain words, and I always oblige without any hesitation. It’s almost automatic for me, when a person asks me how to spell a word, to launch immediately into the spelling, as if I was in Mrs. Mackenzie’s class, standing at my desk, spelling until I was the only student standing. It’s how my brain is programmed and is better than an electronic spelling app!
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